Monographic report – disruption of Spain's international business – 2023

Artificial Intelligence, the disruptive technology of the moment

New ways of doing things in 2023 from the main pillars of international business: new forms of financing, specialized training, commercial approaches, global marketing strategy, traditional international sales vs marketplaces or ecommerce, b2c, b2b, risk coverage, trademark registrations IP, logistics, AI, Blockchain, etc.

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If there is a technology that is winning at the current time, it is Artificial Intelligence (AI). The ability to program robots and computer systems so that they learn autonomously, replicating the capabilities of human intelligence, is already causing a true revolution in many fields. And AI is expected to bring about large-scale changes in our society. 

 

This was highlighted in their interviews with EmpresaExterior Alberto Grande, head of the Innovation area of ​​Paradigma Digital (“artificial intelligence, despite still being in a very incipient situation, is going to mark the coming years”) and Silvia Martínez, general director of V1 Marketing Partners Spain & LATAM (“AI is having and will have even greater influence on international trade”).

 

We are still beginning to know and take advantage the possibilities that AI opens up in the business world. Some of the most notable, cited by business representatives interviewed by EmpresaExterior, are:

 

• in the logistics field, to improve the sizing and distribution of warehouses and stock.
• In the world of digital marketing and search engines, the use of GPT chat and algorithms.
• the data-oriented technologies, for real-time decision making, predictability and environments what if.
• In the insurance sector, the Machine Learning to improve the accuracy of risk assessment, fraud detection and personalization of services.

 

Other relevant disruptive technologies in 2023

 

Artificial Intelligence is not the only technology that is changing the way we do international business. Other of the most relevant technologies are, in the opinion of those interviewed by EmpresaExterior:

 

• el Big Data, which allows you to reduce costs, optimize resources, gain efficiency, minimize environmental impact or better manage demand forecasting; 
• IoT devices and advanced traceability systems, for preventive maintenance and fleet monitoring, cold chain management or stock control;
• el Cloud, to facilitate communications between the different components of a supply chain; 
• el 5G, essential in warehouse management, or in automated last mile deliveries;
• la ciberseguridad;
• el Open Banking, which facilitates the exchange of a client's financial information with other companies;
• el blockchain in terms of automation and digitalization of processes;
• la task automation routine operations, the digitization of documents and the implementation of online customer service platforms 

 

 

The digitalization of business processes is no longer a chimera, but a bandwagon that many companies got on, forced by the Covid-19 crisis, and from which they no longer get off. This is how it looks in the financial sector (with the digitalization of all operations linked to international business, the transparency and immediacy of international transfers, etc.), the insurer (automated risk analysis, or the launch of 100% digital insurance) or logistic (advanced traceability systems). And, as highlighted Pablo Gómez, founding partner of OFTEX, “with each task that is automated, the company is more efficient and productive.” But be careful, it is not worth doing it in any way. "The digital transformation is necessary for any type of business, but this must be done with a head and with a method appropriate,” stressed Alberto Grande, head of the Innovation area at Digital Paradigma.

 

The challenges of implementing innovation

What the interviewees of this Disruption special have agreed on is the role that innovation plays for a company to be competitive at the current time. He stated it Javier Quintana, Managing Director of Moneycorp in Spain, which explained that “in a few years we have gone from broker a fintech with a presence in half the world, and that cannot be achieved without innovating and investing. “Innovation and digitalization is part of our flagship and represents a very important item in our budget.”

Also José Antonio Guerrero, director of Corporate Banking and Agri-Food Business at BCC-Grupo Cajamar, highlighted that “the ability to create new products, processes and business models can make the difference between success and failure in international business”, and  Carlos Dalmau, director of International Solutions at Banco Sabadell, alluded to the fact that “the approach is incorporate greater innovation into products to be able to incorporate new clients and be more competitive.”

 

But doing so is not easy, especially because of the speed to which new technologies are appearing, which makes their incorporation difficult. “One of the great challenges for international companies lies in seeking mechanisms that allow them streamline your innovation process”, assured Karim Kaidi, Director of Systems and Digital Business at Cesce. That's how I understood it too José Manuel Aguirre Domínguez, director of Institutional Relations of AIS Group: “The challenge is to stay up to date with technological advances and incorporate them into our solutions as quickly as possible.”

