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September 2021

Expansion opportunities in the BPO Sector in Romania and Emerging Europe

Expansion opportunities in the BPO Sector in Romania and Emerging Europe

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How to expand to the Romanian market or to the Emerging European region? Are you a BPO company looking to expand to Eastern Europe? What are the market expansion opportunities in the BPO Sector in Romania and Emerging Europe?

The Romanian BPO sector continues to attract numerous foreign investment, both greenfield and crossborder M&A. Here are some recent examples, identified by the market entry consulting firm FRD Center: https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2021/06/expansion-opportunities-in-bpo-sector.html

Romania is one of the most preferred near-shore locations, capitalizing on the solid education system, with a strong focus on IT, finance and accounting and, therefore, providing a steady, relatively inexpensive and qualitative flow of skilled resources to meet the growing demand of SSC / BPO entities.

According to the Market Research and Market Entry Consulting firm, FRD Center, there are expansion opportunities in the BPO Sector in Romania and Emerging Europe. 

Here is a recent demo study on the Romanian BPO Sector and others in the region: Poland, Czechia, Ukraine and Hungary: https://www.frdcenter.ro/bpo-sector-in-romania-h1-2021-a-demo-sector-overview-by-frd-center/

For in-depth analysis of the BPO players and call-centers in Romania and other markets in Eastern Europe, tailored to your specific needs and requirements, as well as for target origination and M&A assistance, contact the FRD Center team at email: europa@frdcenter.ro

More than 120,000 university graduates per year form the talent pool in Romania. Cultural compatibility and a large scale of foreign language skills, covering English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian and Russian, provide a competitive edge to the Romanian work force. FRD Center has been assisting foreign companies looking for BPO market expansion and acquisitions in the business process outsourcing sector and has been closely monitoring the activity in the Romanian BPO sector. Here are some facts on Romania that might be of interest to a foreign investor or BPO provider looking to acquire a local player and set up operations in Romania, thus accessing the EU market and other key markets overseas.

For more details consult and download the FRD Center demo report available at this link: https://www.frdcenter.ro/bpo-sector-in-romania-h1-2021-a-demo-sector-overview-by-frd-center/

The Romanian BPO market includes approximately 280 companies that activate in the business services sector, with over 131,000 employees. According to the Association of Business Service Leaders in Romania (ABSL), the revenues generated by the business services industry in Romania are estimated at 4.5 billion EUR in 2020. The business services industry contributes with around 2 – 2.5% to the GDP in Romania. The attrition rate in the business services sector in Romania was 12% by July 2020, with an average of 22% in the past three years. The main cities for the business services industry in Romania are Bucharest, Timisoara, Cluj Napoca, Iasi, Brasov and Sibiu.

The outsourcing sector in Romania is characterised by: – strong IT infrastructure – growing level of automation – relatively good availability of qualified resources – very good language proficiency of both Latin and Germanic tongues – competitive labour costs For more details visit the FRD Center presentation available at this link: http://www.frdcenter.ro/assets/BPO-Sector-Romania-FRD-Center-analysis.pdf

According to the Market Research and Market Entry Consulting firm, FRD Center, there are expansion opportunities in the BPO Sector in Romania and Emerging Europe. 

Computer Generated Solutions (CGS) maintained in 2020 its recruitment pace in Romania despite the pandemic. The BPO player increased its team in Romania with 500 new employees in 2020. CGS signed contracts with new clients or extended projects with the existing ones in 2020, which translated into a significant employment volume. The company invested in a remote network for the entire company to allow its employees to work safely from home.

For more details visit the FRD Center demo report available at this link: https://www.frdcenter.ro/bpo-sector-in-romania-h1-2021-a-demo-sector-overview-by-frd-center/

Wipro leased 11,000 sqm of office space in Globalworth Square, a new office project in northern Bucharest, expected to be finalised in T2 2021. Teleperformance Romania plans to hire 400 – 500 persons who speak foreign languages in 2021. Accenture will continue in 2021 the educational programmes in the IT field, developed and implemented in 2020 for pupils and students across Romania.

According to the FRD Center analysis, some of the most active BPO players operating on the Romanian market are Genpact Romania, Accenture Services, Computer Generated Solutions Romania, Wipro Technologies, Sykes Enterprises Eastern Europe and Comdata Service.

