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HOW TO NAVIGATE INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION DESPITE HEADWINDS

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HOW TO NAVIGATE INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION DESPITE HEADWINDS

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The global pandemic has reminded us all of how inter-connected the world is. As countries emerge from the global health crisis, and economies show steady signs of recovery, companies with global exposure are increasingly optimistic about opportunities outside their home markets, despite a number of headwinds. 

Expanding a business beyond one’s domestic market requires long-term planning, utilization of complex global supply chains, managing risk exposures and being nimble enough to flexibly respond to changing market conditions.

The results of J.P. Morgan’s 2021 Business Leaders Outlook (BLO) survey highlight how leaders are adjusting to this new environment—and finding opportunities to grow globally despite the current challenges. 

In the survey, most midsize U.S. businesses are optimistic, even as they plan for continued unpredictability. Having learned in 2020 how to manage well remotely and deal with disrupted supply chains, U.S. business leaders are staying the course; global expansion plans remain at the same levels from pre-pandemic years. Most forecasts continued steady sales growth outside their home market. This indicates the confidence they have gained from pivoting throughout the year, including accelerating technology adoption, increased digitization of core processes and managing global ventures with much less in-person travel.

Ultimately, the rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines continue to be a core component impacting the global growth outlook for businesses. In addition, geopolitical events, new trade and investment policies and continuously changing business regulations will continue to challenge business leaders seeking sustained profitable international growth. 

Why Expand Globally in This Climate?

With issues such as labor shortages, severe bottlenecks in global supply chains and evolving customer expectations, it can be discouraging to consider international expansion at this time. However, according to the survey, executives remain optimistic. Those surveyed cited access to new customers/markets (72%), better opportunities to serve domestic customers with global operations (37%) and access to suppliers/materials (34%) as key reasons for expansion.

The pandemic will not deglobalize the business landscape. Business leaders have tried-and-tested remote workforces, seen governments become more flexible with business applications, and they have been leveraging new approaches and technologies to keep their business moving forward. In short, they have experience under their belt, have a long-term vision and see opportunity in international expansion—and are not letting the pandemic stand in the way. After all, adapting is what business is all about—and recognizing that extraordinary environments demand tailored strategies based on an accurate reading of market opportunities.

The World Has Changed: 3 Key Strategies for Navigating International Expansion

Developing Strategic Partnerships & Understanding Trade Policy

Trade barriers and tariffs were cited as the top international business concern for globally-active middle market companies in the 2021 Business Leaders Outlook survey. Complying with local regulations and the intricate differences in policy between nations can be overwhelming and time intensive. Any little error may lead to wasted time or resources, complications and added expenses. Developing strategic partnerships with businesses, banks and vendors—those who already have the local intel—goes a long way in effective global expansion.

The many cultural nuances and varying consumer preferences by country also benefit from local expertise. Furthermore, the insight around local competition and market opportunities is more easily obtained through these kinds of partnerships, especially when acting quickly is critical to success.

Increasing global political changes in recent years that are challenging the status quo require extra diligence in this environment. Additionally, the economic reforms under way in many developing countries are impacting both the volume and direction of foreign investment. We especially see this in China, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America and parts of Europe. For businesses navigating expansion in countries experiencing political and economic reform, it’s important to consider the impact these governments will have on fiscal, monetary, regulatory and foreign policy—and how significantly or quickly this may affect foreign investment opportunities.

As a positive example for businesses in North America, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) brought timely improvements to trade relationships in today’s volatile landscape. The USMCA has the potential to offer more certainty and a stronger safety net for trade and investment by promoting fairer trade and robust economic growth.

Investing in Technology & Digitization

Trade finance is the nucleus of the day-to-day global economy. It supports every stage of the global supply chain and ensures that buyers receive their goods and that sellers receive their payments. Yet the world faces a massive and persistent trade finance gap. The World Trade Organization estimated between 80% to 90% of global trade relies on trade finance, yet there was a $1.5 trillion gap between the market demand and supply before the pandemic. That gap has only increased since 2020.

COVID-19 accelerated a transformative period for trade finance, primarily through digitization. The global challenge with trade finance centers around inflexible business models, paper-based and tedious processes, regulatory constraints and outdated legacy systems. 

