How to export: It’s not as difficult as it sounds.
Many articles, materials and guidelines dealing with export and “how to export” show this as complex, bureaucratic and almost unreachable by small businesses.
They speak of the need for planning, market research, product and packaging adequacy, the need for certifications and other more needs. But all these requirements are normal in the internal market and therefore are not exclusive to the company that wants to export. Every company that wants to succeed in its market, whether internal or external, has to have planning, market research, certifications and other necessities. This is not exclusive to who wants to export.
I try to summarize the difficulties of “how to export” in three great pains:
- Routines: the entrepreneur needs to study and analyze the export routines and procedures, such as documents, pricing, payment methods, buying and selling (INCOTERMS) and steps to follow.
- Market: the entrepreneur needs to study and analyze the market he wants to reach, city, country or region, needs to calculate and compare his prices and need to find potential customers.
- Logistics: the entrepreneur must find the right partners for successful export, quality and safety, and this includes foreign exchange services, international transportation, international transportation insurance, customs brokers, consultants and other specific and necessary services.
Knowing and mastering these three difficulties reasonably, the entrepreneur will be able to communicate better with his employees, his clients and the service providers. What once looked like a “black box” over time will become better known and create the export culture.
And why are the three knowledge important and complementary?
Because it is not enough just to have the routines, if we do not also have the market and the logistics. The routine will guide us “how to do“, but if we do not have the market, the “for whom” and the logistics, the “how to deliver“, we will never apply this knowledge.
Likewise, it is not enough to know the market, the “who“, if we do not have the “how to do” of the routines and the “how to deliver” of logistics.
And, therefore, it is not enough just to have logistics, the “how to deliver“, if we do not know the routines and know the market.
These are the three keys to “how to export“: routines, market and logistics. All the others are due to them or are also common to the domestic markets.
Several systems in the world solve these three pains separately. Intradebook has developed a platform that brings together these three solutions in one place, in an orderly, logical and interactive way, with the InTrade, InBusiness and InService modules. For this differential the platform was chosen by the ITC – International Trade Center.