Why Mexico is the best place for nearshoring
BY: Alejandro Salmón
RightSource “We Build Teams”
A great nearshoring partner is difficult to find, but sometimes it is worth looking at your neighbor.
We are talking about forging relationships in Mexico rather than other countries. As much as Asian countries may be great for new American business, full of natural beauty and being located almost at the heart of the Asian continent, there are quite some downsides regarding the development of outsourcing software.
Mexico vs global Nearshoring
Time zones, for example, are completely different; and culturally speaking, are opposites. Another obstacle would be communication, although English is taught in most schools, ideas and concepts tend to be “stiff” when talking business.
Mexico, on the other hand, is a paradise for American companies, because of the geographic and cultural proximities, and the almost identic time zones. As a developing country, it has a great potential for engineering resources within its borders.
Why Nearshoring in Mexico is the best option?
Let us elaborate culturally speaking, Mexico is greatly influenced by the Americans, from sports, lifestyle, to television and even food: Mexico is “up to date” when it comes around American culture and trends. This includes the English language, which is instructed in almost all schools, and is extremely important when applying for any type of job, especially for those which are internationally orientated.
Speaking of which, important companies tend to be located around two main zones, the center (composed of Mexico City, and surrounding states, such as Monterrey and Guadalajara), and the peninsula area (Mérida and Cancun specifically); each of which have their own enchanting facets.
We want to stress how the time zones of both countries align, which enables live and direct communication to enhance and facilitate efficient negotiation. If a business trip is required, it is cheaper and faster to fly to Mexico City and return the same day home. It sounds insane when it is expressed like that, but one quick search on the internet reveals that flights from Texas to Mexico City take approximately 2 hours, allowing great time management for different activities, business or recreational related.
Regarding work-culture, people tend to be hardworking, loyal, and dedicated to reach the common goal; it is worth noting that a thorough screening is done before hiring employees, which include educational, drug, and criminal evaluations.
Benefits of nearshoring
Recapitulating the benefits of nearshoring, Mexico is a great partner not only because of the vicinity to the USA, but also because of the similar culture that they share. Geographically speaking, most companies tend to be close to one another, and if travel is required, it is usually achievable within a day and tends to be quite economic. Work-related issues are solved effortlessly because of the communication skills and overlapping time zones.
The vast quantity of existing collaborating American-Mexican businesses underline the unique productivity between these two workforces.
Here are some links and sources that are worth reading for more in-dept information:
Cultural Proximity Between US & Mexico
What is Nearshoring? Why Rightsource?
Software Development in Mexico..? A Gringo Businessman Visits Mexico City