Infinate *sourcing chains

Outsourcing, insourcing, crowdsourcing, sourcesourcing ... seems like everyone's *sourcing everything, everywhere. But today, I had a most amusing situation brought to my attention. A friend, owner of what I will call "Company D" writes and asks if I know anyone who has a depth and breadth of experience with a certain product. After a little investigation it turns out that "Company D" has sub-contracted "Company E" to deliver part of the solution they were contracted to deliver to "Company C". "Company E" is apparently falling short of their promises to "Company D", so "Company D" is looking for a "Company F" to assist "Company E" if "Company C" is going to get what they asked for on time and on budget. Naturally, "Company C" was sub-contracted by "Company B" to help them deliver a full-scale solution to "Company A", also known as "The Client".

I mull all this over a bit and figure there are a few possibilities that might fit the bill - and with it a Cloud of Dread descends. How can I be certain my recommends aren't already at the table? Like some sort of sinister international terrorist network, the various cells at work here only have limited visibility to each other. What would be the effect of recommending "Company B" to "Company D"; or, horror of horrors, what if my recommend turned out to be a division of "Company A" itself?

I now sympathize with Ouroboros.