For in-depth analysis of the BPO players and call-centers in Romania and other markets in Eastern Europe, as well as for target origination and M&A assistance, contact the FRD Center team at email: europa@frdcenter.ro

According to an ABSL survey, in mid-March 2020, 98% of the companies in the business services industry in Romania choose the working from home option in order to protect their employees and to ensure the business continuity. 48% of companies that responded to ABSL study will consider a hybrid work system in 2021, 13% of them will continue in the telework system, while 39% of companies believe that in the medium term exclusive telework is not a viable alternative. Although the BPO players in Romania adapted to the new situation, their customers all around the world were affected by the COVID-19 crisis and a lot of projects were put on hold or canceled. Out of the 59 business services companies in Romania which participated at an ABSL survey in 2020, 72% declared a decrease in external or internal demand, due to the global economic crisis. Another important impact of the pandemic is the increase in employees’ retention rate over the past year. The average rate of leavings from companies was 22% for the period 2017 – 2019 and decreased to only 12% between January and July 2020, according to the annual ABSL study.

According to the Market Research and Market Entry Consulting firm, FRD Center, there are expansion opportunities in the BPO Sector in Romania and Emerging Europe. 

Central Eastern Europe, South Eastern Europe and Eastern European countries are globally recognised as strong players in business processes and IT services outsourcing. Numerous multinational companies operating in these sectors choose to expand to the region through the acquisition of local BPO firms. One such example is the FRD Center project briefly described at the link: https://www.frdcenter.ro/portfolio/case-study-three-market-expansion-support-in-bpo-sector/

There are over 1,500 BPO, SSC /GBS, IT and R&D business services centres in Poland, out of which 66% are owned by foreign investors. 95 Fortune Global 500 investors have business services centres in Poland. The value of exports of business services in 2019 from Poland recorded 19.8 billion USD. The share of the business services sector in the GDP in Poland is 3 – 3.5% and growing. The total number of jobs at business services centres in Poland reached 338,000 in Q1 2020, accelerating at a compound annual growth rate of 12.1% during 2016 – 2020. The number is expected to reach 363,000 in Q1 2021.

For more details consult the FRD Center demo study available at this link: https://www.frdcenter.ro/bpo-sector-in-romania-h1-2021-a-demo-sector-overview-by-frd-center/

The total number of employees in the business services sector in Czechia was of 120,000 in 2020 and is expected to grow to 130,000 in 2021. The employment growth was of 5% in 2020, proving the sector adaptability, flexibility and resilience during the pandemic crisis. The employment growth is expected to be of 5% in 2021. Currently there are 330 business services centres in Czechia. The business services centres in Czechia are increasingly becoming hubs of innovation and excellence, 73% of all processes being delivered in the advanced or partner stage in 2020, compared to 68% in 2018.

In spite of being affected by the vicininty with a conflict zone, Ukraine is known as a preferred destination for business service centers, especially for IT outsourcing in Eastern Europe. Some of its competitive advantages include: – low operating costs – large skilled labor force of more than 14 million people – advanced level of education – favorable tax regime, especially for the IT sector It is estimated that 185,000 people are employed in the BPO and outsourcing industry in Ukraine, with an expected growth up to 220,000 by 2022.

For more details download the FRD Center demo study available at this link: https://www.frdcenter.ro/bpo-sector-in-romania-h1-2021-a-demo-sector-overview-by-frd-center/

Hungary is one of the leading international hubs for business services in CEE, due to highly educated workforce, investor friendly business environment and developed infrastructure. There were 131 business services centres in Hungary in 2020 employing 63,892 people. They have the following operational model: – 54% captive – 27% hybrid – 19% BPO Unlike other countries in the region which are focused on IT, Hungarian centers mainly deliver finance and accounting (80%) and HR (40%) processes.

FRD Center assists international companies with overseas expansion, market research, targets origination and market entry to the Emerging Markets in Eastern Europe, CE and SE Europe. Are you a foreign company looking to expand, acquire local players, build strategic partnerships or to find new Clients in Eastern Europe? As one of the pioneer privately owned market entry advisory firms in Romania, operating for 20 years, FRD Center has high competencies in market entry advisory and is quite well placed to assist foreign companies with a multitude of aspects related to new vendor identification & selection, market opportunity assessment, B2B matchmaking with local Decision Makers and M&A in Romania and the region.

For in-depth analysis of the BPO players and call-centers in Romania and other markets in Eastern Europe, as well as for target origination and M&A assistance, contact the FRD Center team at email: europa@frdcenter.ro

What are the Opportunities in the Romanian Agriculture Sector for foreign manufacturers of farm machinery, agricultural equiment, agro-chemicals?

Opportunities in the Romanian Agriculture Sector

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What are the Opportunities in the Romanian Agriculture Sector for foreign manufacturers of farm machinery, agricultural equiment, agro-chemicals?

