global trade trends Archives

Few economists have a positive outlook right now. The International Monetary Fund is projecting a “sharper-than-expected slowdown” with global growth dropping from 6.0% in 2021 to an expected 3.2% in 2022, and then 2.7% in 2023.

Businesses, then, are wisely seeking to do all they can to shore up their foundations and protect their global trade revenue. Thankfully, there are multiple ways that they can do so. Let’s take a look at some of these methods now.

Delivering Cultural Awareness Programs

With technology making cross-border trade easier than ever, cultural awareness has become hugely important in the workplace. Some 89% of white collar workers report that they complete projects in global virtual teams “at least occasionally” according to a survey of employees from 90 countries.

Whether it’s completing an internal project with global team members or delivering an international sales strategy, businesses need to deliver cultural awareness programs for their staff if they want to get the best out of each and every connection that their employees make. Doing so is an important part of protecting a company’s global operations since it can lead to stronger relationships and longer-term opportunities.

Supply Chain Globalization

Globalization doesn’t just mean that businesses have more international customers. Internal vendors come into the picture, too. And they need to be managed effectively.

In the realm of globalization, the management of vendors (aka suppliers) who provide localization services to businesses must not be forgotten. The localization industry, which adapts content to different audiences around the globe, is made up of vendors such as translators, content creators, interpreters, voice actors, subject matter experts, and a range of other specialists. They ensure companies have the tools needed to reach markets from around the world.

Businesses that manage such teams well can truly make the most of their international reach. By connecting in a well-planned, coordinated way with localization experts, companies can build everything from better local supply chains to more engaged audiences for their products.

Everywhere you look the global supply chain is a mess, but businesses that take a strategic approach to localization as part of their supply chain management can fare better than most when it comes to operational efficiency. And this can help to give those firms the edge during tough economic times.

Supply chain managers will face a range of challenges in 2023, many of them related to supply chain globalization and its implications. Businesses will need to embrace globalization in their supply chains over the coming months if they are seeking to shore up the operational efficiency of their global trade operations.

Supporting Sales Staff

Another way that companies can protect their global operations is to support their sales teams. Sales staff are the lifeblood of many global businesses, but the largely commission-based nature of their roles means that they can be particularly vulnerable to changing macro-economic circumstances. This can cause sales staff to look for jobs elsewhere when the hard times hit and their bonuses suddenly dry up. This can have a major impact on businesses: their best sellers leave and they find their sales figures fall through the floor.

To mitigate this and protect their global operations, businesses need to ensure their sales teams feel nurtured and valued. Investing in training and mentoring can achieve precisely this. It shows that the company is committed to the ongoing development of its sales teams there for them over the longer term. This delivers more than money alone–it shows that the company cares.

Shifting Focus

Naturally, tough economic times are a worry for individuals at all levels of a business. Those at the top need to worry about their profit and loss accounts, while those doing the day-to-day work in the business are likely to be increasingly anxious about their job stability as the economic woes worsen.

Yet there are steps that businesses can take to ease the pressure. Revising targets can be a great way to do so, from company-wide goals to the individual achievements that employees are expected to deliver each month or each quarter.

Targets that applied before a recession, when consumers were spending freely, clearly will not still apply during an economic downturn. As such, it’s important to update your company’s approach. But this does not mean you need to abandon your goals entirely; instead, think of it as a shift in attitude, which focuses on market share instead of arbitrary numbers. If a company can increase its market share by even a single percentage point during a recession, it stands to do well once the economic good times roll around once more.

Brand-Building

Building up brand recognition and customer loyalty are also great tasks to undertake in order to shore up your global trade. Just because your customers aren’t spending right now (or aren’t spending as much), doesn’t mean you can’t keep them engaged and connected with your brand. Focus your marketing team’s efforts on doing so and you’ll have a loyal base of customers who will happily spend their money with your business at some point in the future, when cash flow allows them to do so.

We saw the supply chain benefits of localization above, but it can also be highly effective in terms of customer engagement. Show that you’re on the ball with local issues that are impacting your customers, and they will feel that much more engaged with your brand.

Direct Your Ad Spend Wisely

Finally, be sure to direct your advertising spend wisely while times are tough. Not every country will be experiencing the same degree of economic hardship. As such, focus your ad spend on markets where consumers are still spending more freely in order to maximize the return on your advertising budget. Review and adjust your spending regularly to keep up with the latest economic changes.

By implementing all of these measures, you are giving your company a solid foundation in terms of its global trade over the coming years. Times may be tough right now, but they won’t always be. Do what you can to protect your business and your team during the hard times and you should be able to enjoy your company flourishing when more favorable economic circumstances return.

Author bio

Ofer Tirosh is the founder and CEO of Tomedes, a translation services company that assists businesses in conveying their meaning to the world through their multilingual and technological support.

The world is now a global village. Hence, globalization is a concept that has affected every aspect of human existence. The exchange of goods and services across nations and individuals, regardless of geographical limitations, is becoming increasingly seamless.

A Brief History of Global Trading Market

If you take a trip down memory lane, you’ll notice that global trading has come a long way. The origin of international or global trading dates back to the 19th century after the French war. The trade relations among nations increased significantly from 1865 to 1913, just before World War I broke out.

