‘No excuse for not being competitive’ in eurozone
Greece’s entry into the eurozone has signaled the end of Greek firms’ traditional introversion, and they now have to use all available means in order to stay competitive and survive in a considerably enhanced operating environment, business leaders yesterday told the second day of a conference in Athens, «Leading Greek Businesses to Meet the New Challenges.» The conference was organized by business consultants and auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Some Greek firms have already been meeting the increasing challenges for some years and can now claim the title of multinational. «There are no excuses for not being competitive,» said Spyros Theodoropoulos, managing director of snacks manufacturer Chipita International, which now employs 4,500 workers in 10 countries, largely in partnership with Pepsico. «We had to invest very large sums to meet the hygiene standards of the American Institute of Bakers. Now, our Bake Rolls series sells five or six times more in Germany than in Greece,» he said. Dimitris Papalexopoulos, managing director of Titan Cement, identified five challenges for Greek firms: carving out a focused, long-term and flexible strategy based on competitive advantages; an outward-looking mentality based on scientific knowledge, use of the Internet, benchmarking, international partnerships and competent staff; human resource development, particularly linked to performance incentives; organization, and the use of electronic technology. He said Titan, still an independent producer when the world’s six largest cement firms account for 43 percent of output (from 12 percent in 1988), has defined a four-axes strategy. First, expansion abroad; it now has subsidiaries in Serbia, Egypt and the USA and has increased its turnover about five times to 1,049 million euros over the last 10 years. Sales in Greece now account for 35 percent of turnover, against 70 percent 10 years ago. Second, vertical expansion into other construction materials. Third, continuous cost improvements and, fourth, optimal use of human resources. For 2002, Titan plans to promote its adaptation to the profile of a multinational firm, consolidate synergies with foreign subsidiaries, and invest 300 million euros. Professor Giorgos Provopoulos, economic consultant of Alpha Bank, was upbeat about the prospects of Greek banks, seeing a significant growth potential for business at home with a parallel expansion into neighboring countries. National Technical University of Athens Professor Ilias Tatsiopoulos said in an increasingly competitive environment firms ought to focus on the following structural initiatives: increasing investment in information systems to optimize their supply chains; outsourcing services (third-party logistics are expected to grow rapidly); improve integration and coordination of the suppliers-partners-clients network; tap economies of scale in storage areas through increasing their size and the use of transport means, and application of quality control systems. PWC partner Antonis Hatziantonas recommended a combination of strategies, such as Activity-Based Management (ABM) for accurate costing per activity, Customer Relationship Management for assessment of cost and profit per client, Enterprise-Wide Cost Reduction, Supply Chain Management, Performance Management and Shared Services (integration of overlapping processes with affiliates).