Technology can help bring down operational costs while also increasing efficiencies, encouraging new revenue opportunities, optimizing resources, enhancing the recruiting process … the list goes on. Businesses are investing heavily in digital transformation, with cloud-enabled technology becoming the new standard of operation. This brings immense advantages, including the immediate ability to access data and machine learning (ML) with virtually unlimited computing power, in a split second. The value of AI and ML can clearly be seen across business functions including trading, risk management, marketing and operations. It enhances outcomes by streamlining processes and increasing overall efficiency. 

Additionally, blockchain—a highly secure, decentralized digital record of transactions—offers a multitude of international trade-related applications, bringing high security, automation and traceability to important finance functions. 

Streamlining Supply Chains 

More than ever, managing global supply chains has become a critical skill for companies expanding internationally. Surging demand with various bottlenecks has disrupted global goods transportation and logistics. Gaining visibility over cross-border supply chains, while meeting profitability goals and evolving needs of customers, is an ongoing obstacle for most business leaders. Streamlining the global supply chain and focusing on visibility can lead to increased efficiencies throughout the entire production/solution life cycle. It entails optimizing processes by improving the accuracy of demand forecasts and schedules, and improving production lines to reduce costs. This can help make businesses more agile and profitable. Secure data integration is also critical, so information can be shared across channels swiftly and seamlessly.

While concerns around tariffs and trade barriers again led the list of business leaders’ global concerns in the 2021 survey, managing global supply chains overtook currency risk for the second spot. Instead of focusing on the next crisis-scenario—whether it be a pandemic, natural disaster or cyberattack—business leaders must continue their focus on making global supply chains more resilient for future disruptions.

The Road Ahead: Global Outlook Optimistic for Well-Prepared Business Leaders 

The overall global business outlook is optimistic, with 66% of leaders in the 2021 survey expecting their international sales to increase in the next five years. U.S. midsized, multinational businesses know that sustained growth requires access to new customers in new markets. That won’t change. However, today’s increasingly complex landscape will require greater investments in digitized products and processes, more customized local solutions in widely different international markets, and leveraging the expertise of reliable partners to understand the nuances of operating in challenging foreign markets. At the top of the list is having effective market entry and supply chain strategies, supported by a strong understanding of trade and investment policy to help shape your global market expansion.

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Morgan McGrath is head of International Banking at J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking, where he is responsible for the global relationship management of clients headquartered in the U.S. and overseas. Throughout his career, Mr. McGrath has worked with a wide range of companies, financial institutions and governments in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific.

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How Business Leaders Can Leverage Tenacity

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It was a year of hard knocks, for individuals and certainly for businesses, which struggled to survive as the COVID-19 pandemic spawned a weak economy that wreaked havoc on sales goals, performance goals, and profits.

But 2020 is now history and individuals and businesses both need to foster a new attitude if they hope to succeed, says Dr. Allen Lycka (www.drallenlycka.com), co-author of the international bestseller The Secrets to Living a Fantastic Life.

“If there is one attribute that determines success, it’s tenacity,” says Lycka, who for three decades was a cosmetic dermatologist, but today is a transformational keynote speaker, thought leader, and life-changing coach.

“While intelligence, hard work, and skill are important, it is tenacity and perseverance that ultimately make the difference in achieving success. Businesses that show those traits are the ones that will do well.”

In the process, though, those businesses and the people who lead them may need to shove aside any lingering pessimism brought about by the pandemic, and dig deep inside themselves for the optimism that dwells there, Lycka says.

Lycka is convinced tenacity resides in everyone and it’s just a matter of bringing it out. He suggests a few ways to do so:

Fix your belief system. Lycka says the No. 1 reason people give up – whether in business or other endeavors – is that they harbor false beliefs. They are certain that they can’t succeed because something – genetics, bad luck, some other factor beyond their control – is keeping them down. Businesses aren’t going to flourish with that type of fatalistic thinking, he says. He points out that in the bestselling book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell wrote that becoming expert at something takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. In other words, tenacity. Of course, “deliberate practice” is a specifically defined term that involves goal setting, quick feedback, and constant efforts at improving. “Integral to this is to have a written plan and goals,” Lycka says. “Goals are dreams with a deadline.”

Be wary of naysayers. In business planning, as in life planning, it’s important to brush off the negative criticism from others. For example, someone determined to launch a new business might hear from naysayers that this is the wrong time or that the basic idea for the business is a bad one. “If you truly believe that your plan is a good one and that it’s what you want to do, then you should listen to yourself rather than others,” Lycka says.

