Despite challenging times, global business growth is on the rise, finds Epicor

Percentage of businesses reporting growth – U.S. and global comparison (median averages).

Globally, manufacturing business growth has increased by 3.7 percent (to 103.7 index points) although half of manufacturers admit they have grown under challenging circumstances. This is one of the key findings of the annual Global Growth Index, launched by Epicor Software Corp., a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software.

The Growth Index is designed to measure the state of business growth worldwide by tracking the performance of manufacturing businesses in 14 territories. Taking last year’s results as a base figure (100), it has found that business growth across the globe has increased by 3.7 index points in the last 12 months, awarding the state of business growth with a score of 103.7.

Contributing to this score is a significant growth in the number of manufacturers reporting strong sales/turnover in the last 12 months—up 5 percent from last year to 70 percent overall. A similar trend was observed with profits and product ranges, with a 3 percent boost in the number of businesses growing in each of these areas compared to last year.

Comparing figures on a global scale, the Global Growth Index shows a mixed performance from the U.S., where manufacturers outperformed global average figures in terms of expanding product ranges (66 percent), profits (70 percent), and workforce (54 percent), but underperforming in terms of geographic expansion (44 percent) and exports (also 44 percent).

Manufacturing businesses in Mexico, India, and China had above global average figures in all growth metrics, with the exception of workforce growth, which was reported by just 39 percent of Chinese businesses compared to a global average of 48 percent. European businesses have been most likely to experience growth in terms of geographic coverage and exports/overseas sales; businesses in France and Sweden have led the way, with more than half growing in these areas, compared to 44 percent of U.K. businesses and 46 percent of German businesses.

Despite this worldwide increase in business growth performance, 45 percent of businesses also admitted that the growth they experienced in the last 12 months had been challenging, and 23 percent said it had been stressful. However, 46 percent of businesses globally also agreed that investing in new or better technology is a strategy that will help them overcome their growing pains.