As
India is going to take prominent place in the world economy,
the companies in India are drawing considerable attention.
Though Indian companies are yet to become household names
such as Ford, Coca-Cola, Toyota, or Sony, there are Indian
companies such as Infosys, Reliance, and Tata Steel that have
spread their name in significant ways outside India. When
one looks at the so-called developed countries, it is clear
that a few blue chip conglomerates had played vital roles
in taking such countries to the developed stage. For India
to develop, at least a few prominent companies or conglomerates
must grow tremendously and become not just Indian, but global.
With
the spread of globalization, it has become clear that the
growth and the sustainability of such big companies depend
heavily on how they strategically develop, use, and deal with
their partner companies. Such partner companies could be subsidiaries,
spin-offs, or third-party companies that provide the parts
or services; often they are Small and Medium Size Enterprises,
commonly known as SMEs. The industry giants often have thousands
of such partner companies. When Sony, the Japanese electronic
giant was growing rapidly, at one stage it had close to 5000
suppliers. Same for Sony’s rival Matsushita, the Japanese
home electronic giant; it, at one stage had about 6000 suppliers,
from around the world.
In
order to access the world markets or penetrate certain consumer
segments or to simply procure resources at reasonable costs,
companies with global mindset must learn how to deal with
and manage the SMEs. At the same time, SMEs which intend to
grow in the back of globalization must learn how to deal with
reputed conglomerates if they are serious about staying in
business and developing sustainable growth. |
