As 2017 comes to an end, we wanted to look back and see what you wanted to read most over the past year.
Particularly popular articles featured planning your market research and strategy, spotlights on some of the elite professionals who hold the CITP®|FIBP® designation, and the latest about FITT, the job market and international trade as a whole.
Whatever interests you most, we hope this gives you a chance to catch up on some of the most popular articles you may have missed, or re-read some favourites as we head into 2018.
10. 4 ways artificial intelligence is transforming trade
As the technology has matured, businesses in all industries are working hard to develop applications for AI that will boost their productivity and improve their operations.
And it’s no wonder why: a study by business research group Accenture found that artificial intelligence has the potential to double economic growth rates within the next 20 years, while increasing productivity by 40%.
The international trade sector has quickly caught on to the artificial intelligence trend. With so much data generated by companies, there is ample opportunity to improve trade processes with artificial intelligence.
9. Varun Anthony, CITP|FIBP – Agricultural Specialist
Varun Anthony is a pillar of patience. As he tells his clients, a dose of patience is what helps a brand successfully enter a potential international market.
Varun always wanted to pursue a career that was client-centric. At first he thought the hotel industry would provide the client-based work he was interested in. While the work was rewarding, Varun often found he had to be to be highly reactive. He wanted a career where he could be proactive and creative. This led Varun to start researching new career options, which led him to international trade.
8. Simplify your market entry strategy with this 9 step checklist
When developing a market-entry and maintenance strategy, a variety of other factors must be considered.
What method best suits your company’s product or service? What is the layout of existing distribution networks, and what forces drive them? What is the competition doing, and what can be improved? What does the market research indicate are the drivers of customer buying behaviour? What investment needs to be allocated, in both the short and long term? How will the strategy need to be modified as you (the exporter) progress through the market- development cycle?
Most importantly, what are the critical success factors that could determine the difference between success and failure in a target export market?
7. Shriya Ramachandran, CITP|FIBP – Trade Commissioner (Infrastructure)
Shriya Ramachandran entered the world of international trade as an environmental researcher, monitoring various aspects of climate policy that impacted local and global industries. Transitioning from that position into a career focused on international trade was a very natural process.
Shriya began working as a trade officer for Global Affairs Canada (formerly DFATD) in 2014. Before that, she worked at the Finnish Trade Office in India as the clean tech program head for over three years.
6. What types of data do you need for your market research?
Once you have the objectives for your market research established and the parameters specified, researchers can select which methods you will use to collect data, and there are a wide range of research options available
When researchers answer the important questions they face, it will help them identify the potential data sources for the research information and the methodologies needed to obtain the information. The sources and methodologies can then be compared to the budget and timelines to decide if they are suitable and achievable.
5. EDC and FITT Teaming up to Educate Canada’s Next Generation of Trade Leaders
Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT) today announced a formalized partnership to deliver enhanced trade education to Canadian companies and trade professionals.
At the core of the partnership is the creation of the EDC-FITT International Trade Learning Centre (Centre) – a digital platform from which EDC and FITT will offer information, learning modules, and other knowledge-based resources focused on helping small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) go, grow and succeed internationally. The Centre is expected to be fully operational in early 2018.
4. Top 5 fastest growing international trade jobs
Despite a certain amount of political and economic instability, global trade is a sector that will continue to create jobs. As the world gets smaller through technology, global connectivity brings with it endless opportunities for companies to do business in international markets.
Jobs that drive these international activities are growing, and therefore professionals who have international competencies will continue to be in high demand. Growing salaries often means qualified employees are in short supply.
While there is no shortage of positions available for the global business savvy professionals out there, we’ve identified the top five jobs that are growing in both demand for employees and salary.
3. The role of international organizations in international business law
As international trade has grown, so has the evidence of its benefits to both states and enterprises, the most obvious of which is economic gain. The more universal the market, the more freely trade flows, generating more economic resources for market growth, infrastructure, research and development, jobs, market and labour specialization, global, economic, and social stature.
Numerous guidelines, model laws, conventions, and treaties now exist to manage and govern international trade. Their goal is to open borders, modernize customary exchanges and reduce trade barriers around the world.
In an effort to realize these goals, a number of international organizations (IOs) have been established.
2. 10 global trade trends we’ll be watching in 2017
A new year means three things: lots of people are going to sign up for gym memberships they won’t use in three months, others will keep writing the wrong year on all their correspondence, and of course there are a plethora of new trends and predictions to look out for in the year ahead. We’re going to focus on the last of the three.
What should you have been looking out for or expecting in the international business world in 2017? Let’s take a look and see what was dominating the headlines you read over the past twelve months.
1. The 7 steps of a strategic procurement process
The procurement process can be a complicated one. Strategic procurement is an organization-wide process. It requires input from all departments and functional areas for an organization. Organizations should set up a strategic procurement team. This team sets the overall direction for procurement, aligned with the business strategy. The team will then use the data from the strategic procurement process to develop and implement a strategic procurement plan.
Here are the 7 steps that lead to a successful procurement process.
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