Look for role models. One way to summon your inner tenacity is to choose role models who exhibit the traits you admire. “If you have role models who are tenacious, you can pattern yourself after them,” Lycka says. For individuals, that can mean looking to successful people who overcame odds or persevered despite encountering failure along the way. For businesses, it can mean studying how their best competitors thrived despite difficulties, or how the entrepreneurs they admire shrugged off setbacks to accomplish success.

“Thankfully, we all have what it takes to be tenacious,” Lycka says. “You can always build up your resolve by using some of these tips, but don’t forget that it’s been there all along. Everything you need, you already have. Just have to recognize it and work at it.”

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Dr. Allen Lycka (www.drallenlycka.com), previously acknowledged as one of the leading cosmetic dermatologists globally for three decades – he is now a transformational keynote speaker, thought leader, life-changing coach, workshop provider and mentor. At the top of his career in 2003, he was crushed by a misdiagnosis of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) and was told he had six months to live. He defied the odds by finding another doctor who saved his life. A near death survivor, he discovered his “golden pearls” through the experience. He has now dedicated his life to helping others and provides answers in his international bestselling book, The Secrets To Living A Fantastic Life… Discover The 13 Golden Pearls Within, co-authored with Woman of Distinction Winner Harriet Tinka, who had a similar life experience, surviving death after being kidnapped, stabbed, and left for dead. The “Golden Pearls” are the commonality they discovered. 

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Archives, Global Logistics Planning Guide, Global Trade Daily

GLOBAL TRADE’S ANNUAL LOGISTICS PLANNING GUIDE CAN PUT YOU IN THE POWER POSITION AGAIN

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For a supply chain to truly function well it needs to be flexible, operating under a ‘bend but don’t break’ principle that allows it to scale to needs and to be maneuverable enough to escape blockages and delays along the route. Much like a muscle, however, this is fairly unlikely to simply come naturally. It takes preparation, training, and stretching to build a muscle into something with the capacity and flexibility to go through rigorous moments of endurance or sprinting. 

This analogy begins a follow-up report on the Supply Chain USA Virtual Summit 2020 by Alex Hadwick, editor-in-chief for Supply Chains with Reuters Events, which presented the online event in partnership with ABBYY, a digital intelligence company.

Hadwick discovered that numerous experts from across the supply chain space agreed that critical lessons must be learned from the disruption of 2020 as well as broader industry trends.

“Visibility now underpins the capacity of a supply chain to react to change, strengthens its ability to provide strong customer service, and allows more flexible supply chains and the introduction of automation,” Hadwick writes.

“By building a strong and systemic approach to the view over the supply chain then we can begin to train to become more effective in handling the new environment. That environment is changing rapidly and e-commerce growth is causing supply chains to move faster, but they have to balance the demands with sustainability goals, both of which require the right reporting capabilities in order to succeed.”

Catch-up mode

Interestingly, among the notions presented at the summit was that while the global pandemic ushered in new, strengthened e-commerce normal, the industry is still catching up to global demand. 

“Even before COVID, we’ve had significant disruption over the last few years that I think is going to continue to change the way we do business for the future,” mentioned summit participant Robert Sanchez, Chairman & CEO of Ryder System. “It’s the three suspects that you all probably know: e-commerce, driven by Amazon; it’s asset sharing, driven by Uber; and it’s the next generation vehicle – the electric and autonomous vehicle, that is really driven by, I would say, Tesla.”

The silver lining may be that industry players now have their radars up for disruption. The days of, say, a Crown Books pooh-poohing a threat by an upstart like Amazon may be as over as … well, Crown Books.

As Ravi Dosanjh, head of Strategic Programs at Intel said to bring us full circle to Hadwick’s opening: “The muscles we build in supply chains during the numerous disruptions come into play now, and I think it sounds obvious, but you need to enable the right muscle, the right capability at the right time. That’s something that doesn’t happen by accident.” 

Ed Barriball, a partner with McKinsey & Company, continued the flex fest by first noting, “You need to bring together a mosaic of data,” from external providers, and from within that is merged “to start to get an idea of who I’m actually buying from, or my suppliers are buying from. 

“Once you have all that information, understand where your vulnerabilities and risks are in the supply chain. And for a lot of folks, I think that’s a new muscle to be working.” 

Visibility is key 

Another area of agreement among the experts, according to Hadwick’s report, was the need to institute real-time visibility in the supply chain.

“I think it’s critical when you think about supply chain visibility technology, that it’s providing visibility across all nodes. That enables network collaboration and exception management,” said Dave Belter, VP & GM of Global Transportation Management, Ryder System.

