The Advantage

Irish companies have a unique approach to partnering with global customers. The Irish workforce is one of the most flexible and educated in the world and a forward-looking mindset means that product, service and process innovation is a key driving factor. Coupled with a proven track record of meeting global market leader needs, the Irish Advantage is obvious.

Two of the most important things for any customer in choosing a partner are flexibility and adaptability. Ireland has been ranked first in the world for both by IMD in their 2017 Global Competitiveness Yearbook. This adaptability is a key factor in Irish companies’ success in overseas markets – enabling them to approach problems from the customer’s perspective and offer bespoke solutions to their specific requirements.

The adaptability of Ireland’s exporting companies is further helped by a young, motivated workforce, which, according to the OECD, is one of the most educated in the world. Ireland’s education system also ranks in the top 10 globally for meeting the needs of a competitive economy.

Innovation is a key source of competitive advantage and again, Irish companies have a leading position worldwide with the European Commission’s 2017 Innovation Scorecard ranking Irish SMEs number one for innovation. Customers of Irish companies worldwide are leveraging this innovation to improve operational efficiency and productivity as well as enhancing their own product portfolios.

Building on two decades of investment in science and technology, the Irish Government is continuing to put innovation first and is currently implementing a strategy called Innovation 2020. One of its main aims is to ensure that companies based in Ireland outperform their competitors in international markets. A key target of the strategy is to grow the number of research personnel in industry by 60% to 40,000 by the end of the decade.

Research collaboration between the Irish state and industry is unparalleled. Last year, academic researchers supported by the Irish Government recorded 1,036 collaborative projects between companies and Higher Education institutions.

In light of Brexit, the question of supply chain stability has become a pressing issue for companies worldwide. Ireland will continue to be an active and committed EU member. This means certainty and continuity for EU customers purchasing from Irish companies – and no risk of supply chain interruption, new tariffs or legal complications arising.

Irish companies think globally – for many of our business-to-business companies, exports account for more than 90% of sales. Irish companies also have a long history of serving major global multinationals with Irish operations and as a result are outstanding on the world stage when it comes to compliance with international regulations.

In the uncertain post-Brexit era, Irish companies provide the reassurance that they are operating from a country with a stable supply chain. Ireland was deemed to have the third-most resilient supply chain in the world, according to the 2016 FM Global Resilience Index.