For example, in the Mexico Digital Maturity Report 2024 presented by the firm Needed, the digital IQ was 38.26%, an improvement compared to 34.93% in 2023. “There is a constant but slow increase in the digital evolution of companies, with a high risk of loss of competitiveness for organizations and the country against other regions,” the report indicates.
In the 2024 edition of the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, Mexico ranked 59th out of 67 surveyed countries, with a final score of 46.21 out of 100, showing a drop compared to its 2023 position (54th). The analysis highlights “a stagnation in digital technology education and future readiness.”
Meanwhile, in the Global Innovation Index 2024, Mexico ranked 56th among the 133 surveyed economies. It ranked 10th among the 34 economies in the upper-middle-income group and 3rd among the 20 economies in Latin America and the Caribbean.
But what is happening at the business level, and to what extent is digitalization contributing to business sustainability?
Some experts point out that Mexico shows a duality in the digital transformation process, creating a significant gap: “While large corporations are making great strides in digitalization, SMEs face significant challenges.” It is worth noting that these smaller companies “form the backbone of the Mexican economy and face obstacles such as lack of access to capital, difficulty attracting qualified talent, and low adoption of advanced technologies.”
On the other hand, as another analyst points out, although Mexico has invested more in industry digitalization and automation compared to other Latin American nations, “the country still has to catch up with international standards.”
At the same time, despite the great potential that digitalization brings to businesses, “its reach and use are still limited for many entrepreneurs with social and environmental impact in Mexico,” says a third report, as impact investment does not reach many of them.
Environmental Impact of Technology
Technology has the potential to make a commercial and operational circuit more sustainable, both in terms of its impact on the business itself and on the environment. In other words, digital transformation not only promotes process modernization but also enhances business and environmental resilience and sustainability.
It is important to highlight that today, sustainability in companies is not just a strategy aimed at achieving resilience and efficiency but is already a demand from consumers and markets, which prefer sustainable and socially responsible companies. Digitalization can also help organizations “respond to these demands by tracking their environmental impact.”
Sustainable Companies in Mexico
A SAP study found that 55% of Mexican companies are committed to the environmental impact of technology and consider it a business priority. According to this survey, more executives see sustainability as an opportunity to sell more (34%) and create a competitive advantage (33%). Additionally, 68% of companies have or are planning to obtain a technological tool to manage their environmental sustainability activities.
For example, an analysis indicates that the Mexican food industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by sustainable technology. This evolution is improving internal production and distribution processes “and also promotes more responsible practices with the environment and the community.” In this sector, digitalization facilitates the integration of automated systems that enhance efficiency and accuracy: Internet of Things (IoT) solutions optimize end-to-end traceability and logistics; and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) revolutionize operational efficiency in the supply chain.
In this sector, the analyst highlights the case of a well-known bakery company that implemented a comprehensive energy and vibration monitoring system in its industrial ovens using IoT technology; this allowed it to “adjust its oven operation cycles to optimize energy use without compromising the quality of the final product, as well as identify and correct mechanical issues before they became costly failures.”
At Baufest, we contribute our experience and knowledge to support digital transformation processes and help increase the number of sustainable companies in Mexico.