Days of you carrying a luggage full of brochures at tradeshows, waiting in the darkness for the safe arrival of shipping vessels and spending $200 on faxes and $120 on courier for export documents a day, are gone.

Instead, having a teleconference on Skype with suppliers in a remote area while locating your shipping vessel on MarineTraffic and checking Alipay for incoming payment is becoming normality for more and more international traders today.

A transparent world and a shorter value chain

Nowadays, free information is only a click away. Middlemen who used to make a fortune by having access to information and overseas contacts find it extremely hard to operate a business the old way. Wholesalers can easily find manufacturers through search engines, online directories (such as World Directory of Importers Associations) and online marketplaces (such as Alibaba); importers and exporters can search and compare global tradeshows at www.tsnn.com.  Hence the traditional value chain consisting of manufacturers, exporters, importers, distributors, sub-distributors /wholesalers and retailers is being replaced by shorter ones.

The implication for importers and exporters is to reposition themselves and add value to the value chain through

• tailored international trade facilitation services
• development of own brands
• possession of special technology knowhow/intellectual property
• strong expertise in a niche market/focused product category
• strong financing capabilities
• backward or forward integration to shorten the value chain and lift profit margin

More E-traders and more B2C trades

Technology enables international traders to conduct trade via internet. Exporters have started cutting off importers and distributors and built their own online stores to target end customers. They may have their own shopping websites in the target country’s language or have online stores on the target country’s online B2C marketplaces. For example, if you target Chinese end customers, you may consider having a Chinese online store on Taobao or Tmall. The practical procedures are still complex as it may involve third parties to manage the online store and marketing in the target country, but it provides a new avenue for exporters to interact with end customers and improve their bottom line by cutting off middlemen.

Some online export models exporters adopt are as follows:

• An online Brand Store with its own domain name managed by the exporter or its distributor or a third party in the target country
• An online store on a target country’s B2C marketplace managed by the exporter’s own office or its distributor/agent or an online store management company in the target country
• Order function on the distributor’s website in the target country
• Order function on the exporter’s own multi-lingual website

Virtual office and virtual organisation structure

Micro-multinational is a recent term referring to small or micro businesses which operate globally by leveraging the capabilities and expertise of upstream and/or downstream partners at various markets overseas. For example, a one-man-band business in Sydney may work as a consolidator of its own brand, and outsource all or part of research and development (R&D), manufacturing, sales and marketing and after-sale services to third parties overseas. In one case, a R&D academy in California is the business’ R&D department, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in inland China works as the business’ production base and its licensing partners overseas are the sales arm of the business. The business does not even have a physical office but rents a virtual office at minimal cost to have a shared receptionist manning the phone nine to five. Although a micro-business is defined by the number of employees it has, the business still has an organisation chart and even generates sufficient revenue to match sizable businesses. Technology enables the micro-multinational business to run on iPhone and iPad and communicate with all its “departments” overseas when the business owner is travelling globally.

In the 21^st Century, Importers and exporters cannot be judged by the size of their office and the number of employees anymore.

Continuous learning and adaptability - a key to success

Global economic landscape in the 21^st century is being reshaped and boosted by knowledge and technology. A key to success for importers and exporters in this century is the ability to learn and adapt to new technology and new models to cope with the ever changing challenges, and seize fast moving opportunities. To catch up with the global industry and technology trend, and be more proactive, importers and exporters may consider taking the following actions:

• Subscribing to industry association and government’s E-newsletters
• Getting involved in social media and check competitors and industry activities via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and search engines
• Regularly up-skilling through attending training programs and business events
• Allocating 15- 20 minutes a day to go through the titles and key contents in the business sections of major newspapers

Importers and exporters need to accept the fact that change is the norm of international trade today, and there is only one option- learn, adapt and succeed.

The selected representatives will relocate to South Australia for a 13 week intensive program working with CEOs, corporate executives and other mentors to discuss the expansion of their companies both locally and internationally.

High-profile program mentors include chief experience evangelist for Microsoft’s US developer and platform evangelism (DPE) team, Chris Bernard.

The ten chosen companies, nine of which are from Australia, were selected from 120 applicants based on the potential of their ideas.

