INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Software for Business
Epicor releases findings of global
survey into business growth in the
manufacturing sector
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M
anufacturing business growth has
continued to rise over the past year
but at a much slower rate than the
previous 12 months. Despite challenging
market conditions and the difficulty in
recruiting and retaining skilled staff, there
has been a marginal 1% rise in the number
of businesses reporting growth.
These findings are survey results unveiled
from the annual Global Growth Index
by Epicor Software Corporation, a global
provider of industry-specific enterprise
software to promote business growth.
For those companies who have experienced
growth, maintaining it hasn’t been easy over
the past year. Forty-two percent admit it has
been challenging, while a fifth (22%) have
found it stressful.
Forty percent of businesses cite market
conditions as having a negative impact on
growth and 23% feel that staff skills and
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experience have also played a detrimental
part in maintaining growth. Political volatility
and uncertainty also continue to be a
common cause for concern across the globe.
“The manufacturing industry plays an
integral role in our global economy and
people forget that it is responsible for
delivering important products we use every
day,” said Steve Murphy, CEO, Epicor. “As
such, the health of the manufacturing
industry is something we should all be
concerned about. While it’s good news
to see that growth in this industry is still
taking place, we need to keep a close eye
on what factors are contributing to this
growth and what factors are causing a lag.
The information in the Global Growth Index
empowers businesses so they can make
strategic plans that will best position them
for the future.”
Now in its third year, the Epicor Global
Growth Index is designed to measure the
state of worldwide business growth within
the manufacturing industry. The Index tracks
the performance of businesses – year on
year – within 13 territories across a number
of key indicators, including turnover, profits,
headcount and product range. Compared
to last year’s results, the Growth Index rose
by 1%. This is down from the 3.7% in the
previous 12-month period.
Reid Paquin, Research Director, IDC, said:
“Investing in the right technology, such
as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
solutions, can help businesses better plan
for change by improving visibility and
insights into current operational workflows.
This can help alleviate stress and enable
people to deal with challenges more
effectively, by providing the flexibility, agility
and adaptability needed to respond to
market conditions and customer demands.
Technology can also have a positive
influence on other factors including work
ethic and staff recruitment and retention.” n
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