"For decades, multinational companies treated localization as a surface-layer adjustment. They tweaked marketing, packaging, or pricing to suit regional tastes. But in today's fractured world, such superficial localization is no longer good enough. Trade policies conflict. Data laws clash. And many governments now enforce data sovereignty laws and mandates for local sourcing and technology transfer. They require companies to perform key operations, stretching from research and development to manufacturing and data processing, within their country, instead of merely selling products from abroad."
"They require companies to perform key operations, stretching from research and development to manufacturing and data processing, within their country, instead of merely selling products from abroad. The result is a profound shift in how global companies operate. They duplicate supply chains, adjust to local markets in real time, and integrate national and regional suppliers, even at the cost of scale efficiencies, to ensure redundancy and tailor best practices for every market."
Multinational firms previously limited localization to marketing, packaging, and pricing adjustments. Rising trade tensions, conflicting data laws, and government mandates for data sovereignty, local sourcing, and technology transfer now require companies to locate core activities—research and development, manufacturing, and data processing—inside individual countries. Companies respond by duplicating supply chains, integrating national and regional suppliers, and adapting operations to local markets in real time. These changes prioritize redundancy, regulatory compliance, and tailored practices over global scale efficiencies, increasing operational complexity, cost, and strategic emphasis on where capabilities are built.
Read at Harvard Business Review
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