Much is said and written about SMEs and export: the matter is simultaneously simpler and more complex than is generally made out. Like most human activities, it can be summarised in a few simple principles; but sometimes putting them into practice is horrendously difficult. The function of the consultant is to help bridge the gap between these general principles and specific action. Before defining the role of the consultant, some general principles need to be stated. A consultant can only help if the ground is ready. This is merely a restatement of an old and profound Zen Buddhist saying: "When you are ready to learn, a teacher will appear".
The true function of a teacher is to enable the student by providing tools with which the student can transform information into knowledge. Information is relatively easy to obtain, the transformation into knowledge is something quite different. Successful exporting is based on knowledge, not on information. The next two principles state that every export is someone else's import, and every sale is someone else's purchase. Combining the two, we can say that every export sale has a corresponding import purchase, and they are like the two sides of the same coin - inseparable. Like many such principles, these may seem truisms, but most export failures can be traced to their neglect. How many would-be exporters have ever imported anything as distinct from buying already imported goods? Before starting exporting, the top management must decide that it is going to take the expansion of the firm's market seriously; if it does not, then failure is very probable. Why should an importer / customer take seriously an exporter / seller who does not take his side of the transaction seriously? There are always other suppliers who will.
Consultants, like teachers, have their own specialities. Some specialise in understanding the markets in certain parts of the world, some in technical and legal regulation matters, others in logistics, and some in the financial side such as credit and exchange risk management. No one person can master all these skills, so the firm must delegate some of these tasks - but to whom? Some tasks can be entrusted and are better entrusted to small outfit, even sole operators, and some are better dealt with by larger organisations. There are two main areas in which a consultant can help: firstly in general advice, and as an out source of a specific service. A novice exporter can get free consultancy of a sort ( in say, logistics ) by contacting a firm involved in the field. But the contacted firm has its own agenda, namely to sell you its services. A logistics consultant will provide unbiased advice on the best ways and means of moving the exporter's goods, make recommendations about which firms to contact. If desired, the nuts and bolts of the logistic operation can be handed over to him to whatever extent makes sense in the circumstances. In the latter case the consultant becomes a partner to the firm, and the firm gains the benefits of the skilled employee without the fixed overhead and the risk of underemployment. In the initial research stage he can provide information from his experience about the possible markets for the firm to consider, as well as the ones that should be rejected.
The second stage is detailed research into the chosen target market or markets. The beginner in exporting is well advised to concentrate his efforts on one specific market to begin with, and only to expand when the firm has gathered experience in the technicalities of exporting their goods. Technical and legal requirements can be a minefield for a newcomer to a market. This is par excellence a field for specialists. If entry in the US market is contemplated, professional advice in matters of product liability is essential. In general, there is a US way of doing things, and another way for the rest of the world, and woe betide an exporter that falls foul of US regulations.
Although the financial aspect has come last in this article, it should certainly not be considered last. Indeed the questions of payment should be considered at the outset. Here a consultant can explain the various ways of collecting money and insuring or minimising risks such as exchange rate fluctuations.
And finally, the question of cost. A consultant will always seem expensive because he will present an invoice that has to be paid in cash. He cannot earn you money: all he does is to prevent the expenditure involved in mistakes, or improve the value gained from such expenditure, neither of which appears in the accounts.
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