However, more must be done, added Russell Felker, CTO of GlobalTranz: “I feel like in some ways, we’re at the point that electronic medical record systems or electronic health record systems were at toward the end of the 1990s and into the early 2000s, where they were standing up all these things to capture data, but had no formality of how they talk to each other.

“Both of your doctors might have a way of keeping your data electronically, and they had no way to get it to each other, and so they would print it and fax it. We’re kind of at that point where we have these systems that exist and that capture pieces of information, but they don’t have a clear method of handing information off, maintaining chain of custody, and maintaining that visibility [and] the sanctity of the information, as it traverses.” 

That is why Belter finds it critical that supply chain visibility technology must be provided “across all nodes. That enables network collaboration and exception management.”

Taking a hard look at your entire move through the supply chain will uncover areas for improvement—and ultimately greater market share, according to the experts.

“Where we see a significant demand is around what’s called process mining and discovery, where you actually analyze event logs from various disparate systems of record and visualize process behaviors as they occur,” said Andrew Pery, a process intelligence expert at ABBYY.

Such examinations can help you identify areas where, for instance, more automation would be beneficial or risks and potential legal entanglements can be avoided, Pery noted.

Which brings us to the last mile

 “The last mile is the most complex piece of the puzzle in the supply chain—because it’s the end part, everything has to work upstream for that delivery to go perfect,” said summit participant Erik Caldwell, president of the Last Mile at XPO Logistics.

One thing that is becoming obvious, according to Tom Galluzzo, founder, and CEO of IAM Robotics, is that there will not be enough flesh-and-blood workers to maintain a flawless last-mile experience. 

“The reality is that it’s going to continue to evolve toward more automation, more force multipliers being used,” Galluzzo says in the summit follow-up report. “Whether that’s warehouse execution systems continuing to get smarter and optimizing the way internal operations are run within supply chain buildings, or actually leveraging robotics to do some of the physical moving material, that’s all going to continue pretty strongly over the next five to 10 years.”

Please sustain me

Hadwick goes on to cover sustainability in the supply chain, which, given the pressures of last-mile, micro-fulfillment, and a customer base that seems to expect goods ordered today yesterday, one helluva challenge. 

Among the ideas presented at the summit that could offer a solution is moving supply chain facilities closer to the customers. As Michael Murphy, executive vice president of Development at industrial real estate developer CenterPoint pointed out, the giant e-commerce facilities are less often feeding stores directly and more often shipping goods to smaller distribution outlets.

“Moving the supply chain closer to the consumer is a huge priority right now for a lot of organizations,” noted IAM Robotics’ Galluzzo. 

In conclusion …

Pery, the process intelligence expert at ABBYY, contributes the summit follow-up’s conclusion: “It’s evident no matter which stage of the supply chain logistics providers serve, having good process workflow and visibility into the specific events, activities, and people involved with each step is critical to successfully completing the last mile and delivering a positive customer experience.”

He and Hadwick before him take deeper dives into each of the sections presented above. If you would like to read their full report (for free!), visit https://1.reutersevents.com/LP=29531.

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5 Ways Leaders Can Eliminate Stress and Reboot for Change In 2021

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As a challenging year winds down, companies are sifting through what worked and what didn’t as they prepare to reboot for 2021 after dealing with the many difficulties brought on by the pandemic.

And if a business is planning significant changes in its operations in the New Year, the leadership team’s empathy for the workforce is vital in the process, says Joel Patterson (www.JoelPatterson.com), a workplace culture expert, founder of The Vested Group and ForbesBooks author of The Big Commitment: Solving The Mysteries Of Your ERP Implementation.

“Leaders need to be empathetic to help their employees manage stress and stay productive, especially in these unprecedented times,” Patterson says. “The holidays always add stress, but company transitions heading into the New Year, magnified by the uncertainty we all face due to COVID-19, can send that stress off the charts.

“For example, when a company installs new software or makes other major changes in operations and processes, the end-users and middle managers can really feel it as the company tries to ensure those transitions are smooth. Having the human touch from company leadership is critical, as is providing proper training and giving confidence to middle management as their teams implement those systems.”

Patterson offers tips on how leaders can lower stress and keep morale high while implementing changes:

Start with acknowledging the emotional side of change. “There are unexpected twists and turns to any big change in company operations,” Patterson says. “Employees have to adjust to new processes – sometimes after having done things the same way for many years. This learning curve can understandably cause panic. Employees can be resistant to learning how to make it work to their advantage. Leaders need to expect these reactions and develop a plan based on empathy in order to deal with it.”