Dr. Jana Matthews, managing director of ANZ Innovyz START said, “We were looking for break-through ideas that could be enabled by web 2.0, software and mobile. We have been very pleased with the breadth and depth of business ideas we’ve seen in the applications for the 2013 ANZ Innovyz START program. The vision, passion and ambition of our entrants is testament to Australia’s burgeoning start-up and small business eco-system.”

The program, modeled on the US program TechStars, is designed to accelerate start-up companies so they’re ready for international expansion.

Nick Reade, ANZ general manager for small business, said, “ANZ’s ongoing support for this program forms part of our commitment to the Australian small business sector and in particular start-up businesses. When you’re a start-up business, success requires more than a great innovative idea, it’s about having the right support, mentoring and access to knowledgeable investors to get off the ground.”

Dynamic Export asked Brendan Brown how he came to start the business and why there’s such a market for English language editing in today’s business environment.

How did the idea for the business come about?
My roots are humbling as far as start up businesses go. I have always loved the English language, and I’ve got a background in writing, but the idea of a professional editing company occurred to me only recently. I was working ingloriously in a warehouse and you could say I was in a quarter life crisis. I decided to earn some extra money and stimulate my mind by editing student theses. All I had was a do-it-yourself WordPress website and a couple of badly designed flyers, but the demand was there. It took off pretty quickly and before too long I founded two professional editing companies that evolved to service business clients as well. The Expert Editor is an Australian based company and Global English Editing is focused worldwide. I now have multilingual websites and I’m expanding into the Chinese market.

Who are your current clients? What types of businesses?
My initial clients were all ESL students. I quickly realised that English is the language of globalisation, and millions of people around the world are struggling to write content in English. My current business clients include small-medium enterprises in China, Europe and Australia who all need help writing clear English content for their websites, marketing material, press releases and so forth. The aim is for these businesses to sound as fluent as native-English ones. We still help students with their theses and dissertations, and they come from around the world.

Do you assist Australian exporters heading into China and Chinese businesses coming into Australia?
We work one way, helping Chinese businesses express themselves effectively in English for a global audience. We’ve just begun the expansion, but we’re already fielding calls from Chinese businesses, big and small, that want to improve their English language communication. We chose China as the first area for expansion because of its sheer size. 300 million Chinese people speak English, to some degree, which is equivalent to the entire population of the United States. They need help in producing quality English documents, whether business or academic.

How are you planning to publicise the business in China?
Our strategy, in collaboration with our Chinese-American partner company, is to advertise on Baidu, which is the equivalent of Google in China. Baidu is a search engine with 80 percent penetration of the Chinese market, so it’s massive. You can’t have an online marketing campaign in China without Baidu. Unfortunately, although Baidu is almost as big as Google, its not nearly as user-friendly and it has taken us a month of negotiation and paperwork to get an ad campaign up and running. Of course Baidu is a Chinese language search engine, so we have created a Chinese language website.

Why is China in need of English editors?
With 300 million English speakers, China is a massive market for English editing. Businesses across China want their websites, marketing material and business communication to be in English, and some need considerable help in doing so. I think the globalisation of English puts Australia in a prime position to help non-native English speakers communicate more effectively. Editing may be a relatively niche area in English-speaking countries, perhaps limited to a university thesis or a business press release, but in China it’s an essential part of the process of communicating in English. China is clearly an internationally competitive country, but its English language skills are not.

Are you planning on expanding to any other world markets?
Not at this stage. We’ll take a wait and see approach to see how successful we are in China. But the business model is highly transferrable to other countries. English is the closest language we have to a world language, and is used by students, businesses, scientists, professionals and entertainers the world over. I think the demand for English language specialists to edit material for non-native English speakers will grow considerably in the coming years.

As the global economy embarks on its first steps of recovery and Australia looks to drive growth of the national economy, there are numerous opportunities for Australian businesses to expand internationally and push our economy forward. There are many commercial and operational considerations for any business looking to export abroad, but one area that businesses may often neglect to address are the cultural implications of exporting to a new market – a sensitive area which, if you get wrong, can make it very hard to achieve success.

