Sourcing and procurement of products, resources and services are usually carried out mostly from China, India, and other developing Asian countries. This is due to the easy availability of raw materials and the presence of abundant cheap yet skilled labour. The Eastern Europe procurement freelancer, engaged with exporting resources from these countries, might fare better in exploring the opportunities to source from places that are nearer to the market. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are largely underused by Western Europe and the rest of the world, for procuring resources, although these regions have enough potential to rival China, the largest manufacturing hub in the world.

A Closer Look at the Region

The Central and Eastern European regions are very competitive locations for procurement and sourcing because of the presence of a favourable atmosphere for business, strong potential and demands in the local markets. Moreover, the total landed costs are low, and the regions are filled with suitable managers and engineers, who are very efficient at their work. The sourcing experts opine that the CEE regions have a very competitive market which will continue growing for the next few decades. The Eastern European countries possess exceptional productivity and capabilities by offering a business environment that is more favourable than the ones found in Asian countries.

Strategic Factors to be Considered

Considering the strategic factors like capitalising on local talents, the potential of the local market, and the risks of port congestion, it becomes profitable to source and procure materials and services from the central European countries than that from China or any other Asian country.

Competitive costs: The labour costs in central and eastern Europe are relatively less, compared to that in the rest of Europe. The labour costs are lower in the newly emerging economies like Romania, Belarus, Ukraine, than in the already developed economic countries included under CEE. So, it becomes beneficial to source and procure products and services from these countries instead of from countries in Asia to save both time, money and energy.

Dealing with port congestion: All the materials are imported from China, overseas, and consequently, the ports in the western part of Europe face the issues of strained networks, shortage of labour and congestion of traffic. Although the far eastern ports may be utilised in this respect, yet it is wise to use the ports of the CEE countries, which have favourable environmental conditions and lenient rules of maritime trade. There comes in the role and importance of an Eastern Europe procurement freelancer.

Market growth and opportunities: The CEE countries have enough potential and opportunities for market growth and development. Being a smaller region than China or the other Asian countries, the countries of CEE have a lesser population, yet they produce almost the same amount of GDP, per capita. The CEE countries consist of more than ten national markets which comprise of the regional subsegments, targeted by the different companies.

The sourcing experts are also in favour of the talent pools that are available among the people of CEE. There are trained engineers, skilled labourers, meritorious students and efficient managers to regulate and control the process of sourcing and procurement for not only the rest of Europe but also the rest of the world.