DEFINITION OF THE EXPORT PLAN PDF

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Class notes on the definition of the export plan, the characteristics of the export plan, the methodology, the collection and analysis of information about the internal situation, the collection and analysis of information about the situation of the environment or external....

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DEFINITION OF THE EXPORT PLAN

Export is a vital activity within international business and consists of marketing products or services outside the territorial limits of the country to which the offeror belongs; together with imports, it integrates the concept of international trade. Having a business of international scope represents opportunities and risks, and a set of activities to operate in the global context The export plan is the guide or document that shows the entrepreneur where he should direct his export effort, and how to compete with his products and services in the international market in order to achieve success (safe, increasing and profitable exports). It is one of the most complex documents in strategic planning, since the company is an active part in the factors of the international environment, which were previously considered distant and of little relevance to it. In exports, the company is inserted abroad, which means greater ability to make sound decisions, more information, better training of personnel, among many other requirements. Features of the export plan For an export plan to be useful and decisive in the international commercial success of companies, it must be simple, realistic and consistent. Efficiency is often at odds with the difficult, complex, and unnecessarily extensive. The development of the optimal plan for the company requires both knowledge of its own capabilities and of the characteristics and situations present in the international market; It integrates a body of knowledge on which intelligence, cunning and audacity are applied to distinguish, accept and face the challenges of opening new markets to take advantage of the business potential they offer. Elements or capitulation of the export plan Here is the series of data and definitions to prepare an effective export plan :  Definition of what the company wants in the export from the definition of the vision and objectives .  Methodology to be used to develop the plan and to do the respective research.  Analysis of the elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion, adding process, personnel and physical environment for the export of services), obviously focused on the export effort. It should not be forgotten that the export plan is, in essence, a marketing plan prepared for the promotion, sale and marketing of the company's offer, when the target market is outside the borders of the country itself.  Internal information regarding the potentialities and potential of the organization to launch into the conquest of markets abroad.

 Information on the target markets and their environment: the regulations applicable to the export-import processes and the required and applicable logistics. View Drafting of the way the organization projects itself to the future in which, clearly in the language, it describes the export purposes and the way to support that effort. The vision must commit the company to positive action not only for the direct benefit of the organization, but also for the recipients of its actions. Questions about the vision to make an export plan  How does the organization see itself as an exporting company within the term included in this plan (3-5 years)?  Why do you want to export?  Define the objectives you want, remember that they must be feasible, represent a challenge, be quantifiable, be framed over time and must be in writing.  What commitments will you acquire and with whom (clients, suppliers, government institutions, credit institutions, etc.)?  Who or who (outside the company) will benefit from exporting? How will it benefit you?  Who or who can give you some kind of help in your effort to export? goals The objectives of the plan justify the creation of it . They guide the company to a credible point and prevent deviations from any cause. They need to meet the generic requirements of strategic planning, that is, they must be measurable, clear, specific and realistically oriented, but at the same time they represent a challenge, in addition to adding time limit components, such as the location of objectives or actions over time. In the case of the export plan, two main areas appear: commercial and financial. The former are a set of goals to be achieved in terms of positioning and presence in the markets, and the latter are rather guides that express in quantities how the company should move in the target market or markets, generating the corresponding income and , with it, benefits. Questions to draw up an export plan  What should be achieved by faithfully implementing and executing the export plan?  What are the values associated with the magnitude of each objective?  In what time should each task and objective be accomplished?  Who or who are responsible for achieving each objective?  What will be the effects of achieving each objective and how long will the results be observed? information

Having information is the beginning of effective export activity. By having this input, the company makes decisions that do not expand, but rather reduce costs, risks and losses that can be disastrous. Questions about information to draw an export plan The following questions guide the obtaining of information towards the basic capacity to export:  What are your exportable products (goods or services), product lines or brands?  What are the competitive advantages of your products?  What is its exportable capacity or volume?  How are the activities and processes related to the export effort to be coordinated in all areas of the company? A then additional questions regarding knowledge and organizational structure that will support their export efforts are included.  What knowledge and skills are required in the company to focus on export?  Do you or your staff have such knowledge or skills?  Does the organization have an area that can operate the tools for exports, marketing, logistics, regulations, negotiation and international contracting? If for any of the previous questions the answer is negative, proceed to ask yourself:  What do you need to do to fill those gaps? Methodology To develop an investigation, you must first know what the path will be to do it. The methodology indicates the ways to follow to obtain the required information and knowledge. It describes the set of steps, in an orderly and coherent way, that must be followed for the investigation. Generally, a methodology aims to indicate the feasibility of a project by affirming or discarding previous ideas or hypotheses . A broad division consists of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative research methods use instruments such as statistics or mathematical analysis to estimate numerically measurable data. Qualitative methods produce nonquantifiable information. They state, for example, political processes and how these affect the economy of the countries, etc. One way to generate valuable qualitative information is to know the present and estimate the future of the target place or market to which you want to export. To facilitate the work of companies, there are sources of information that help to understand international trade. If desired, international trade statistics, sociodemographic data, etc. can be consulted. A good place to obtain them are databases, internet searches, specialized publications by sector and embassies of the countries with which you want to establish a commercial contact. It is recommended to keep the methodology used for the investigation of the export plan at hand. It can be valid and usable in many other cases. However, it is

