Immediate Use Strategy
Immediate use works when scarcity is unpredictable, scarcity duration is short, retrieval is difficult, storage cost exceeds scarcity cost, or capital is constrained.
Zero storage is as dangerous as excessive storage.
Some organisms use short-term buffering rather than long-term storage. Pigeons use crops (expandable esophageal pouches) for 1-2 day storage, carrying food internally rather than caching externally. This suits environments where food is available frequently but unpredictably, and external caching would face immediate theft.
Business Application of Immediate Use Strategy
Immediate use works when scarcity is unpredictable, scarcity duration is short, retrieval is difficult, storage cost exceeds scarcity cost, or capital is constrained. Circuit City's pure immediate consumption (zero reserves) proved fatal during the 2008 crisis.