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Currently, we can observe a growing demand in automotive production works in Central-Eastern Europe, not only due to the market recovery in the industry, but also due to the trend to move some parts of the production from developed to developing countries. Such a situation provides subcontractors with a great opportunity to develop their business and an opportunity for global carmakers to save costs by outsourcing the production whilst maintaining the high quality of car parts.

A few years ago Central Eastern Europe became one of the favourite regions, attracting investors’ interests. There are several reasons for this, from the historical, geographical and political to the macroeconomic. CEE has been attractive for companies looking for outsourcing hubs, production operations, new prospective markets and demand, operations diversification as well as investments ideas. This trend affected, inter alia, the mergers and acquisitions area in the region. A large number of international players have already invested in the region or are looking for investment opportunities. We have prepared a short guide for those considering entering the CEE market via an acquisition.

Despite unfavorable economic conditions the outsourcing services market has continued to flourish in the Central and Eastern European region. In 2008 when the inflow of investment in Western Europe was down by 48%, in Central and Eastern Europe it fell by only 9%. In Poland alone, during 2009, the year following the global economic downturn, approximately 10,000 jobs were created in BPO (Business Process Outsourcing). As world markets slowly recover, the outsourcing market dynamics are not really slowing down. There are many reasons behind this success and the highlights of the success of outsourcing in Central and Eastern Europe are given below.

Competitive Intelligence for business purposes is still a new concept in the Central and Eastern European region. The communist era was one in which free market “competitiveness” was almost unknown and “intelligence” was associated with security services. It is, however, both practical and feasible to include Central-Eastern Europe and Russia on the map of countries considered in a Competitive Intelligence study. For companies with significant international business interests for whom Europe is an important market, it is not only desirable but necessary.