When WWI broke out, global trading fell rapidly. There was a massive dip in the export market. As it is with war, arms sales enjoyed enormous proliferation.

After World War I, things began to fall back to normal. It took a while for global trade volumes to rise to the peak reached before 1914.

The most significant rise in global trading came after World War II. In 1947, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was signed in Geneva by 23 nations. It marked a new dawn for global trading markets.

However, to better understand the modern tendencies in the global trading market, we need to look at the industrial revolutions that have happened over time. We can then link them to how they affect the global market in recent times.

Global Industrial Revolutions

There is an age-long relationship that exists between industrialization and globalization. The global industrial revolution that started in the late 18th century ushered in an abundance of raw materials. Industrialization led to the creation of new products and markets.

The products and raw materials that came, as a result of industrialization, needed to reach consumers across the world. That’s what led to the expansion of global trading markets.

Products were made in Europe from American raw materials and exported to Asia for consumption. A consequence of this affair between industrialization and globalization was the creation of trade routes. These trade routes connected America to Europe, Europe to Asia, and other continents of the world that needed the products.

We can talk about the early days of global trading markets without the pros and cons of globalization. The good that happened to the world was that manufacturers had more markets to sell their products. On the flip side, it created the opening for Europe to colonize the world.

The Journey from Then to Now

At this point, it’s safe to look deeper into how the industrial revolutions changed the course of global trading markets.

The First Industrial Revolution (1760 to 1830)

This is the period when Britain dominated and monopolized the global market. At the time, they had control of machinery, manufacturing techniques, and skilled laborers. Knowing that they were ahead of the world in industrialization, they kept everything within the confines of the British territory.

The embargo on the exportation of the industrialization that gave Britain a huge advantage didn’t sit well with some British businessmen. These folks began to seek more significant market opportunities outside Britain.

In 1807, two Englishmen took the industrial revolution to Belgium. The revolution further expanded global markets at the time.

Though it took a while for other countries to get on the wagon, it eventually happened after almost over a decade of British Monopoly. European countries like France and Germany came on board the ship to industrialization.

When the United States came into the picture, they gave the Britons a good run for their money’s worth. America became an industrial giant in the late 19th century.

Other countries that joined the industrial revolution at the time were Japan, the defunct Soviet Union, China, and India.

The Second Industrial Revolution (1870 to 1914)

While the first phase of industrialization focused on machinery and skilled labor, the next step introduced the manufacturing of more natural and synthetic products. It was in this era that synthetic materials like plastics began to flood the global market. Global trading expanded as a consequence.

The expansion in marketable products demanded a more straightforward way of doing business. Hence, this era brought computers into the fold. These computers now gave rise to what was called automatic factories.

With the global market expanding, governments began to get more involved. Economic policies came into play to establish checks and balances. Hence, averting an impending global financial and market crisis due to laissez-faire ideas that were at play at the time.

World War I marked the end of the second industrial revolution. Global markets were on shutdown as trade routes were either closed or manned by warring nations.

The Third Industrial Revolution (1990 to Present)

The advent of the internet marked the beginning of the third industrial revolution. The global market has shifted from the exchanges that took place at country borders to a peer to peer market setting.

With the world dealing with a myriad of global issues like natural disasters in, overpopulation, and poverty in some of the most populated cities of the world, there was the need to make the world a global village.

Trade deals can go on from anywhere in the world. People now have access to computers and the internet. It doesn’t matter if you’re a college drop out or a graduate from some of the best universities in the world, you can be a part of the global trading market.

In the first and second industrial revolutions, skilled labor was an exclusive reserve of a few countries that dominated industrialization. Today, remote workers can come from anywhere in the world, thanks to the advent of the internet.

For instance, you can hire labor remotely over the internet. An example is getting content writers from content review websites like Pick The Writer, Writing Judge, and so on. The global market has now become more internet and remote-based.

However, the third industrial revolution has its significant cons. One of which is cybersecurity. With a lot of data shared over the internet, there are concerns about the unauthorized use of personal information for fraudulent activities.

With small businesses increasing, the dependence on the internet of things is increasing, thereby posing further cybersecurity challenges in the global trading market.

Statistics available shows that 43% of cyber attacks are targeted at small businesses. Sadly, over 60% of these small businesses go out of business within six months of the attack.

What’s The Way Forward?

As we gradually move from the third into the fourth industrial revolution, we expect that some of these cybersecurity challenges will reduce. Each industrial era comes with its pros and cons. However, the higher we go, the better we get – and the global trading market isn’t left out.

Already, technological advancements like Artificial Intelligence (AI), are with us. We are getting ready for an industrial revolution that will completely alter the way we live and do business. Industries are shaping up for what is coming with this technological revolution.

One sure thing is that the global economy will improve and life will be better for many people all over the world. Most bottlenecks in living standards and business opportunities will disappear to a large extent.

We envisage an era where technology will make life a lot easier. Trading platforms like crypto will make massive inroads into the global market systems. It’s a progressive world, and all we can do is get ready for the imminent.

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Anna is a specialist in different types of writing. She graduated from the Interpreters Department, but creative writing became her favorite type of work. Now she improves her skills while working as a freelance writer for Pick The Writer, Writing Judge to assist a lot of students all over the world and has free time for another work, as well. Always she does her best in the posts and articles.

How to Shore Up Your Global Trade During Tough Economic Times