In the 2021-2023 period, 4.3% of the enterprises carried out international sourcing of at least one of their business functions, 0.5 p.p. less than in the 2018-2020 period. Of these enterprises, 46.0% relocated core business functions and 81.2% support business functions. The business functions most relocated to the international market were ICT, production and management and administration, by 47.0%, 35.2% and 34.4% of the enterprises, respectively. Around 64% of the enterprises that carried out international sourcing gave preference to business partners from the same economic group and 82.2% to partners located in the European Union.

59.7% of the enterprises that carried out international sourcing had their main economic activity in the trade and services sector and 73.4% employed less than 250 persons. More than 59% of the persons employed by these enterprises were in core business functions and 40.8% in support business functions.

The jobs lost as a result of international sourcing represented 3.2% of the total number of persons employed by these enterprises and the jobs created 1.7%.

For 36.5% of the enterprises that carried out international sourcing, the strategic decisions made by the group head were a very important motivation for doing so. 

In the 2021-2023 period, 48.6% of all enterprises considered the increase in raw material costs related to energy supply to be a very important constraint on the organization of their operations.