U.S. firms adapt too slowly for new markets
Many U.S. companies are reporting record profits these days. But it may not last. At least that's what a recent survey seems to suggest, noting that U.S. companies have been slow to adjust to the needs of fast-paced and increasingly internationalized markets.
"Looking at the business from a rearview mirror is still very much the vantage point of most companies," warns the report released today by the Business Performance Management Forum, an industry group that represents over 1,000 companies from across the globe.
According to the report, which surveyed more than 300 large U.S. companies, such as Pfizer and Deloitte, executives are widely dissatisfied with the ability of their firms to assimilate to new markets, exploit new revenue opportunities, meet customers' changing needs, and react to competitive pressures.
One of the biggest issues was a lack of information technology systems that would let them "read" their markets and their competitors.
Less than 1 in 3 executives said they were able to get up-to-the-minute information about their business operations and customer needs. Meanwhile, 45 percent of the respondents from companies with revenue above $500 million said their information technology departments were having "significant difficulties" or "can't keep up at all."
"The message here is that the issue is endemic to all industries and to all users," says John Conley, director of strategic marketing at webMethods, an information technology firm that worked in conjunction with the Business Performance Management Forum on the survey.
What will happen to companies that do not strengthen their information technology chain? Conley notes that in the current business cycle, price changes are instantly telegraphed to competitors, and new products are often copied by others before they even hit the shelves.
"The ability to get real-time information and drive real change are systemic issues that are hindering the ability of companies to compete in the broader global marketplace," he adds, so "the quick answer is they will be outpaced by their competitors."
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