Know how to listen. “True listening means listening with open ears, open eyes and an open heart,” Patterson says. “It means paying attention to body language, to the tone of voice, to the hidden emotions behind what’s being said. You’ll always gain more from listening than from speaking.”

Know what empathy is. “For a leader, empathy is more than listening and nodding your understanding; it’s understanding that your employees have their own working and communicating styles and a life separate from work,” Patterson says. “In stressful, uncomfortable times like these when change is thrust upon them, you can stay connected with them by making them feel more comfortable. Leaders can begin to do that when they put themselves in their employees’ shoes to better understand things from their perspective.”

Build a culture of psychological safety. Allowing people to feel free to air their concerns and speak their truths during change and upheaval can do wonders for the work culture in the long run. “The foundation becomes stronger because of the trust factor,” Patterson says. “Leaders understand the challenges that exist through the organization, which helps them be more effective in leading their teams through change.”

Emphasize “change energy” over “change fatigue.” “The best organizations understand that there is no endpoint to change,” Patterson says. “Change is for the greater good of continual evolution collectively and individually. Therefore, there are no excuses like being fatigued by change. Instead, leaders need to sell change as a necessary energizer that benefits everyone. Show the workforce how the new systems can work in their favor, not against them.”

“Empathy gives you insight into what others are feeling and thinking,” Patterson says. “At its foundation, empathy informs your decision-making by sharpening your perceptions and intuition.”

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Joel Patterson (www.JoelPatterson.com) is the founder of The Vested Group, a business technology consulting firm in the Dallas, Texas, area, and ForbesBooks author of The Big Commitment: Solving The Mysteries Of Your ERP Implementation. He has worked in the consulting field for over 20 years. Patterson began his consulting career at Arthur Andersen and Capgemini before helping found Lucidity Consulting Group in 2001. For 15 years he specialized in implementing Tier One ERP, software systems designed to service the needs of large, complex corporations. In 2011, Patterson founded The Vested Group, which focuses on bringing comprehensive cloud-based business management solutions to start-ups and well-established businesses alike. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Baylor University.

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How to Manage and Overcome Disruptions in the Supply Chain

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Regardless of the type of disruption, supply chain resilience is highly dependant on several factors, one of which being reliable end-to-end visibility created at the first sign of trouble. Whether it’s a health crisis, a series of policy changes, or other forms of disruption, proactive rather than reactive measures are critical in staying afloat when facing a variety of disruptions or bottlenecks.

Disruptions in the modern supply chain are simply inevitable and require a different approach in data management and predictability to successfully overcome the challenge at hand.  By effectively utilizing technology tools available and developing a solid crisis plan can make a significant difference in recovery times.

Below is a helpful infographic from DiCentral breaks down various predictable and unpredictable supply chain disruptions and what it takes in the planning, reaction, and response stages of managing and navigating challenges.

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Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

10 Steps to Building a Winning Trading Plan

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There is one elegant formula in the materials: “fail to plan = plan to fail”, which is understood as “not to plan anything, it means to plan the failure”. No one starts a business without a business plan, but why does the majority start trading without a plan?

Trade is an occupation that requires constant work on yourself. If in most spheres of life you can remain yourself to be successful, then the market is not going to adapt to anyone.

The market uses the darkest sides of the personality to turn you into fuel. Therefore, think about the main weapon of the trader – a trading plan.

While writing a trading plan, you need to remember one thing – you create it in order to comply. This is the set of rules that must be observed in each situation and never deviate.

This is the set of rules that must be observed in each situation and never deviate.

Setting goals

From the very beginning, accept the fact that the safe market trading plan is not a static thing. As you develop yourself as a trader and improve your skills, the plan will also develop.

You should not look for the perfect plan from other people, it does not exist. Each trader is unique, but there are generally accepted elements that are worth taking into their plan.

Inspection and analysis of the sale point

First, conduct an external examination and analysis of the point of sale. Go to the point and greet the staff and decision makers. Then conduct internal inspection and analysis of sale point, if necessary, adjust the purpose of the visit. Conduct a preliminary survey of sellers and together with the staff of the point take off the leftovers.

Skill assessment

Are you ready to trade? Do you have a proven system you are sure of? Are you ready to follow your rules without hesitation? Understand that you can work by your own rules; the market cannot impose anything on you until you give up the slack. Be a pro and take your profits from a crowd that does not have a winning plan.

