Poland is developing dynamically; it is a sTable economy, a member of the EU, which – for Polish companies – means the access to the world’s biggest free market area. At the same time, Poland is a country of much cheaper, but skilled and educated workforce. Finally, Poland is the biggest of the new EU member states, with the biggest workforce resources, the most considerable scientific and legal potential, and 38-million consumer market.
All these advantages make Poland the most attractive location for investment in Europe, both in the area of production and the services.
According to the report Boston Consulting Group, in the next several years Poland stands a chance to become the manufacturing hub of Europe. The argument for this are the following:
- Manufacturing in Poland is cheaper by about 30% (the reason for this difference is presented in the Chart 24.1)
- The cost of labour is in itself 4 to 10 times cheaper, depending on the sector. Moreover, euqlly important is the fact that this difference will not disappear in the nearest future.
- In many sectors, Polish manufacturing is much more competitive than e.g.Chinese. This applies mainly to such sectors as: electric house appliances, metal products, automotive, furniture. The reason for competitive advantage lies i.a. in the proximity ofPoland to one of the most important consumer markets – the EU, which also influences the costs of transportation.
Apart from production, another area in which Poland, as the biggest Central European country, has a great potential, is service outsourcing. The research conducted by the Ernst&Young in 2005 point to the Central and Eastern Europe as a very good alternative to China or India, especially from the point of view of Western companies. In Economist Intelligence Unit survey among 500 company managers, 1/3 of the surveyed identified this part of Europe as a region with the biggest opportunities in the next 3 years , and Poland was named the 5th most attractive location.
Chart 24.1
Profitability analysis in shifting the manufacturing activities of an automotive companies fromGermany to Poland.
Source: BCG, Polish competitive advantages report,Warsaw, 14.07.2004