The medicines industry is the largest high-technology exporter from Australia accounting for $3.8 billion of exports in 2011 – more than the Australian wine and car industry exports combined. As Australia’s largest pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca Australia exports over $220 million in finished goods to 36 countries and its top markets are China, Japan, Germany and Russia. Our experience has taught us some important lessons about the cultural sensitivities which need to be acknowledged and adapted to when exporting to these markets.

AstraZeneca Australia produces a range of medicines for the Japanese market, which is the second largest market in the world for pharmaceutical products and has very high requirements from a quality perspective, with specific aesthetic quality requirements that are unique to that market.

The cosmetic appeal of products is as important as efficacy and has to be perfect. If a pallet of shipping boxes arrives with a tiny gap of a few millimetres at the seal of one of the boxes, it will be assumed that if the exterior is not perfect, the contents of the box cannot be trusted. Packaging requirements can also be very specific. Businesses can counter cosmetic risk by sourcing their packaging materials from Japan and working closely with local suppliers to understand requirements.  Australian suppliers are also capable of supplying packaging components of the right quality for the Japanese market.

The role of inspection in the Japanese market is critical, with a specific touch and point method used for inspections. For example, in 2004 we missed a single label on a package, which ordinarily would result in a straightforward recall in any other country, but in Japan it took us four years to recover the trust and control in the eyes of the Japanese customers and significant additional costs. Getting practical local knowledge on requirements is invaluable and can help you understand what inspections are looking for and how everything will be interpreted.

The ability to develop high level of trust and respect with your customer case is key. Strong relationships are built around trust, good data and statistical rigour, which all Japanese companies value. Customer service levels are very high so it is well worth your time making the effort to understand the finer subtleties of the market’s unique requirements, as reputational damage can be very high if these are not observed.

The Chinese market poses a very different challenge. The key task is keeping up with demand in this dynamic and exciting market. The product environment is highly regulated and constantly changing, so exporting businesses must be prepared to be agile and flexible, without attempting to anticipate changes.

Establishing good, knowledgeable relationships on the ground is key to keeping abreast of change. It is important use these relationships to ask lots of questions, and make sure they are the right questions, in order to get the information you need. It is advisable to use open ended questions where possible, and to clarify information to ensure understanding. Of course, this assumes ability to communicate, as the language barrier is often underestimated by foreign businesses operating in China.

China has a complex tax and pricing systems which is difficult to navigate remotely and varies greatly by province. It is advisable to seek out use of bordered business parks and free trade zones, though these have different implied uses. Trade commissions are a good place to start in order to get information on how to navigate the tax system.

Exporting to other countries can be challenging and the cultural subtleties can be complex. But if you make a mistake and your customers lose confidence in you, it can take a long time to recover. Take the time understand the intricate requirements of operating in a different environment is critical to ensuring success.

Just last month, Brightgreen collected the Premier’s Recognition Award for the DR700: the world’s first replacement bulb to offer the same brightness as a 50W halogen bulb, on one-fifth of the power.

The accolade reinforced the company’s reputation as a local leader in sustainability, efficiency and quality. However, the O’Driscoll brothers behind the company have always planned to take their world-first designs beyond the local market.

“We’ve always kept our focus outward, and set the highest bar for ourselves in terms of design and operations,” Barry O’Driscoll told Dynamic Export.

He said he hoped that the company’s recent success would stimulate additional interest amongst international distributors.

As LED lighting has gained more attention in recent years, a number of big players have entered the international market– a market that O’Driscoll says is “tougher and more established” than the local market– but this has not stopped the local company from making an impact.

Brightgreen began exporting its designs internationally, last year, and now turns over $11.4 million. The company has offices in South Africa and Germany, and also exports to the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Chile and Indonesia.

Although O’Driscoll admits that their products have been most successful in Australia, where Brightgreen’s operations are based, he says their designs have been particularly embraced by Germany.

“We see this as a huge compliment to our product design and engineering, since the Germans are so technically on point and have set such a high standard in terms of quality,” he explained.

“South Africa has also really embraced our retrofit range, as generally LEDs are extremely sensitive to heat and our lights tackle hot climates with no problems,” O’Driscoll added.