Determine how to trade

There are many ways to trade in financial markets, such as scalping, day trading, position trading and more. Some choose one option, others successfully use several. Whatever choice you make, the most important thing is to have an understanding in advance of possible scenarios and actions to be taken. Write them in the trade plan.

Define your market

Register in what market, what tools do you want to trade. Consider that the main movements occur at the same time, be on the market at this time.

Increase your level of knowledge in your tools, see what influences them and take this information into account in trade.

Define your trading system

Trading system – a number of rules that will help bring trade to automatism. Freedom of choice in the market will not give you an advantage, so write it in detail.

Write in which platform the analysis will take place, and in which one – the trading, what additional settings are required. It is a good idea to read trading plan template capstone help, in order to be aware of if your plan is rendered successfully.

Stop loss

This is the thing that, even before entering a trade, will help you determine what potential trade has, as well as a stop loss keeps you trading in the long term. At the same time, the stop may be different for each instrument, depending on its volatility, so it is easier to install it as a percentage of your depot.

Management of risks

Perhaps the most important part of the plan. With the right risk management, you can toss up a coin and stay with your money.

It is necessary to prescribe how much you are willing to risk in each transaction, while you can make it dynamic, depending on how good the transaction is. It is also possible to come from your form – maybe you are now at the peak of your form and have the opportunity to earn a little more.

Way to manage open positions

Greed will always prevent you from closing a profitable position when it is clear that the trend has stopped. Fear and hope will prevent you from closing an unprofitable position.

In order for emotions not to interfere, you need to have a simple strategy to exit.

Keep a trade journal

An important point is also neglected. The magazine is a tool for training and analyzing your activities. Keeping a simple diary will allow you to avoid repeated mistakes, or vice versa will allow you to develop a new trading advantage.

It may seem strange, but the breaks are not less important than the intervals of activity. During the rest you relax, you charge with new forces. You can reflect on your trading and make your trading plan even better.

No one will give you guarantees that trade will bring you money. The chances of success depend on your skill, control system, discipline and much more. But as they say, you can lose the battle, but win the war. And to win the war, you need a good plan that will make you consistently successful and allow you to survive in the market.

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Melissa Cartew is a writer, who enjoys writing on diverse topics. She has education in the realm of marketing and is highly aware of the trade. Her hobbies also include traveling, reading about promotions and psychology.

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Is Your Business’ Global Message Lost In Translation?

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American businesses with plans to take their products global know they will need to overcome language barriers, but that little chore could prove to be a greater challenge than they realize.

The potential for missteps abounds as companies attempt to translate websites, apps, user manuals, print advertisements, marketing emails, and other materials for a customer base that’s not their usual audience.

“It’s critical that companies be aware of not just how their products will be perceived, purchased, and used in other countries, but also that selling internationally requires tweaking business processes,” says Ian A. Henderson, author of Global Content Quest: In Search of Better Translations and co-founder with his wife, Francoise, of Rubric (www.rubric.com), a global language-service provider.

“Many products designed for and by Americans are in high demand in other countries, but that doesn’t mean the user experience will be exactly the same.”

Some translation complications that businesses encounter could easily be avoided, Rubric’s founders say. A few of those problematic situations include:

Creating poor user journeys. The Hendersons say they sometimes encounter clients who have a general idea of what the content should be in English, but have not thought about what it should be in other languages, or how to adjust it for different cultures. “Because of this,” Ian Henderson says, “people often end up translating for the sake of translating from some vague idea of necessity, rather than to intentionally grow the international market for their product in a strategic way. This leads to a poor user journey.” If you don’t put time and thought into what you are translating and why, he says, you may end up with inconsistency in content.

Using misapplied tools. Companies often look for software that will solve all their problems, and in many cases a multi-language feature is sold as part of a content-management system, or a product-information management system. “Unfortunately, it is often not very effective,” Francoise Henderson says. “Translation is more of an art than a science, and it is rarely as simple as plugging words into a program.” She recommends running a pilot program to test out new software before committing to buying it.

Adding translation to someone’s other responsibilities. Companies often make the mistake of assigning translation duties to someone already on staff simply because they speak the languages in question. “On the surface, that seems to make sense because the person knows your product and is already on your payroll,” Ian Henderson says. But the employee won’t make translation a priority because of competing responsibilities. When the employee does prioritize the translation, the rest of their work suffers. Also, just because they speak the language doesn’t mean they are competent writers who can successfully convey a message from one language to another.

