Moscow News
www.MN.Ru
June 29-July 5, 2005
The Basic Principle of the Race to Catch up with the Leader
By Irina Atlasova
The Russian press is actively advancing the thesis that Russia will never be able to bridge the economic gap between itself and the West because our manufacturing technologies are hopelessly backward, and that we could rectify this situation by means of heavy investments - if we had the money. In highlighting this thesis, the press neglects the fact that present-day business relies less on industrial production and more on the service sphere, which requires neither industrial technologies nor huge investments.
Let us take a living example. A seminar on "Digital Consumer Channel (DCC)" recently took place in a town outside Moscow, attended by global manufacturers of computers and their distributors. The seminar's organizer was French company 3F2D, an acknowledged global leader in the field of business relationship, with an annual turnover of several million dollars.
What is the core business of 3F2D? It brings together people who have common business interests. This is not a tricky job: Manufacturers need to sell their wares, while large distributors constantly need to replenish their stocks with in-demand items. The company 3F2D invites the two groups to seminars where they can make business arrangements between themselves.
It requires organizational skills to prepare such a seminar. According to 3F2D manager Olivier Dalila, to do this work you need to know details of the market, the specifics of the major market participants, the rules of conducting business in various countries, and so forth. The holding of a seminar does not require multi-billion-dollar industrial investment. All you need to organize a seminar is a computer, a fax machine, and a telephone. The chief asset of 3F2D, however, is its intellect.
The extent of the demand for the French company's services is evident from the words of one seminar participant, Owen Kemp, head of the Russia office of Hewlett-Packard. He said: "Participation in such forums enables us to build a mutually beneficial business relationship whereby the vendor, the distributor, and the retailer can exchange business information between themselves. This is one of the major challenges facing us now. Once we are aware of that, 3F2D's economic position will only improve. This, in turn, will make a modest but tangible contribution to the advancement of the French economy."
Can Russian companies work in the sphere of business relationship? Yes, they can. We even have our own brands: Kuzmenkov & Partners, Mikhailov & Partners, Step by Step, and PM Group. Says Maxim Popov, director of the Center for Marketing Services: "Undoubtedly, companies of the caliber of Mikhailov & Partners can operate successfully in this market segment. What is more, national specifics and knowledge of one's own markets, so to speak, constitute an important competitive advantage here." Andrei Pozhalov, marketing director at Ernst & Young, opines: "Companies of the level of PM Group (the Russian coordinator of the DCC forum) offer their services according to world standards. They may well succeed in competing on overseas markets."
Business relationship events are also organized by bodies like the Association of Managers, even though this is not its main activity. This means that in this sphere of business organization, the doors are open to Russian companies, many of which engage in such areas of business as the provision of advertising, consulting, tourism, and other allied services.
Therefore, it is time that Russian business stop lamenting over its backwardness in manufacturing technologies, and start working in areas where this is no problem? There are many areas of business where all that is needed for success is energy, diligence, and creative thinking - qualities inborn in Russians.