As environmental concerns continue to gain global traction, and consumers become more savvy, he hopes that people across the world will continue to respond to Brightgreen’s long-lasting designs.

“Internationally, we hope to expand into a number of different regions—we’re looking at Asia, a larger portion of Europe, as well as the Americas. We’re aiming to be at the forefront of LED lighting not only in Australia, but on a global scale,” O’Driscoll said.

The White Paper sets out a number of targets for Australia over the next 13 years to 2025 by taking advantage of the world’s largest producer of goods and services, and the largest consumer of them.

In its White Paper the Australian government sets out 25 national objectives, with policy pathways to guide their achievement.

The government expects that these objectives will lead to Australian GDP per person being in the top ten countries by 2025, up from 13^th position in 2011. Average national income is anticipated to rise from $62,000 in 2012 to $73,000 in 2025.

The government expects by 2025 our school system will be in top 5 in the world and 10 of our universities in the world’s top 100.

According to Education Minister, Peter Garrett success in the Asian century will require all Australian students to have a better understanding of the culture, history and languages of our Asian neighbours.

“Our Asian neighbours are rapidly becoming the economic powerhouse of the world, and are increasing in global strategic importance,” he said.

“The growth in the economies of nations like China, India and Indonesia will provide fantastic opportunities for Australian businesses, and help create thousands of high-tech, high-skill and high-wage jobs for Australians,” he added.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr believes the White Paper delivers a roadmap for promoting Australian interests and engagement with our regional partners.

To help achieve this a Jakarta-based Ambassador will be appointed to ASEAN and there are plans for an Australian Embassy located in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) and consulates in Shenyang (China), Phuket (Thailand) and eastern Indonesia.

“A resident Ambassador to ASEAN enhances Australia’s ability to work with ASEAN on priority regional political and economic issues,” Senator Carr said.

“Strengthening our diplomatic network in other parts of Asia is also vital to Australia’s long-term security and prosperity,” he added.

The NBN will allow exporters to compete at a much higher level and on a global scale. It will provide online exporters with a high speed internet that will increase productivity and at the same time save you money.

If you live within the 66 towns or localities within the current three year roll-out plan – due to be finished by 30 June 2015, then there are a couple of things you need to take into consideration in preparation for the new technology.

Here are some tips on what you can do to prepare for the NBN and ensure you take advantage of everything this technology has to offer:

• Faster speeds and quality of cable will mean your online time should be improved. Check with your internet provider to see what new offerings will be added to your contract and take the time to assess other options that may be cheaper and better suited to your export needs.

• As an online exporter – or if you are thinking of using online to export products, make sure you investigate how you can leverage the network to update your ordering or delivery options. Leveraging the speed and quality of your internet offering can improve your customer’s experience with your brand which can only be positive.

• Research marketing tactics used by similar export companies online and see what might work for you. Online marketing can often be cheaper than other traditional methods and it’s a great way to increase your market reach.

• Don’t just add technology layers to your internet site just for the sake of it. Treat the NBN for what it is, a technology improvement. It does not have to mean a change to the way you do business. Changing your business model just because the technology is available without fully understanding the impact can often do more damage than good. Take your time and make any changes based on sound business strategy.

• Remember to look at all aspects of your business model when considering how to improve your internet capabilities. Driving more customers to your site is not helpful for a business if other areas are not being supported. For example, ensure you look at investing in supporting infrastructure, like warehousing, product development and servicing, to deliver on your customer promise.

• Keep an eye on the new export industries, organisations or products that start up as a result of the NBN. Monitoring your potential competition will ensure that you can plan for the challenges that this can bring – this includes international competition.

Amazing opportunities will be available to those who are willing to take the time to investigate them, but make sure that you are implementing them for the right reasons. Ask questions and keep asking questions – being informed is the key to success.

For subcontracting companies, sometimes winning bids and contracts can be a challenge. At times, financial assistance and insurance arrangements are needed for a solid tender and a successful contract win.

This was the case for Australian healthcare solutions group Aspen Medical. The company had been awarded a subcontract to supply equipment and associated medical design and infrastructure for a new 900-bed hospital in Hambantota, located in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.