Are you interested in the opportunities presented by the Romanian agriculture and grain crops? Do you want to contact the local Decision Makers and establish strategic partnerships?

Perhaps the FRD Center – Factor Regional Development Center – can be of assistance to you. Email our team at europa@frdcenter.ro

According to the latest available data, in 2020 the total cultivated surface in Romania was of 8375.7 thousand hectares.

What are the current and expected developments of the Romanian agriculture? Romania is one of the most important agricultural producers in Europe. Market experts estimate that Romania will retain its first place in the European Union in regards to maize and sunflower production, in 2021.

For more details consult the business blog posting by the market research firm, FRD Center, at this link: https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2021/08/record-wheat-crops-for-romanian.html

More than 10,000 new companies with activities in agriculture, forestry and fishing were established in the first half of this year, five times more than in the same period last year, despite the agricultural year 2020, one of the most difficult for Romanian farmers , shows the data from the Trade Register.

In the agricultural year 2021, Romania is expected to register a historical grain production: 34 million tonnes, four times higher than in 2007, the year of joining EU.

What are the Opportunities in the Romanian Agriculture Sector for foreign manufacturers of farm machinery, agricultural equiment, agro-chemicals?

Last year’s drought brought big problems in the Romanian agriculture, especially in the vegetable area, but things have recovered, and the agricultural year 2020-2021 seems to be very good, considering the autumn crops, such as wheat, barley or rape.

The estimated rapeseed production in Romania for the agricultural year 2021 is 1.3 million tons on an area of 390,000 hectares, being one of the best crops in the last five years.

For the wheat crop the estimated Romanian production is of 11 million tons, for the corn crop the estimations are of 15.48 million tons and for the sunflower seed the expected crop is of 3.35 million tons.

The average wheat production is of 5.4 tons / hectare.

What are the Opportunities in the Romanian Agriculture Sector for foreign manufacturers of farm machinery, agricultural equiment, agro-chemicals?

The market entry consulting firm, FRD Center, has been closely monitoring the agriculture sector in Romania for over 20 years, assisting foreign companies and export promotion agencies with market research, market opportunity assessment and B2B matchmaking at decision maker level with local relevant players.

For an example of a demo report analysing the Romanian Agriculture sector published by the market research FRD Center go to the link: http://www.frdcenter.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Romanian-Agriculture-in-2019-FRD-Center-demo-report.pdf

To receive more details customised to your specific requirements email the FRD Center team at europa@frdcenter.ro

Some examples of Romanian importer-distributors of soil improvement products, fertilisers and agricultural chemicals identified by the market entry consulting firm FRD Center are:

Germina: https://germina.ro

Naturevo: http://naturevo.ro

Biochem: https://biochem.ro

Holland Farming Agro: https://www.hollandfarming.ro

Marcoser: https://www.marcoser.ro

Plantagro: http://www.plantagro.ro

Are you looking to establish commercial relations with Romanian specialised importer-distributors of agro chemicals, agricultural machinery and farm equipment? Perhaps the FRD Center could be of assistance to you. Email us at europa@frdcenter.ro for more details.

For more than 20 years, FRD Center facilitates commercial relations between foreign manufacturers, investors, exporters with local key decision makers and provides B2B matchmaking, Trade Missions, Inward Buyer Missions, Roundtables etc.

What is the current situation and expected evolution of the Romanian fruit and vegetables production? How is the output of Romanian apples, plums or walnuts developing? Are the EU funds being used for improving the local cultivation of agricultural products?

For more details consult the business blog posting by the market research firm, FRD Center, at this link: https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2021/05/romanian-fruit-and-vegetables.html

To receive customised market entry support and consulting according to your specific requirements email the FRD Center team at europa@frdcenter.ro

 

How to find suppliers in Romania?

How to find new suppliers in Romania and Eastern Europe?

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Are you a manufacturer looking for new suppliers in Romania and Eastern Europe? Maybe this GUIDE “How to find new suppliers in Romania and Eastern Europe?” provided by the market entry consulting firm, FRD Center, could be useful to you:

https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-frd-center-how-to-find-new.html

Are you facing challenges with your supply process in Asia? Are your Chinese or Indian suppliers not a solution anymore? Are you looking for new vendors closer to home?

Is your company suffering from supply chain disruption due to the COVID19 pandemic?

Email FRD Center at europa@frdcenter.ro or frdcenter@market-entry.ro with your specific requirements and, upon your request, the FRD Center can initiate the “New Suppliers Search & Selection Process” in Romania, Serbia, Poland, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Turkey etc.