necessary to know that only the methodology (and not the plan) can be reused if you want to expand to other markets, carry out partnership actions, etc. Questions about the methodology to draw up an export plan  What are the steps to follow to develop the research about the information required for the export plan?  How to collect, analyze and use the information obtained?  Which method is more convenient to develop the research? Think of it in terms of how easily information can be read and interpreted. Collection and analysis of information about the internal situation This research effort focuses on factors that are or can be controlled by the same organization. In the investigation of internal factors take into account basic aspects about the export capacity of the company, start by evaluating whether or not it has exportable production, both surplus that can be directed to the foreign market, as well as the qualities of the product and its price. that can make it desirable or salable in certain target markets. The internal information also analyzes the organization and preparation of the company to promote its exports and manage related logistics. Finally, the internal investigation includes aspects that indirectly impact its productive and export capacity:  Financial capacity to absorb expenses and make investments for export.  International negotiation capacity of the company.  Level of training of employees and managers in foreign trade issues.  Relationship with other companies or organizations that facilitate or support your export effort.  Relations with national and foreign government offices related to foreign trade.  Possible positioning of the company and the brands it manages in the target markets, etc. Questions about the internal situation to draw up an export plan  What elements within your organization are favorable for export success?  What elements within your organization can prevent you from achieving export success?  What would you have to do within your organization to achieve export success? When the investigation of the internal elements is concluded, you must establish continuous review or improvement programs for the points or areas that are considered weak or that hinder the export process. With this, it will keep the interior of the company linked and committed to the export effort. Collection and analysis of information on the situation of the environment or external .

This information is valuable, since the external environment is not completely alien to the company. Remember that when exporting, the organization is part of the external scope. Wide knowledge of the environment and the factors that cannot be controlled by the company can be the difference between failure and the conquest of international markets. When investigating the external situation, direct your efforts to know trends and preferences of consumers from other countries or regions, business alliances, innovation in telecommunications, topics on which the market revolves (service, product, price, etc.), inflation, conformation of commercial blocks, patterns of dependency, and so on . In the internal analysis, it should also consider the advisability of maintaining the current organizational structure of the export area or, where appropriate, modifying the structure of the area, in addition to determining the training and development required by its personnel, always in function to increase the value of human capital. The market is an external element that deserves a detailed study, so it is important to consider the following variables:  Volume (in quantities) and market value (in monetary amount).  Profile of the possible buyer, consumer or user.  Competitors and their products or services.  Distribution channels.  Uses and customs applicable to your product or service in the target market.  Applicable regulations, tariff and non-tariff barriers.  Customs processing.  Transport.  Standards and uses in terms of packaging, packaging and related services.  Legal responsibility and demands on the total product in the target market.  Cultural aspects regarding international negotiation and contracting, international forms or means of payment.  Advantages and restrictions arising from bilateral and multilateral agreements between the country of the exporter and that of the importer. Questions about the external situation to draw up an export plan . The following questions serve as a guide for conducting external research, which includes, in addition to general questions, a list to check whether the data for the 13 elements have been obtained . What elements (financial support, free trade agreements, etc.) outside the organization are favorable to export your good or service?  How does your company generate added value in each target market?  What elements of the environment (tariffs, bad diplomatic relations, etc.) are unfavorable to export your good or service?  What information do you need to decide if it is viable to enter the international market in a solid way?  What is the volume of each target market?