Aspen, which specialises in providing complete healthcare solutions, medical consulting, e-health and project-based healthcare in challenging environments, was awarded the subcontract by Dutch group, Enraf-Nonius BV.

Aspen would undertake design and project management roles in the construction of the hospital, as well as manage the purchasing of a range of medical equipment.

The support of the Australian Government’s export credit agency, Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC), was key to Aspen winning the subcontract.

EFIC provides tailored finance solutions to help Australian businesses overcome the financial barriers they face when expanding their export activities.

In Aspen’s case, EFIC’s reciprocal reinsurance agreement (RRA) with Dutch export credit agency, Atradius Dutch State Business N.V. was instrumental in the company’s winning bid.

“EFIC’s help was integral to us winning this important contract to provide much needed healthcare services and equipment to a worthy project,” said Aspen Medical managing director Glenn Keys.

“This contract will help further the prevention of disease and the effective treatment of patients in this region of Sri Lanka.”

The hospital project was financed by Rabobank on the back of a EUR39.8 million comprehensive non-payment insurance policy from Atradius.

Atradius stepped in to insure the transaction when the private market was unable to provide the level of support necessary in this challenging, emerging market. Atradius’ commitment was in turn supported by export credit agencies of the main subcontractors, including EFIC’s EUR11.4 million reinsurance arrangement.

EFIC’s provision of reinsurance meant that, despite Atradius’ capacity constraint for additional Sri Lanka exposure, it could still front the entire loan amount. EFIC’s RRA with Atradius is likely to have contributed to Enraf-Nonius selecting an Australian subcontractor.

The deal not only illustrates how EFIC can help contractors and subcontractors involved in export-related deals win more business, but also how we can use these bilateral agreements with other export credit agencies to achieve this aim.

The hospital contract will help further the prevention of disease and the effective treatment of patients in this region of Sri Lanka.

Subcontractors working on export-related deals wanting to bridge the funding gap can visit the EFIC site: www.efic.gov.au

Aspen Medical was awarded the Exporter of the Year and Large Services awards at the ACT Export Awards last month.

The large numbers that gathered in each capital city, on Saturday, reflected mounting public concern over the cruelty involved in the live trade.

“The recent cruel treatment of Australian sheep stranded at sea and subject to brutality in Pakistan must be the final wake up call to the federal government and the live export industry. This trade has to end,” said Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, in the lead up to the protests.

Senator Rhiannon spoke at the Sydney rally, alongside Glenys Oogjes (Animals Australia), Christine Townend (Animal Liberation NSW) and Sam McLean (GetUp!).

She received strong support from the public present, who demanded that the Labor government take action.

“Government promises to clean up this industry are worthless. No amount of regulation can end the cruelty that is inherent in the live export trade,” the Senator explained.

‘The Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System has failed. Wellard, the exporter involved in the shipment to Pakistan, has admitted that it lost control of its own operation,” she added.

Rhiannon said that the only way to ensure an improvement in animal welfare would be to ban live trade, and ensure that our livestock come under Australian standards.

This movement has been supported by other members of the Greens, and of the public, who have called on the government to support Australian processing facilities instead.

‘Thousands of jobs would be created and local economies strengthened by processing the meat locally,” Rhiannon explained. “Studies have shown that most Australian beef cattle farms have diversified and are not completely reliant on live exports,” she added.

Following the success of the rallies, Rhiannon intends to take the live-export debate to parliament this week.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has approved the export of approximately 190,000 sheep and 400 cattle to the Middle East region after the three companies were able to assure DAFF that all the required addition safeguards for the health and welfare of the animals were in place.

These new standards have been put in place in order to assure that the importing countries would be aware of Australia’s high standards of export goods and to minimise the risk of consignments being refused to unload.

Exporters must now comply with the following in order to meet DAFF standards:

• provide more detail about what they would do if a shipment is delayed or refused unloading
• carry additional feed, water and veterinary supplies to cover the possibility of diversions and delay; and
• engage additional stock handlers.

For more information on Australia’s live export trade visit the DAFF website.