Businesses need to adapt faster

Greater globalisation, technological innovation and rocketing customer expectations mean that Europe’s businesses need to move faster, according to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit titled ‘The challenge of speed: Driving slow in the fast lane’. The report, sponsored by Ricoh, examines how companies are responding to the challenges of enhancing agility and speed and reveals that many have failed to identify the growing importance of speed and agility. 

Key data

Only 36% use technology extensively to enable greater speed.

43% say their company has many ideas for improvement but is unable to execute change well, while 30% have the opposite problem; they have the ability to change but lack clear direction about what to do.

42% expect little or no disruption from technology in the next 3 years, despite the disruption reported in the last few overs.

27% believe there is no need to become faster, or even believe that their companies need to slow down.

Additional facts

• Improved speed and agility can also bring risks, with the biggest disadvantage, according to survey respondents, being the danger that quick decisions may be inferior to more well-considered ones.

• The arms of companies that deal with consumers have adapted more quickly than anyone else, but this can put a strain on other units.

• Achieving true speed and agility when dealing with clients requires all processes throughout the company to be aligned and optimised.

• Research claims that despite marked regional differences, Europe is for the most part trailing behind the US, Japan and Canada in terms of building a smarter economy.

The report, ‘The challenge of speed: Driving slow in the fast lane’, is based on a survey of over 460 Europe-based executives from a variety of industries, as well as in-depth reviews with corporate leaders and academic experts, and extensive desk research. You can download the report here.

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