Global supply chain solution giant, GEP opens third office in India
A survey that Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) conducted in late 2020 and again in September 2022 found that enterprises plan to shake up their supply chain strategies to become more resilient, sustainable, and collaborative with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. To do that, they will increase investment in supply chain technologies like AI and analytics, robotic process automation, and control towers while retraining workers.
Often in uncertain economic environments, companies slow their technology investments to a trickle. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, 92% did not halt technology investments. This speaks to the value of a digital supply chain in helping enterprises navigate disruptive forces and respond faster to volatile supply and demand. Against this backdrop, GEP, a global leader in supply chain and procurement software and services, has opened up its third office in India. Already operating from Mumbai and Hyderabad, the company plans to take full-time employees to 80 or 100 this year after the initial recruitment of 20 employees for the Coimbatore office.
“Impact of COVID on the world’s supply chains is in the rear-view mirror, with one important exception — we are currently seeing a COVID surge in China. Global manufacturers in particular are keeping a close eye on the impact on suppliers. The demand has come back fully post the pandemic. We track global demand and supply as part of our GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index,” said Roopa Gandhi, President, and Founder.
Despite almost two decades of presence, it remains a marginal player in the Indian market. Talking about the strategy, Gandhi said, “European markets offered tremendous opportunities back then and that’s why GEP was focused on these markets until recently. There’s plenty of data to back this up. For Q1, I think we can also safely add that the market for procurement/SC solutions in India has only recently started to grow.”
Founded in 1999) by four India-national entrepreneurs offering procurement services to Fortune500 companies, today GEP is a leading global provider of supply chain and procurement software, services, and consulting, supporting more than 450 Global2000 companies including Bayer, Caterpillar, Walmart, AT&T, and T-Mobile, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Petrobras.
Talking about the supply chain lessons from the pandemic, she said, “Globalization will continue, however, it will need diversification rather than decoupling. Companies are focusing more on multi-sourcing (from greater numbers of regions and suppliers) rather than sole sourcing. 2: Companies building resilience and visibility into the entire global value chain. In the last six to eight months, companies have been rocked by record-high prices, from everything from energy to commodities. In the last month or so, inflation has been brought under control. For instance, lumber prices are down 60%.”
“Going forward, companies are concerned about a slowdown in demand, and we’re seeing an uptick in inventory piling up a little in warehouses and factory floors. However, any recession is anticipated to be mild,” she added.
Being positive about growth in revenue and volumes from the Indian market, Gandhi said, “More than 70% of the firm’s global workforce are located in India, across three offices. GEP revenue is growing double-digit. Historically, GEP has doubled in size every 4 to 5 years. We plan to continue to hire aggressively in India in order to support our global growth. As mentioned, the opening of a third Indian office in December 2022.”
Throwing light on looking at acquisitions in the Indian market as part of its inorganic growth, Gandhi said, ” While GEP is looking for additional acquisition targets specifically in AI and analytics, the company’s focus is on continued organic growth and expansion globally and in India.”