10
Stefanini
CASE STUDY: Stefanini
Pathways to China: The Story of Latin American Firms in the Chinese Market
Stefanini is a leading Brazilian IT services firm that provides outsourcing, systems support, and IT consulting to clients in sectors including financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, chemicals, government, and utilities. Founded in 1987 by Marco Stefanini as an IT training center, the company rapidly turned itself into one of Brazil’s largest technology firms, expanding its business lines to include software production and complete systems support and gaining recognition as one of the top IT outsourcing firms in Latin America. By 2011, total revenues reached over US$400 million, and the company currently boasts a presence in 28 countries, providing services in 32 languages. Internationalization has been central to Stefanini’s growth. The company’s first presence in foreign markets came in 1996 through a subsidiary in Argentina, making it the first Brazilian IT company with offices outside the country. The firm’s global orientation is reflected in its revenues; for 2011, some 40% came from international operations, and the figure is expected to reach 50% for 2012. In entering the Chinese market, Stefanini followed a similar path as in other foreign markets, acquiring the US firm Techteam in 2010, which had a small office in Shanghai. An important motivation for the firm in establishing a direct presence in China was to better serve its existing clients—including large multinationals such as Ford Motors and John Deere, the manufacturer of agricultural machinery—that had operations in China. This “follow the client” strategy is typical of firms in highly globalized industries such as IT. Once installed in Shanghai, the company began filling the specific needs of its clients in the country. To do so, Stefanini partnered with local IT contractors, training them in the firm’s approach and way of doing business. In choosing a local partner, Stefanini identified a firm whose US headquarters was located only a half-hour drive from Stefanini’s US headquarters. The company had done business for one of Stefanini’s key customers and had a good reputation. According to Stefanini executives, having easy access to their executive team was a considerable advantage early on in the partnership. However, the use of contractors also limits Stefanini’s brand visibility in China. Moving forward, the goal is to establish mature operations in China. To that end, in November 2011 Stefanini announced plans to invest US$3 million to establish a new unit in China’s Jilin province. The goal is to use its foothold in China to acquire Chinese clients in addition to expanding its business with multinational clients in the country. The new facility has a strategic location. Jilin is a hub for the auto industry in China, and Stefanini is looking to build its client base in this sector. Jilin also has a large Japanese-speaking population, and the company hopes its office there will eventually serve the Japanese market too. Currently, the Jilin site has one employee who is engaged mainly in business development activities; however, the company has ambitious plans: the site has been envisioned to eventually house 100 employees and offer the full range of Stefanini’s services, including a services center for software development, a service desk, and business process outsourcing (BPO) capabilities.
Sources: Information provided by company officials, company Annual Reports, and press.