Being stuck in silos. If departments within a company fail to communicate, information might be unintentionally translated multiple times, costing the company thousands in extra translation costs, Ian Henderson says. Other times, different departments will use different vendors to translate. So when put through translation, a product’s packaging claim might not correspond to the material that marketing or legal is sending out. One solution, the Hendersons say, is to have a central communications hub through which everything flows.

“One thing we’ve learned is translation is more than just a language problem,” Francoise Henderson says. “People and the products they buy vary from country to country. As a result, marketing can’t be too uniform because it won’t speak to all the audiences. But if it’s too individualized, you can lose your brand identity. The trick is creating a balance that both preserves the global brand and serves the local needs.”

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About Ian A. Henderson

Ian A. Henderson (www.rubric.com), author of Global Content Quest: In Search of Better Translations, is chief technology officer and co-founder of Rubric, a global language service provider. During the last 25 years, Henderson has partnered with Rubric customers to deliver relevant global content to their end users, enabling them to reap the rewards of globalization, benefit from agile workflows, and guarantee the integrity of their content. Prior to founding Rubric, Henderson worked as a software engineer for Siemens in Germany.

About Francoise Henderson

Francoise Henderson is chief executive officer and co-founder of Rubric, overseeing worldwide operations and Global Content strategy. Under her guidance, Rubric has generated agile KPI-driven globalization workflows for its clients, reducing time to market across multiple groups and increasing quality and ROI. Francoise has over 25 years’ experience in corporate management and translation.

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5 KEYS TO EFFECTIVE PLANNING FOR CAT EVENTS

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently issued its forecast for the 2019 Atlantic and Pacific Hurricane Seasons. Specifically, NOAA forecast 9-15 named storms, 4-8 hurricanes and 2-4 major (Category 3+) hurricanes between June and November for the Atlantic Basin. It also forecast 15-22 named storms, 8-13 hurricanes, including 4-8 major hurricanes, through November for the Eastern Pacific Basin.

Although NOAA indicated its forecasts are “near normal” for the Atlantic Basin and “above average” for the Pacific, even one storm making landfall in a populated area can have dire consequences for local residents and businesses, as well as their trading partners and customers. 

Business leaders and managers whose enterprises and key trading partners are located in areas vulnerable to catastrophes need to plan effectively and well in advance for any potential disaster. Here are five keys for effective disaster planning and management.

1. Develop and test an emergency response plan.

Create a team of key personnel and external resources needed to prepare for and respond to a disaster affecting your operations. Besides members from your risk management, executive, legal, accounting/finance, IT, HR, operations, and communications, the team should include your insurance broker, risk consultant, claims adjuster, and restoration contractors for emergency repairs of damaged facilities.

Have multiple contact information (including office, home and cellular phones; business and personal email) for each individual and create call trees to contact everyone on a timely basis.

Designate an internal leader, such as the risk manager or CFO, and alternates to coordinate  response and claims teams, and oversee the plan’s implementation.

Next, carefully assess the potential vulnerabilities of each facility, such as wind damage, flooding, and fire. Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of your organization’s facilities and locations situated in regions prone to hurricanes so you have a full understanding of business interruption and asset values at risk from these events.

A key lesson from past storms: Planning must address not only wind-related loss, but also storm surge, flooding, extended power outages, and interruption of land line, cell phone and internet access, as well as the potential for sustained site inaccessibility.

List all measures needed to prepare for such events in advance, as well as to respond at each stage as they unfold, including pending, immediately prior, during, following, preparation of the insurance claim, process management or repair and restoration through full recovery.

Develop a project flowchart or playbook so everyone involved understands the plan and their responsibilities. New planning “apps” on mobile devices can ensure all team members have ready access to all required details as storms approach and their actions are needed.

Rehearse the plan and test it using tabletop exercises. Be sure to update it regularly to account for any changes in personnel, operations, and activity.  

2. Know emergency procedures and resources.

Well in advance of any event, contact the local Emergency Management Office to gain an understanding of community evacuation plans. Have a citizen band radio system at each facility to track storms and obtain critical government notifications.

3. Engage employees.

Inform all employees of your hurricane and natural disaster plan and have supervisors explain elements that apply to them, including their individual responsibilities when storms occur in areas where they live and work. They should know facility shutdown procedures, including how, when and by whom they are to be implemented and communicated.

Prepare for events that occur when employees are at any facility; make sure they have access to adequate emergency supplies (such as 72 hours of nonperishable food, potable water, first aid kits, lighting and communications devices) and safe locations onsite if they need refuge from floodwaters or structural collapse.

