Lucernex expert and EVP Ken Brown’s (see Ken’s management summary here) article written for IWMSNews: See the article here
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While no one can say for sure, it appears based on the recent positive GDP announcement, that the U.S. economy has bottomed out and we are now in the midst of what may be a longer and slower recovery when compared to past economic recessions. The events of the past 24 months have forced growth-minded real estate companies to re-examine or retool their business models to optimize efficiencies and harness opportunities. Economists believe future growth is expected to come from overseas markets, especially Asia and the “BRIC” nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China).
Many corporate and retail real estate companies are using this opportunity to expand globally into Asia, Europe, and the BRIC nations. New stores are opening and new manufacturing facilities are under construction. There are many reasons for this shift. Growth in the United States is not expected to be as strong as projected growth from the emerging markets. And, the financing markets may be more receptive to opportunities in these faster growing regions of the world. As part of a push by companies to tap into global growth, companies must accordingly adopt a strategy to “globalize their corporate real estate portfolio.
However, moving into foreign and emerging markets does not come without risk and challenge. In order for any company to operate a global real estate portfolio, they need to be able to standardize and track the real estate lifecycle process. This may span several different countries and include different languages, currencies, time zones, and measurement systems.
As an example, imagine a United States headquartered corporation with manufacturing facilities opening in Brazil, China and Canada. How is this United States-based company expected to be able to track the development and eventual operation of these different facilities in real-time, and be able to actively manage all processes? At Lucernex, we believe it is critical to implement a system that will standardize all variables for a company’s global real estate portfolio. The newest version of IWMS software can do just that – easily track and standardize currency, measurements and time zones. And, this software will also help a company better track its leases, costs, and employee count, too. Lx IWMS also now has Lx LseMod software integrated providing fully internationalized lease analysis using any currency or measurement with all results flowing automatically into Lx IWMS site selection module for optimal decision making.
Companies using Lucernex applications are actively benefiting from these tools and have found the value and efficiency it provides to be critical to the real estate development and management process. In today’s emerging global real estate business, if an IWMS system cannot handle a company’s complete portfolio, that company is at an extreme disadvantage.
It’s true. Moving into foreign and emerging markets always come with certain risks and challenges. So far, our business is just expanding in the US. In the event that it goes global in the near future, I’ll keep the IWMS software in mind. Thanks for the info!