Study Report: Suzhou Innovative SMEs and UN Procurement System

Since the beginning of 2020, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia has caused serious impact on the economic development of various countries. Due to the transformation and change of economic structure, enterprises in different countries are facing both opportunities and challenges. In the current economic and financial background, people's investment preference has also begun to shift. Some enterprises has made targeted adjustments on decision-making for such transformation of preferences. This adjustment may lead to further structural changes in market, which will affect people's investment and consumption choices. This two-way effect may promote the development of new markets in the future.

On September 12, jointly sponsored by Green Light Year, a public welfare organization focusing on sustainable development education, and International Business School of Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University, the cloud research team of 2020 "China ecological practice project CEAP" completed the report of CEAP cloud research project - aiming at "Unicorn" enterprises and "Gazelle" enterprises in Suzhou and find out their awareness of United Nations procurement and their willingness to enter this procurement project.

The report gives the basic information of UN Procurement system. UN procurement refers to the procurement of goods and services for various UN organizations by the UN Secretariat and the procurement division of UN headquarters. The procurement activities of the United Nations for its own use, peacekeeping, humanitarian, emergency relief and development assistance are carried out by its subordinate agencies and organizations in accordance with their respective procurement policies. It has become one of the important goals for enterprises in many developing countries and countries with economies in transition to become a supplier of UN Procurement so that they could open up the markets. For enterprises, joining the UN procurement market can obtain many competitive advantages, such as enhancing the corporate image, opening up international channels, broadening the international market, enjoying tax-free treatment and avoiding the negative impact of political factors Etc. The enterprises surveyed in this research also hope to establish long-term partnership with the UN Procurement System for their future development. At the same time, they also hope to get policy support from the government to help them join the UN Procurement System.

In order to better match the needs of the United Nations, the research team selected 134 enterprises that produce final goods from more than 300 Unicorn enterprises and gazelle in Suzhou as the main research objects. The research team conducted background investigation, telephone interview, collection of the enterprises’ intention to enter UN Procurement System and obtained a series of findings. Among the enterprises, 15 enterprises (including 1 Unicorn enterprise and 14 gazelle enterprise) have the intention to learn about the United Nations procurement system and they answered the questionnaire. The remaining 119 enterprises have no intention to join the United Nations procurement system. The main findings are as follows:

1. According to the survey, most unicorn and gazelle enterprises lack of understanding and understanding of the UN Procurement System. Only less than 15% of the enterprises have some knowledge of the UN Procurement System. In terms of international trade, about 67% of the research enterprises have their products sold abroad and hope to expand the international market, so they have the potential to participate in UN Procurement.

   
   

2. When referring to the requirements for the enterprises to enter UN Procurement System, 95% of the 15 enterprises that answered the questionnaire met the industry requirements and standards of UN Procurement;

   
   

3. 50% of the research enterprises (including a unicorn enterprise) are highly interested in the training course related to UN procurement, which shows that the enterprises have great expectations for the improvement of internal staff ability and the role of employees in UN Procurement;

   
   

4. From the current international situation, due to the special reasons of the epidemic, enterprises will face both opportunities and challenges from the national and international levels. Enterprises may become more diversified or sustainable, and the competition among enterprises may be further intensified;

According to the survey results, the research team suggests that the government should set up a UN procurement information website, strengthen the contact with the United Nations procurement Promotion Association, hold the United Nations procurement promotion conference every year, and increase the cooperation with international universities to provide more international talents for enterprises. The research team also suggests that enterprises pay more attention on the UN Procurement Information and the international market demand. They should actively respond to the government's favorable policies. Enterprises can also introduce more international talents to help broaden the international market. In addition, through the application of information and intelligent technology to improve product quality, enterprises are able to stand out from many enterprises.

Dr. Ellen Touchstone, Associate Dean of IBSS commented:

This is IBSS’s second year of cooperating with the China Eco-Apprentice Programme run by the Green Light Year Organisation. We were very impressed with the internship programme our students participated in last year and therefore jumped at the chance to collaborate again this year.

This year’s internship programme had IBSS students conducting a survey of Suzhou unicorn and gazelle firms, polling these companies about their awareness of and interest in the UN Procurement System.

Our students came away having practiced valuable networking and research skills while IBSS, government agencies and the companies involved gained an impressive report which can be used to encourage more companies to pursue UN Procurement System certification.

At present, Chinese companies are most definitely under-represented among suppliers to the 39 UN-affiliated organizations such as UNICEF. This is a missed opportunity as this procurement system is worth $20 billion US annually and can help companies gain recognition for their brands and open up new markets. One of the major findings is that one reason Suzhou companies are not tapping into this system is because they report having difficulty finding international talents.

I am pleased to report that IBSS and XJTLU have those international talents - our undergraduate and post-graduate students - are well-trained with an international mindset!

