This article was published by El Universal newspaper.
The strategy of outsourcing processes to geographically close locations, better known as nearshoring, has gained significant importance in recent years. This strategy reverses the one in which the most important thing was to save up to five percent regardless of transportation costs or the instability that governments and policies of countries on the other side of the world from the investing companies could represent.
Nearshoring, as accurately stated by Juan Francisco Torres Landa, is nothing other than having the best possible scenario: minimizing risks and having nearby suppliers that ensure compliance with delivery times. Although Mexico fits this description, there are other factors that are part of this better scenario.
Certainly, as pointed out by the specialist lawyer, although our geographical location accounts for the highest percentage of competitive advantages, there are other contributing factors. The network of trade agreements that Mexico has woven; the stability we enjoy; the skilled labor we have, which is already starting to become scarce, as well as our capacity and quality in research and development (R&D), also add up.
R&D and corporate outsourcing strategies lead to a relationship of mutual benefits and opportunities; a virtuous circle. Thus, the Mexican science and technology system and the innovation ecosystem, and within these, the public research centers, have in nearshoring a great ally to awaken from the lethargy and nightmares they have suffered in recent years due to the lack of vision they have and the backwardness to which they have been subjected.
Public research centers have a place in this better scenario. Collaboration between these centers and nearshore companies can generate mutual benefits. On one hand, foreign companies can take advantage of the experience and knowledge of the centers; on the other hand, these centers can access financial and technological resources that allow them to advance in the number and complexity of research and develop larger-scale projects.
The R&D results of centers such as CIMAV in Chihuahua; CIATEQ and CIDESI in Querétaro; CIATEC in León; CIATEJ in Guadalajara, and COMIMSA in Saltillo, illustrate how the collaboration that nearshoring now needs has resulted in successful projects that have translated, and should continue to do so, into mutual benefits.
Nearshore companies rely on technology to obtain the necessary inputs for the products that are locally manufactured; the centers benefit not only from income but also from the creation of joint research laboratories, the exchange of highly trained researchers, investment in infrastructure, and the possibility of licensing intellectual property rights.
Despite the opportunities and benefits that arise from nearshoring, Mexico faces challenges in terms of investment in science and technology. According to INEGI statistics, R&D expenditure represents only 0.5%, which is well below the OECD average. This low investment hinders the country’s scientific and technological progress and highlights the need to increase funding in this area.
We cannot continue with a ridiculous and shameful budget for R&D, because while the cash register of the centers starts to ring, we must invest. Even less can we subject science and technology to outdated ideologies and national projects. Public policies should aim at collaborations like the one referred to here, to generate significant advances and strengthen Mexico’s position in the global knowledge economy.