How to find new suppliers in Romania and Eastern Europe? How to identify and select the most relevant suppliers in Eastern European low cost countries such as Romania? FRD Center assists foreign companies with their New Vendors Search & Selection needs for twenty years.

For your particular needs contact the FRD Center team at email: FRDCenter@market-entry.ro or Europa@frdcenter.ro

This is the FRD Center “How to find new suppliers in Eastern Europe” Guide available for free download also at

https://www.frdcenter.ro/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/New-Suppliers-Identification-in-Emerging-Europe-A-Nearshore-Sourcing-Guide-by-FRD-Center.pdf

How to find new suppliers in Romania and Eastern Europe? The New Vendors Search & Selection project developed by FRD Center for the foreign Client aims to enable the Client to correctly identify and select local relevant players in the respective Target Groups in markets such as Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, Lithuania etc.

Stage 1: Longlist generation:

The FRD Center activities to be performed in this stage will mainly consist of, but are not limited to:

a) detailed scan and analysis of the players in the local market(s) for identifying potential target companies, according to the criteria and profile provided by the Client.

b) prepare longlist of selected companies and collect data of the target companies matching the given profile.

Details should be, where available / obtainable at this stage:
· year of setting up / established
· sales/ turnover and sales track record / turnover history for the last 3 years
· segments in which the company operates/serves
· types of products they manufacture – from the three categories specified by the Client
· technical capabilities, technologies and machinery used
· raw materials sources
· experience so far, examples of projects
· examples of clients / external partners, if the case
· quality systems in place
· available in-house infrastructure and logistic experience
· number of technical staff
· experience in export
· packaging experience

For more details contact the FRD Center team at email: FRDCenter@market-entry.ro or Europa@frdcenter.ro

For the FRD Center Nearshore Sourcing in Emerging Europe Guide go to https://www.frdcenter.ro/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/New-Suppliers-Identification-in-Emerging-Europe-A-Nearshore-Sourcing-Guide-by-FRD-Center.pdf

Stage 2: Short-listing / Qualification
· The Client will consult the long-lists received from FRD Center and will shortlist the Priority A companies
· Based on the shortlist provided by the Client, FRD Center will proceed to check for potential issues, legal and reputation problems: background check and reputation check of the potential business partners from public sources and from FRD Center’s network of contacts; Eliminate from the short-list those players that return problematic results following this research
· As a next step, FRD Center will contact* at Decision Maker level the Selected Targets and verify their capabilities, expertise, technologies used, their matching with the Client’s criteria
· Those Targets that prove to be qualified, will be further approached* by FRD Center to obtain from them tailored offers and financial quotations as per the Client’s specific requirements
· prepare a report of the companies’ Decision Makers replies and offers
*Note: the communication with the local Targets will be made in confidence, without disclosing the Client’s identity

For your particular needs contact the FRD Center team at email: FRDCenter@market-entry.ro or Europa@frdcenter.ro

Stage 3: Meetings with Decision Makers
· Should the Client so require, FRD Center will contact the interested Decision Makers in companies which provided offers that are satisfactory and set up 1-2-1 meetings for the Client
· Prepare for the Client the profiles of the Companies, the meetings Agenda
· If needed and specifically requested by the Client, a FRD Center Project Manager can accompany and assist the Client during the meetings

For the FRD Center Nearshore Sourcing in Emerging Europe Guide go to https://www.frdcenter.ro/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/New-Suppliers-Identification-in-Emerging-Europe-A-Nearshore-Sourcing-Guide-by-FRD-Center.pdf

Stage 4: Follow up and Pursuit
· Should the Client so require, FRD Center will follow up and pursue the Decision Makers in most relevant local companies until a contract is signed

Throughout the process: Factory inspections
· Should the Client consider it necessary and so require, FRD Center specialists will visit the Target’s production sites in order to inspect the equipments, capabilities etc. and meet with the Decision Makers on behalf of the Client.
· A visit report will follow providing the findings and conclusions

For the The FRD Center “How to” Guide of Business Partners Search in Emerging Europe go to https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-frd-center-how-to-guide-of-business.html

What do you know about Manufacturing in Emerging Europe: Bulgaria, Czech Rep, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey? For more details visit the FRD Center business blog posting and report at the link https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2020/07/manufacturing-in-emerging-europe.html

How to find new suppliers in Romania and Eastern Europe? Are you looking for new suppliers that can manufacture for you in Romania? Are you trying to identify and contact at Decision Maker level local vendors that you could outsource industrial manufacturing or furniture production to?