 What is the value of each target market?  Who would be the possible clients? How many are there? Where are they? What do they need or like? What are they like? Etc.).  Who are your possible competitors? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What is your market share? What products do you sell? What are your prices? What are your strategies? Etc.  What are the distribution channels ?, What is your coverage ?, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each distribution channel ?, what services in addition provides each distribution channel ?, what is the level of intermediation each distribution channel ?, etc.  What are the uses to carry out business, commercialization, purchase and use or consumption with respect to the good or service that you want to export?  What are the general trends in the market in terms of needs, tastes, fashion and market increase or decrease?  Describe the applicable international and internal regulations of the target market.  Are there barriers (tariff, non-tariff, cultural and logistical) that can affect your exports to each target market?  Describe the requirements and processes of customs processing, both exit at its borders and entry into the target market.  Describe the type and conditions of transport on each of its routes (interior or exterior), to each target market.  Describe the different insurance alternatives, with the advantages and disadvantages of each.  Evaluate the cost of logistics and other charges, and tell how the export price affects the type of incoterm you want to operate.  If the regulations of the target market establish some type of responsibility for the product, describe it and estimate what the impact this could have on the operation of the company in the target market. Activity program An activity program proposes to schedule what will be carried out according to the export. On the one hand, it complements the objectives, since it is the part of the plan where the limit is set to obtain expected results. On the other hand, it guides people to carry out their activities by controlling the times in which they are carried out. A time must be determined for each action and objective. Therefore, the program is drawn up by person, area and objective. The more punctual this plan is, the less confusion, expense of resources and problems there will be in the organization. Both the work program, usually presented using a Gantt chart, and the budgets are essential elements in the document in which the plan is presented. Questions about the program of activities to draw up an export plan  How long must each goal be achieved?  How often and how should the activities program be verified?

 What provisions must each area involved in any of the activities included in the work program take to ensure compliance? Analysis of the marketing mix applied to the international context It has already been mentioned that the export plan is essentially a marketing plan tailored to a market outside national borders. To develop this point, the four Ps of the marketing mix are taken up and applied in a different context . Product Regarding the product (essential, expanded and plus), in addition to international regulations and especially that of the target market, among other aspects, the convenience of handling a standard or adapted product should be analyzed, a decision that depends on the degree of acceptance of the consumers or users of the target market, given the characteristics of the product and the needs, desires, uses and customs of the consumers or users that appear in the different external markets. Questions about the product to draw up an export plan  Can your product be sold in the foreign target market as it is?  What aspects (label language, different ergonomics, etc.) of the product must be modified to satisfy another market?  Does your product offer something different from the competition in those markets?  What is your competitive advantage over the products that compete in the target market?  Is that competitive advantage significant for buyers in the target market? Price. The price has its variants in the national market; In international trade, it is common for the price to be determined based on the reciprocal responsibilities between an international seller and buyer, which are established in accordance with the schemes that are handled internationally, the incoterms. Questions about the price to draw an export plan  What is the price of competing products and substitute goods in the target market?  How can costs be absorbed and reduced by the new sales volume?  What price limits are there in the international market or in the country (ies) with which you want to deal?  What is the most convenient price level for your products in terms of profitability and market penetration, without losing competitiveness with the options presented by competitors?  What is the level of price escalation of your product considering the distribution chain that must market it?  What to do to make the price to the final buyer attractive?

 What variations should prices register, based on mutual responsibilities and rights, between exporters and importers (Incoterms)? Plaza or market. A study of the international market needs, first of all, to narrow down with the selection of a target market. Next, the study is divided into four blocks:  Macroeconomic, cultural and regulatory elements of the target market abroad.  Consumer profile.  Information about the competition.  Distribution channels. External information (relative to the target market) is obtained from two types of sources: primary (in situ) and secondary or documentary sources within which the data is accessible via the internet. The investigation of the target market, for reasons of time and cost, should begin with research in secondary sources, going to the documentary collections of the information centers or libraries belonging to the institutions in charge of export promotion, public libraries, a wealth of information (on the internet, books, magazines, databases, etc.) available to binational chambers of commerce and, in some cases, the embassies of countries whose markets have been considered promising. From the analysis and evaluation of the data obtained in the secondary sources, it may be concluded that it is not possible or convenient to make the effort to export to a certain market, in this case, the project that focuses on that market. it must be discarded so as not to incur higher costs that will be doomed to failure. As a result of the analysis and diagnosis of the information recorded through research in secondary sources, two different situations can arise:  Finding information indicating the infeasibility or inconvenience of considering that market as attractive, in which case it should be discarded, despite the fact that the costs related to the investigation (product-market study) have been incurred, in any case it is preferable to pay to reach the conclusion that the project is not appropriate, that having greater losses for insisting on exporting to a place where that effort will be doomed to failure.  Estimate that the target market is still attractive to the company, in which case the formulation of the export plan, setting realistic goals and describing the strategies and tactics to achieve them, as well as the budgets, times and other elements mentioned in the scheme, are appropriate. of the export plan. In this case, it must be corroborated through research in primary sources (in situ). On-site research involves traveling to...