Critical success factors
Notwithstanding the benefits, the added value that can often be identified, establishing a trade information network does not come naturally and is not easy to achieve. A recognition of mutual benefits is absolutely a must, but not the single most critical success factor. The benefits are the justification for making an effort. some other critical success factors are:

• Integration in the corporate strategy
  In case the TIN is not embedded in the overall, corporate strategy of the organizations involved, there is a serious risk that it will not get the attention and resources it requires. The TIN will never get beyond the stage of good intentions.
• Involvement and backing of top management
  The top decision makers need to be and feel involved, and support the initiative otherwise other more urgent or more prestigious projects will claim the scarce resources which are required to make the TIN a success.
• Full commitment and prioritization
  This issue is closely related to the embedding in the corporate strategy and the involvement and backing of top management. Another safeguard measure for commitment and prioritization is to make the link to a performance contract. In case staff and management is evaluated (and remunerated) on the basis of TIN targets, commitment and prioritization on the work floor can be substantially encouraged. In case there is no full commitment or sense of urgency, promises made will not be followed through.
• Realistic objectives
  It is easy to define network benefits, but it is hard to find successful trade information networks at work. For political reasons, objectives are often overambitious, and hence leading to project failures. It is important to set realistic targets, that can be achieved within a relatively short time span. Once the sweet of success has been tasted, the ambition can always be expanded.
• Quick wins
  In order to keep or expand momentum, enthusiasm, support and commitment, it is important to realize quick wins; Achievements which are visible and can easily be demonstrated and communicated.

more…
There are more critical success factors which we address in the papers. So, if you are involved in setting up trade information networks and want to know more about the do’s and don’ts, please contact us and find out how we can support you.

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Trade Promotion Best Practices

After some 20 minutes, they stripped and displayed identical tight orange dresses, which were recently sold as part of a gift pack by a Dutch brewery. To no surprise, they caught the attention of fellow supporters and photographers.

However, FIFA was not pleased with the action and stewards ejected the “Bavaria Babes” from the stadium into the second half. They were held for several hours by FIFA officials and were quizzed by the police about the dresses and asked if they worked for the brewery, Bavaria. ”What seems to have happened is that there was a clear ambush marketing activity by a Dutch brewery company,” said FIFA spokesman Nicholas Maingot. ”What we are doing actually at the moment is that we are looking into all available legal remedies against this brewery.” Let’s hope that the FIFA applies some fair play itself and doesn’t take any legal action. The stunt is jut too good. In case FIFA would resort to legal action it would really make a fool of itself:  Foolish International Football Association…..

Note: The Cup’s authorised beer is Budweiser which pays millions of dollars for the privilege….

Read more at BBC News

The articles clearly bring out that Africa’s growth story is hardly limited to the extractive industries. Of course, a substantial part of the growth will be driven by natural resources.  Eleven of Africa’s countries rank among the top ten sources for at least one major mineral. Besides, Africa will produce 13 percent of global oil by 2015, up from 9 percent in 1998. But besides that, the consumer market will grow rapidly, and so is the banking and telecommunications sector. Infrastructure expenditures are rising significantly faster in Africa than in the world as a whole. And when it comes to agriculture, private sector players and investment funds are pouring significant money in this sector moving towards technological breakthroughs and new value chain approaches. Fifty years after the start of the Asian green revolution, Africa too is poised for one.

Read more on McKinsey Quarterly

Soaring prices for oil, minerals, and other commodities have helped lift GDP since 2000. On top of that, the keen interest of China in resource rich Africa has given a tremendous boost to exports and infrastructure development. Since 2009, China is the leading trade partner of Africa, taking over the first position of the USA. So, how will the near future look like. Will this pattern continue?

The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has conducted research into the reasons for the accelerated growth, and the resulting new economic relations that are being established, primarily with Asia. I certainly recommend further reading!

Read the full article on McKinsey Quarterly

But there is a road map. HBR  research into the forces that have shaped the competitive landscape in recent decades reveals that “business megatrends” have features and trajectories in common. Sustainability is an emerging megatrend, and thus its course is to some extent predictable. As was the case in the IT and quality megatrends, pioneering companies in sustainability often start by focusing on risk and cost reduction and over time develop strategies for increasing value creation, ultimately including intangibles such as brand and culture.

Stages of value creation
Just as winners in previous megatrends outperformed competitors by following a staged evolution in strategy, so too must companies hoping to lead (or even compete) in the emerging sustainability wave. The idea that mastering sustainability should follow a multistage approach is already apparent. So what are the different stages then?

HBR identifies four stages of value creation:

1. Do old things in new ways.
2. Do new things in new ways.
3. Transform core business.
4. New business model creation and differentiation.

Read the full article on harvard business review

In the past week, we facilitated a three days export auditing session with local experts and staff of Philexport Cebu to diagnose export fitness. Part of the event was familiarization with the export auditing model, the introduction to the audit process and the audit planning. On the second day, we visited two furniture companies based in Cebu and completed two company audits. The audits were performed by three groups of local experts. One group focused on management and organization and applied the 7S model. Another group concentrated on the operations and logistics and applied the 5M model. Whereas the third group zoomed in on marketing, sales and customer service and applied the marketing mix. On the third day,  the three groups finalized their analysis and reported the findings.  For each company, a full auditing report has been compiled and presented.

Facebook regularly attracts more visitors than Google, and according to Nielsen research, time spent with social networking has surpassed time spent with e-mail. Also, time spent on social networks and blogging sites is growing at over three times that of the overall Internet.

We have arrived at an online economy where audiences decide when and where they will receive content, with less emphasis on single destinations. It makes some people argue that we are at the brink of a siteless era, whereby one doesn’t need a website anymore.

We don’t agree completely on the issue of the siteless era. We believe in a situation in which different channels are being deployed and integrated. Whereby content is efficiently distributed across websites, mobile sites and social networks. In order to do so, it is important to apply a systematic approach and try to recycle content, but at the same time customize the content. Remember, different channels have different primary functions and are being used by audiences with different needs and expectations at the time of use.

Bill Fitter published an article on Mashable with more tips on how to maximize your content’s reach on the social web.

Read the full article on Mashable

Social entrepreneurs provide a vision for accelerating bigger, more systemic solutions to today’s most pressing threats. But we cannot do it alone. The business community and the world’s capital markets are urgently needed as partners to transform vision into tangible impact. Companies and investors must lead the way by turning these challenges into opportunities. Integrating sustainability is not just good for business; it is essential if we are to continue to grow economies and create jobs in a world of increasingly constrained resources.

An interesting article on this subject is published by Mindy Lubber on McKinseydigital.com

We shared our knowledge and experience with the participants regarding the critical success factors for online marketing, customer focused and action oriented websites, the essential elements of usability, effective search engine optimization and search engine advertisement and the integrated use of social media. The participants were extremely excited claiming it was the best session they had during the whole week.

At the end of the session, when we packed our bags again and looked out of the window, overlooking the Rotterdam Coolsingel, we saw the city of Rotterdam preparing for the Rotterdam Marathon, and we knew the participants were ready to run their own race towards a successful online marketing campaign.