How Can Tech Be a Catalyst for Competitiveness in Complex Times?

The world's economies continue to search for the best mechanisms to face current challenges, such as the impact from the pandemic on global value chains, while also curbing the impacts of inflation.

According to SAP Mexico’s vision, this scenario has given companies a reason to opt for technological adoption as the best solution to face current challenges. We saw this reflected in the double-digit growth in the adoption of cloud solutions among Mexican companies, a performance that has persisted over the last 15 quarters.

In the first months of the year, companies found it necessary to take measures and decisions to achieve greater operational efficiency, implement "humanized" technology so their employees and customers could have better experiences, and optimize their data management to make better business decisions.

An example of our commitment to organizations has been our RISE with SAP solution, which was launched last year with the aim of helping companies make their transition to the cloud in a simple and flexible way, adapting to each one's time frame. Since then, it has been a pleasure to see the Mexican market positively adopting our comprehensive platform, which has registered four consecutive quarters of growth.

An example of how Mexican companies are advancing in their RISE with SAP adoption is Grupo LALA, the largest dairy company in Mexicothat also has an international presence. It adopted the SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition, giving the company steady progress in its innovation strategy for Vigor Alimentos, its Brazilian subsidiary.

Without a doubt, this scenario is the beginning of an accelerated digital transformation for organizations of all sizes and industries that are seeking greater operational efficiency and to implement technology to improve the experiences of their associates and customers as well as optimize their data management to make better business decisions.

A Global Stage, Multiple Representations

Recently, the consulting firm Gartner released its estimates regarding global spending on technology. It projects that growth will reach US$4.4 trillion by the end of the second half of the year, growing at a rate of 3 percent since last year.

There are challenges of a global nature associated with the inflation effects; however, Gartner points out that the global business community understands that innovation is the key to remaining competitive over the remainder of the year.

Under this premise, we, the companies in the technology sector, have understood that the perfect ally for improving competitiveness and streamlining operating processes is technology. To achieve this, the first step is to adopt and embrace changes from within organizations.

At SAP Mexico, we have seen how companies of all sizes and industries are preparing to respond to digital economy challenges. This has been reflected in the growth of our portfolios; for example, our SAP Business Technology Platform, which brings together data management, analytics, artificial intelligence, and application development, posted triple-digit growth in the Mexican market during the second quarter of the year.

Among the results that this type of solution provides companies, operational efficiency stands out, which is an issue that over the last two years gained greater relevance within organizations.

Implementing these types of solutions, a company like Innovasport, the Mexican sports retailer with more than 20 years of experience, is taking another step forward in its innovation strategy. With systems like this, the company will strengthen its data governance through a single source of information that will allow it to obtain reports in real time.

In the consumer industry today, more than ever, an exact number of inputs is required, Sello Rojo, a Mexican company whose value offer is to provide fresh products using innovative and sustainable technology, invested in this technology to integrate in a single platform the information from its 50 distribution centers and make the right decisions at the right time.

Strengthening Human Talent

To face this new reality from a point of strength, companies need to train not only their innovation team but their entire staff according to the objectives and tasks for each, in addition to rethinking the way in which they operate hand in hand with their staff.

According to the study, The Future of HR in the New Reality, by KPMG, 60 percent of the value drivers within companies, or so-called pioneers, indicated as a priority investing in learning and development platforms, as well as in virtual work technologies.

Among the benefits of acquiring technological solutions is that you can obtain real-time indicators related to work teams and identify areas of opportunity. Thanks to technology, it is possible to carry out an appropriate implementation of reskilling and, at the same time, offer a pleasant experience to associates, making them feel they are key players in the growth of the company.

The Report on the future of jobs from the World Economic Forum indicates that companies seek to provide opportunities to update and improve their skills to most of their teams (73 percent) aware of the fact that, by 2025, 44 percent of the skills the workforce will need to perform their duties effectively will change.

The good news is that Mexican companies are putting their workforce at the center of their technological transformation strategies. In a study we conducted globally, 50 percent of Mexican CHROs (Chief Human Resources Officers) indicated that they invest in technology to advance reskilling.

At SAP, we support companies with the management of human capital. It’s a reality that all sectors strive to attract the best talent and, although salary compensation is important, it’s also important to create positive experiences from their recruitment process to their personal and professional development.

An example of this is Gentera, a group of companies that offers financial services with a human touch, and that, with sustainable management, has brought financial inclusion to more than 13 million people in Mexico and Peru, which reinforces their trust in SAP as their technological ally. With the renewal of the SAP SuccessFactors portfolio and the acquisition of Qualtrics, the company will strengthen how it listens to the priorities and needs of its 21,000 employees to promote strategies that improve their work experiences.

In a similar situation is Ocesa, a promoter of world-class musical theater and festivals, such as Corona Capital and Vive Latino, which implemented the SAP SuccessFactors solution as its cloud platform for talent management to offer the best experiences to its employees, from the induction process to compensation programs and succession plans.

This reflection invites us to continue innovating in all aspects of our organizations, both on the financial side and in those matters related to the workforce, because today, there are other factors that two years ago we didn’t consider to be priorities; ultimately, they are now marking the future of the world economy.

Fortunately, cloud technology democratizes innovation; with its incorporation, companies of all sizes and industries can become more efficient and maximize the use of their resources, allowing their work teams to focus on what is important, giving way to their creativity and new ways of collaborating.

Without a doubt, we are facing an important challenge in 2022 but I am sure that adding innovation to our business priorities will allow us to reinvent ourselves and be better. Technology offers us multiple possibilities to maintain this virtuous circle, putting people at the center of everything and understanding that experiences are for everyone.