Emerging markets offer untapped potential

A joint report, prepared by the manufacturers’ organisation EEF and BDO Stoy Hayward, provides an in-depth analysis of where key low-cost economies are heading and what this will mean for UK manufacturers. ‘Global Challenge – Opportunities and Threats for UK Manufacturers’ highlights the fact that China and other emerging economies have clear ambitions to move up the value chain and are investing in skills, science and infrastructure to meet these goals. However, UK manufacturing still has significant competitive advantages, and the opening up of these new and rapidly growing markets offers vast opportunities to take advantage of demand for higher technology products and expertise. In particular, the report examines the prospects in four other Asian markets: Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as Eastern Europe, where EEF’s research highlights the significant growth in prospects for UK manufacturers. The report also examines how companies can exploit these opportunities though trade and offshoring, while maintaining competitiveness by investing in skills and innovation. “Manufacturers face a wide range of challenges and opportunities as a result of the rapid pace of globalisation,” says Kevin Cook, partner and head of manufacturing at BDO Stoy Hayward. “Many are already responding in a number of ways – from enhanced focus on the customer through innovation and intellectual property, through to reducing costs by off-shoring and business re-engineering. “However, what is clear from this report is that there is still considerable untapped potential in low-cost economies – potential which UK firms have the capability to unlock.”