It is very important to understand the strength and opportunities for local SMEs through understanding what UN procurement system is, especially under the COVID-19 pandemic. I am so happy to have 16 excellent students from IBSS of XJTLU who worked seamlessly to complete this online survey with good quality. I hope more university students will have a clearer career planning after completing a challenging real-life internship," said Huan Ni, the Founding Director of Green Light Year Environmental Service Center.

Introduction to the sponsor of the project:

Green light year

Shanghai Minhang District Jiangchuan Green Light Year Environmental Service Center (hereinafter referred to as "Green Light Year") is a private non-enterprise public welfare organization formally registered with the Civil Affairs Bureau of Minhang District, Shanghai in December 2015. Its mission is to let the public happily practice Concept of sustainable development.

Beginning from the earliest community-based environmental protection grassroots organization that promotes sustainable lifestyles, Green Light Year is now transforming into a professional sustainable development education institution. In China, Shanghai Green Lightyear has established the Suzhou Industrial Park Green Lightyear Science Popularization Service Center in January 2018 .

Green Light Year is currently cooperating with universities, primary and secondary schools, enterprises and various grassroots communities. It commits to building a both domestic and international exchange platform for sustainable development education through the exploration and practice of enabling sustainable education to various institutions.

Contact information

WeChat Public Account: Green Light Year

Official address: https://www.green-lightyear.org

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University was established in 2006 as a Sino-foreign cooperative university jointly established by Xi'an Jiaotong University and the University of Liverpool. As a new type of independent international university, XJTLU fully combines the advantages of the two alma maters to become China's first and currently only Sino-foreign cooperative university approved by the Ministry of Education.

XJTLU International Business School, as the largest school among the seven schools of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, is constantly expanding its scale and influence to achieve the goal of “driving business influence, serving the business community and society, and becoming China’s top international business school” mission. The school takes internationalization, innovation, heuristics and integrity as its guiding principles, and contributes to society by leading education, scientific research and commercial participation. In 2016, IBSS became the youngest business school accredited by the American Association of Business Schools (AACSB), and in 2018 it became the youngest business school accredited by EQUIS again.

IBSS has five departments: Accounting, Economics, Finance, Intelligent Operation Management and Marketing, and Strategy and Organization Management. Its diversified and international faculty team consists of more than 140 employees, including top scientific researchers and experienced corporate professionals from more than 60 different countries around the world. There are currently more than 5000 students. The International Business School uses English as the language of instruction and provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses covering all major business disciplines, including doctoral degree programs and International Master of Business Administration (IMBA). The advanced teaching building of IBSS provides students with the most cutting-edge teaching environment, including multimedia blended learning classrooms, financial technology laboratories, and experimental economics laboratories. There is a small and medium-sized enterprise entrepreneurship center in the college, and the upcoming opening of responsibility and sustainable business Education Center.

Innovative interactive cooperation with domestic and foreign business circles and solid academic research skills are rooted in the teaching of IBSS. The college trains Chinese students who are familiar with international business rules and international talents who adapt to the Chinese business environment. Professor Jorg Bley, Dean of XJTLU International Business School pointed out: "All disciplines set up by XJTLU International Business School emphasize soft skills such as critical thinking and effective communication. At the same time, the concepts of innovation, entrepreneurship and continuous improvement are also integrated into the teaching of each subject. In."

Most of the school’s 5,000 alumni have worked in large companies, including the Big Four accounting firms and large international banks in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taipei.

IBSS has close ties with the business community. For corporate customers, such as CRRC (the world's largest manufacturer of train cars), the business school provides a series of customized group exercises and seminars, as well as interdisciplinary courses for managers at all levels. At the same time, the college also has online and offline public courses for companies to participate in.

Suzhou Executive School (SEA) is a think tank platform organized by XJTLU International Business School, mainly for companies in the Yangtze River Delta region. The SEA event brought together many academics and business people to provide opinions and suggestions on various business issues and provide a rare opportunity to contact more senior management.

IBSS has now obtained the full certification of the Institute of Chartered Certified Accountants ACCA, the CIMA certification of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the CPA Australia certification of the Australian Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the ICAEW certification of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Since its inception, XJTLU International Business School has been committed to promoting ethics, responsibility and sustainable development education in business education. It is one of the only eight business schools in China that have entered the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) global program. One. In addition, the college will host the PRME annual research conference in 2021.

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University is located in Dushu Lake Higher Education District, Suzhou Industrial Park. Suzhou is one hour away from Shanghai by car, and it has a long history as an education center in China. Suzhou Industrial Park is a regional center for innovation and change. More than 120 Fortune 500 companies are located here, providing abundant R&D opportunities. In the 2019 Global Liveability Index, Suzhou ranks 75th among the most livable cities and first in China.

Contact information

Address:

No. 8, Chongwen Road, Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation Zone, Industrial Park, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

South Campus Business School Building

Zip code: 215123

Phone: +86 (0)512-8816 1176

Official website: https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/departments/academic-departments/international-business-school-suzhou/