Since 2015, the largest courier company in the world and leader in transportation and specializing in logistics services, had begun searching for the right place to open their next Global Business Services office. The goal was to centralize their back-office operations for Latin America, Canada and the United States. Before the decision was made, they had evaluated six cities in five countries. San José, Costa Rica; Guadalajara, Mexico; Bogotá, Colombia and a few cities in Chile and Brazil were some of those on their radar. However, the legal and financial stability that this country offers, along with the transport infrastructure of this particular city, human talent, transformation process and scope on innovation, were decisive in their decision to opt for Medellín.
Innovation, infrastructure, talent and stability were some of the reasons that attracted UPS, the multinational corporation settled in Medellín, since the beginning of 2017.
The multinational corporation, which this year turned one-hundred-ten years old, needed a strategic location in the region, where time zones and language would not be a problem. They were searching for a place they could recruit skilled workforce and, in Medellín, they found not only what they expected, but a little bit more, as well.
Initially, they knocked on the doors of ProColombia and they, in turn, connected UPS with the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, ACI Medellín. The Agency was responsible for showing UPS the reasons why they should think about Antioquia’s capital.
The Agency explained to them all about the business fabric of the city. They were told Medellín is home to six of the ten companies with the highest market value in the Colombian Stock Exchange, which houses the headquarters of the so-called “Multilatinas.” Medellín is among the five cities in the country with the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity. They were informed about the benefits of the strategic location of the city, high economic performance in recent years, competitiveness in terms of operating costs, the commitment for innovation, quality of universities, human talent, but above all, the process of social transformation the city has undertaken during the past decade.
“When we saw their (ACI) presentation, our eyes were opened and we said, ‘We need to see Medellín,’” says Douglas Pierce. He adds, they have also found a city full of opportunities, a place to grow. They detected the market is not saturated by companies dedicated to back office operations, their main core business division operating in the city today. This operation supports its transportation services, logistics, healthcare and storage in Latin America. They thought it was a fundamental element which played to their advantage.
There are 100 employees in Medellín, we expect to increase that figure to 400 very soon.
Landing did not occur immediately. It was during 2016, when they made the final decision, but only in March this year, did UPS officially open its shared service center for the region on the eighth floor of Ruta N. There, a hundred people are in charge of accounting, accounts payable and receivables, billing, among other support functions of the corporation’s division. At the beginning, there were only a handful of employees but in five months, it has multiplied and reached one hundred people. “In this office we have English, Spanish and Portuguese languages,” says Pierce, adding that the result has been so successful that they began nightshift operations in November, working double shifts, one between 7:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and another between 8:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. “This is very common for UPS in the United States, not in Colombia, but we will try,” he explains and underscores the possibilities of job creation and what it means in a city where the unemployment rate is close to 9,5%.
Creating bridges
During the UPS settlement process in Medellín, ACI Medellín has supported them. Its function is creating bridges, opening doors and supporting investors who come from other countries, so that they can adapt to the city.
In the case of UPS, the Agency created the connection with Ruta N, the place where the company headquarters operate. This building is located in the heart of the city’s Northern Innovation District, a zone that is one of the biggest city pledges. At the moment, what is clear is that more and more companies, the size of UPS, are turning their eyes toward the city, with real interest on exploiting its competitive advantages and ecosystem of innovation, which the city has launched, seeking to become one of the most dynamic in Latin America.
The challenge for the city, as Douglas Pierce explains, is to continue showing the new face of Medellín. “Changing the perception that the world still has” and making other investors open their eyes, too, as they did. New investors can find a space to grow in Medellín, as well as a way to contribute to the city’s development.
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