More details at https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2019/12/identification-and-qualification-of.html

Perhaps the FRD Center can be of assistance to you. Contact us at email: europa@frdcenter.ro

Here are a few examples of completed New Supplier Search and Selection projects by FRD Center:

1 – Search and Selection of providers of complex services in technology manufacturing in Romania: https://www.frdcenter.ro/portfolio/technology-sourcing-for-automotive-oem/

2 – Furniture manufacturers new supplier qualification in Romania for a major Norwegian producer of speciality chairs and furniture: https://www.frdcenter.ro/portfolio/furniture-manufacturers-qualification-in-romania/

3 – Luxury furniture new suppliers qualifications in Romania for Dutch manufacturer: https://www.frdcenter.ro/portfolio/luxury-furniture-new-suppliers-qualifications-in-romania/

4 – Metal sheet parts new vendors identification for global companies: https://www.frdcenter.ro/portfolio/metal-sheet-parts-new-vendors-identification/

How to find qualified furniture producers in Central and South Eastern Europe? Go to https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2018/01/how-to-find-qualified-furniture.html for more details

Where to find the most reliable local players in the metal casting and metal processing sector in Romania?

How to reach metal sheet parts manufacturers in Eastern Europe – new vendors and suppliers for global companies? More details in the FRD Center business blog posting at https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2020/03/metal-sheet-parts-manufacturers-in.html

How is East European manufacturing sector catching up after the COVID19 restrictions? For more details visit the link https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2020/09/east-european-manufacturing-sector-is.html

Who are the main furniture manufacturers in the low cost countries in Eastern Europe? How to contact the players in the Furniture Industry? How to reach the Decision Makers in the the companies manufacturing furniture in the LCCs in Emerging Europe? Why to source in Eastern Europe instead of China or Asia?

For more details visit https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-to-access-qualified-furniture.html

Are you interested to outsource part of your furniture production and assembly in Eastern Europe? What are the opportunities in the Furniture Manufacturing sector in CE and SE Europe? Email us at europa@frdcenter.ro for more details.

Who are the best qualified local manufacturers in CE Europe and SE Europe? How to find qualified local producers in low cost countries in Eastern Europe? Which are the most relevant furniture manufacturers in Poland and in Lithuania? How to find qualified local furniture producers in Romania or in Turkey?

More details at https://market-entry-romania.blogspot.com/2018/12/furniture-manufacturing-in-ce-europe.html

Perhaps the FRD Center can be of assistance to you. Contact us at email: europa@frdcenter.ro

For the FRD Center Nearshore Sourcing in Emerging Europe Guide go to https://www.frdcenter.ro/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/New-Suppliers-Identification-in-Emerging-Europe-A-Nearshore-Sourcing-Guide-by-FRD-Center.pdf

How to identify new suppliers in Eastern European low cost countries? How to reach metal sheet parts manufacturers, metal constructions and machined parts manufacturers in Eastern Europe – new vendors and suppliers for global companies?

How to identify and select the most relevant suppliers in Eastern European low cost countries such as Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Bulgaria, Turkey or Slovakia? 

For over 20 years, FRD Center assists global companies with their sourcing activities in Romania and other markets in Emerging Europe.

Are you interested to identify new vendors and suppliers in low cost countries in Eastern Europe?

Email FRD Center at europa@frdcenter.ro or frdcenter@market-entry.ro with your specific requirements about how to reach metal parts manufacturers, plastic or furniture producers in Eastern Europe – new vendors and suppliers for global companies.

Recently, FRD Center successfully delivered to our Client, a major multinational group active in industrial manufacturing sector, the selected local manufacturers of metal parts of metal sheets identified by FRD Center in Romania as potential new vendors for such products.This was part of a comprehensive new vendor identification process conducted by the FRD Center in Romania. The Client is a major international provider of car body and powertrain process chains in the automotive industry.
The Client’s Head of Localization & BCC Sourcing approached FRD Center with a request for support services as they were looking for vendor base for their requirements in Eastern Europe.
Similarly, in 2020 and 2021, the FRD Center team, assisted foreign companies from Italy and, respectively, The Netherlands, with the successful identification, selection and contacts at Decision Maker levels of manufacturers in Romania in order to initiate sourcing collaborations for metal constructions, metal machined parts, stainless steel sheets parts and components, integrated assemblies etc.
Are you a manufacturer looking for new suppliers in Romania and Eastern Europe?
Email FRD Center at europa@frdcenter.ro or frdcenter@market-entry.ro with your specific requirements and, upon your request, the FRD Center can initiate the “New Suppliers Search & Selection Process”.