New Research Shows Businesses in Emerging Economies are Outpacing their Overseas Counterparts in Business Growth Aspects due, in part, to an Aggressive Technology Agenda
Businesses in Mexico, China and India are increasingly turning to technology to power successful growth, reveals new global research from Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth. Around three quarters of Chinese and Indian firms (74% and 73% respectively) and 63% of Mexican firms cited IT investment as important, compared to a global figure of 54%.
Overall, the research figures indicate that many of the world’s businesses, particularly those in established economies, do not ‘get growth’ in the same way as their emerging market peers and risk falling behind ‘grow getter’ businesses in emerging markets. These businesses demonstrate a strong motivation to invest in technology to empower their organization.
‘Grow getter’ businesses are those that take advantage of macro-economic factors, such as low cost skilled labor and a healthy GDP. They use technology to expand into new markets and locations swiftly, without having to invest in high labor costs, and they have the processes in place to adapt their product ranges to match consumer demand.
Businesses in Mexico, India and China are the most likely to be growing in terms of geographic reach and overseas sales. India takes the lead, with 75% of businesses reporting overseas growth (63% in Mexico and 63% in China), compared to the US where 59% of businesses reported no further growth or a decline in growth overseas (47% of UK businesses reported the same).
India and Mexico are also the most likely to have grown their product ranges in the last 12 months— with more than three quarters (82% and 76% respectively) of all businesses reporting growth here, compared to the global average of 61%. Hong Kong and Singapore were among the least likely to achieve this, with only 45-46% of businesses in both countries reporting any product range growth.
India, again, leads the global charge in profit growth with 80% of businesses reporting growth, compared to just 34% in Singapore.
Despite sales and turnover generally increasing across the globe (65% of businesses grew their sales/turnover in the last 12 months), only around half (48%) of the businesses around the globe are meeting this increase in productivity with a larger workforce.
With technology making it easier than ever before to communicate there are more opportunities to expand into new regions and markets rapidly. However, the survey shows that high growth businesses tend to be the only ones that are significantly expanding operations overseas. Of the businesses questioned, 65% of those experiencing very high growth were also experiencing significant growth overseas (compared to an average 14% overall).
Kathy Crusco, chief operating and financial officer at Epicor commented, “Business leaders around the world can learn from the experience of ‘grow getter’ businesses in emerging economies such as India and Mexico. These ‘grow getter’ companies have invested in technology to empower their workforces, drive efficiencies, increase agility, and increase their profit margins, as a result. They use technology to adapt quickly to change and demand, allowing them to drive expansion into new markets, and establish processes to adapt their product ranges to match consumer demand.”
