The business world is changing faster and more unpredictably than ever. Markets are expanding worldwide, creating economic interdependencies, global operations, workforce mobility, and global regulations. To stay competitive, your business needs to move with the changes and achieve the speed, flexibility and resilience to handle whatever the market does next. On a worldwide basis.
Since the Internet eliminates national and geographic boundaries, your e-business can attract new customers from anywhere. To successfully service this market, your company must integrate processes end-to-end across the organization--and with key partners, suppliers and customers. Companies that embrace this model can respond quickly and flexibly to any customer demand, market opportunity, or competitive threat. This strategy requires basic changes in the way your company deals with technology, business practices, corporate culture, languages, and multiculturalism. The rewards, however, both short- and long-term, can be enormous. And you don't have to do it alone.
According to an IBM internal study in IGS Headlights (March, 2003) the next generation of globalization issues include:
- How do I operate cohesively vs. multi-domestically?
- How do I collaborate effectively with employees, partners, suppliers, and customers in any language, and with cultural respect?
- How do I create global ecosystems?
Marketplace uncertainties add challenges of their own:
- How to quickly reach new multilingual/multicultural markets
- How to minimize local exposure while growing global revenues
- How to improve asset utilization and minimize operational risks
- How to increase customer focus
- How to control corporate and product branding and build worldwide loyalty
- How to reduce costs and align IT expenses with business objectives on a global basis
Since globalization is a strategic initiative, it does not require a separate business case. It does mean that you need a strategy and an IT infrastructure that support your global business goals and eliminate roadblocks that keep you from maximizing the value of e-business globalization. These include:
- Business processes, practices and conventions that differ from country to country.
- Human factors, such as resistance to changes in communication and technology, and cultural and language barriers.
- Perspective shifts in the corporate culture that may be required to do business globally.
- Technology issues, including worldwide standardization, such as an overarching infrastructure for within-entity communication, supply chain, CRM, ERP, business process integration.
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