Technology and Innovation: Imperatives for Competitiveness

Every entrepreneurial or business project must consider that part of its success depends on its ability to efficiently connect with the market, maintain a strong service orientation, and protect the environment—especially when production or goods transformation is involved.

Customer service, home delivery when the market requires it, and understanding final consumer needs are key to repositioning in different niches.

The debate on competitiveness and innovation gained momentum in Colombia in 2006 with the creation of the National Administrative System of Competitiveness. However, results in recent years have shown a significant stagnation in productivity efficiency at the national level. The industrial sector continues to exhibit a high concentration of goods and services with little sophistication, and exports with added value or technical specifications barely represent 17%.

The National Development Plan has focused on boosting the economy through reindustrialization, seeking productivity improvements with science, technology, and innovation as mechanisms for transformation. However, this demands significant efforts from business leaders to achieve greater efficiency.

Companies, new enterprises, and productive ventures should incorporate technology and innovation into their business plans immediately to achieve an acceptable level of competitiveness in the medium term. Programs such as the Productive Transformation Program (PTP) offer the private sector opportunities to reduce costs and face the challenges of the new industrial era.

The competitiveness issue becomes critical as many companies risk disappearing if they fail to integrate productivity, science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, logistics, and quality into their medium-term strategies. These aspects should have clear execution deadlines, supported by committed resources, to ensure sustainable results.

The international business environment offers examples of countries that have embraced this approach. The United States, Germany, China, South Korea, and the Scandinavian countries have shown that innovation and technology are essential to overcoming the challenges of globalization in this fourth industrial and services revolution.

Japan’s loss of leadership in competitiveness, despite decades at the top, serves as a lesson: lack of diversification and overdependence on a few markets or products can expose any productive unit to a deep crisis.

Gilberto Caicedo Business and Financial Consultant

HHC🔗 https://www.hhcglobal.com/estrategia

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