 

Costs (in some cases), cultural reluctance, or lack of specialized personnel are other problems. challenges that companies face when incorporating innovation in their business models. “We encounter several problems, but the main one is the lack of qualified professionals for technological areas. More specialists are necessary because this decade is going to be the decade of absolute digital transformation,” he stated. Sancho Lorena, CEO of Pandora FMS.

 

In this regard, Francisco González López, director of the International Trade Management programs at ESIC Business and Marketing School, detailed that “the implementation of innovation as a structural part of companies can be a significant challenge for them. Overcoming cultural barriers, communication problems, costs, regulations and laws, lack of resources and resistance to change are all obstacles.”

Sustainability, in the focus of many companies

We cannot forget either The sustainability. The effects of climate change are beginning to become evident and governments and companies have no choice but to guide their decisions taking this into account.

At the European Union level, the goal is to achieve total decarbonization by 2050. The measures are ambitious and will involve changes in our ways of life. also in the way of working in the business world. Many companies have already assumed this, and have incorporated sustainability into its strategic plans, not as a mere matter of corporate social responsibility policy, or greenwashing, but as a vector to take into account in all your business decisions. I was alluding to this Julián López-Arenas, Director of Competitiveness of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, which stated that “companies and organizations must be aware of the importance of incorporating sustainability as a strategic element in our daily management, regardless of size and activity.”

“We are firmly committed to the 2030 Agenda and the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations,” stressed Enrique Cuadra, corporate director of Risks at Solunion. In that same line, Pablo de la Torre, commercial director of International Business at Banco Santander, highlighted the entity's commitment “to build a green economy based on sustainable finance, through environmental, social and good governance (ESG) criteria”, and Ricardo García, deputy director of Agri-Food Innovation at Cajamar, recalled that the cooperative entity has long advocated the triple bottom line: “not only the economic balance, but we need an environmental balance and a social balance.” 

In turn, the president of COFIDES, José Luis Curbelo, pointed out that all operations financed by the entity are sustainable “and in the process of analysis and structuring of all our operations we assign financial and socio-environmental sustainability ratings.”

Karim Kaidi, Director of Systems and Digital Business at Cesce, announced in the interview for EmpresaExterior that the Sustainability Master Plan of the entity will see the light this year.

But sustainability is not just theory, it is important to put it into practice. Xavier Arasanz, general director of Amiblu in Spain, a multinational dedicated to the design and supply of fiberglass reinforced polyester pipes and accessories, told us that they have implemented the circularity in their production system, and are making an effort to reduce CO2 emissions.

“When we talk about sustainability, it is necessary to say that part of the solution to environmental problems lies with companies, which are already making important efforts in this direction, but it is also the responsibility of consumers, who, in fact, increasingly demand that sustainability prevail in the production, packaging and shipping processes of their products,” he added in this regard. Francisco Aranda, president of UNO, Logistics and Transport Business Organization of Spain.

"The two great challenges revolve around digitalization and sustainability. The success of our companies abroad will be conditioned by their ability to integrate both aspects into their business strategy and processes,” he concluded. Alvaro Schweinfurth, deputy director of CEOE International

 

 

Along the same lines, it was stated Juan José Fuentes, director of Foreign Trade at BBVA: «The sustainable transition, along with digital transformation, is one of the major challenges facing companies and will play a very important role in their long-term growth because it will allow them to be more efficient, competitive, and resilient.

 

Recommendations to companies

In this context, What can Spanish companies do to be successful in their business internationally? Again, innovation is cited as one of the factors that will influence this. “An innovative company is very likely to internationalize and even be born directly as a global business,” he stated. José Luis Curbelo, president and CEO of COFIDES. But not only. Some of the advice from our interviewees to internationalized companies are:

 

• DiVerify international markets and have plans to cover international contingencies.
• Diversify clients and sources of supplies.
• Differentiate yourself from your competitors and provide added value to its clients.
• Determine well your value proposition and competitive advantage. 
• Understanding idiosyncrasy y the way of doing business Of each country.
• Know the needs and preferences of local consumers. 
• Adapt your business models to the characteristics of each market. 
• To implant competitive and technological surveillance tools to monitor the markets.
• Primary School/Elementary School be on the internet.
• Doing Use of new technologies to make processes more efficient.

 

As concluded from the responses of those interviewed, technology and innovation provide companies with great potential for improvement and growth that they cannot waste. 

 

 

See interviews conducted with experts and selected events on the topic of the monograph:

 

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