The Engineering R&D (ER&D) space has been experiencing significant changes, with enterprises working to transform their products, services, and operations with new technologies and align them with evolving end-user expectations. The global macroeconomic environment has also been impacting the way global enterprises engineer, manufacture, and sell their products. Enterprise response to technology and macroeconomic developments is also apparent in the way they leverage global sourcing for product and process engineering.

In 2019, the ER&D space stayed largely resilient to macroeconomic shocks. While ER&D spending in traditional areas experienced moderate growth, accelerated investments in digital technologies helped sustain the growth momentum for overall ER&D spending. Global sourcing also continued to grow at a steady pace, and challenges in verticals such as aerospace and defense, semiconductors, and industrial and energy were offset by an uptick in other verticals.

In 2020, it is imperative to examine how key macroeconomic and technological factors will stack up to influence ER&D spending and global sourcing. We have identified five such factors and, in this viewpoint, provide an evidence-backed view on their expected movement in 2020, along with their impact on ER&D spending and global sourcing.

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