4. Safeguard facilities and critical equipment.

Plan to protect or secure outside equipment and inventory. Safeguard windows against breakage with permanent storm shutters or cover them with marine plywood as storms approach. Divert water from holes in foundations, doorways and sills, and other openings. Inspect roofs, HVAC systems, elevators, and loading docks for potential exposures.

Be prepared to anchor or move yard structures and equipment (trailers, cranes, loose yard storage, high profile materials, storage racks, etc.) that may be vulnerable to high winds. If sites contain drums of hazardous chemicals, move them to sheltered areas.

If your inventory includes perishable goods, have back-up generators for refrigerators/freezers or arrange transport to another facility. If possible, move susceptible equipment to higher levels.

5. Create a detailed business continuity plan.

Building on the measures taken in the emergency response plan, work with your team to create a comprehensive business continuity plan. Set priorities by identifying critical operations where any downtime or outages will have the greatest impact on the company’s revenues and business, including potential loss of market share, customers and key employees.

Be prepared to move records, computer equipment, and other sensitive equipment/valuable items to other locations in the event of a pending disaster. Additional advance steps include:

-Create electronic back-ups of critical paper documentation.

-Prepare for disruptions in telecommunications, including email and internet access.

-Plan for electric power outages and utility service disruption. Fill diesel engine-driven emergency generators and fire pump fuel tanks. Maintain extra supplies of fuel.  

-Develop a system to advise customers and suppliers of a potential disruption in operations, as well as for keeping them informed of progress in restoring operations after an outage.

-Check key suppliers’ plans to address any disruptions in service or the supply chain.

All measures should be documented, communicated to individuals involved, and the entire plan should be reviewed and updated regularly.

Besides helping protect employees and properties, emergency response and business continuity plans are a key part of a company’s property and business interruption insurance application process. Often, evidence of comprehensive and robust preparation may have an impact on the availability and cost of related insurance protection.

With appropriate planning, businesses can help minimize the potential impacts of hurricanes and other disasters on their operations. As the 2019 hurricane season progresses, these measures can reduce the chances of storm-related employee injuries and property damage, as well as accelerate recovery and reduce potential losses.

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Peter Jagger, a managing director, Aon Global Risk Consulting, works with the firm’s clients on their pre-loss and post-loss planning and risk mitigation. During an insurance industry career that has spanned more than 25 years, he has been involved in claims program design and development, and the preparation of property claims for a variety of industries. Previously, at Aon, he served as director of Property/Casualty Claims/Specialty Services responsible for the oversight and management of the property and casualty claim staff. Over the years, he advised clients around the world that have sustained losses due from such large-scale disaster events as Hurricane Georges, Super Typhoon Pongsona, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Wilma, Hurricane Ike, Thailand flood, and Super Storm Sandy. 

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10 Experts Share Tips on How to Develop a Winning Logistics Strategy

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Effective transition of resources cuts production costs, which in turn gives you more maneuvering space to improve other aspects of your business. However, choosing the optimal strategy is demanding, especially for startups. Less experienced business owners can easily fall into a trap and focus their attention on expensive solutions that never show results and live to see their business crumble.

Therefore, we’ve decided to share some of the most constructive pieces of advice from people who mastered logistics strategy development.

Shawn Casemore

Founder and the president of Casemore & Co, Inc. wrote a book on operational management, focusing mainly on sales but most of his ideas are universally applicable. Shawn states that the distribution network holds significant savings potential if properly handled. Leveraging predicted sales volume to negotiate a lower price is one of the key components in logistics. 

Providing long-term cooperation to a courier service often leads to reduced freight costs, meaning more money stays in your pocket. It’s the same as it’s with professional writing services, the more work you need the better terms you get in return. 

Danny Yunes

Coyote Logistics’ Manager of Supply Chain Strategy is a veteran in the industry, with an immense experience that provided him with an important takeaway. Danny Yunes claims that logistics should be calibrated according to the needs of your customers. If your core consumers expect quality service rather than speed because their priority is to receive undamaged goods and according to specifications, your target strategy is clear.

Samuel Levin

SaaS transport management and outsourcing are what MavenWire‘s Managing Director has to say to startups that can’t afford substantial investments in logistics during the first few years. He argues that these options are affordable and easy to keep up with, allowing less experienced managers to stay on top of the process.

Steve Murray

Experienced Chief Researcher at Chain Supply Visions claims that implementation of Sales and Operation planning is the most effective way to build up the performance of each company department to its full potential. This strategy includes cooperation among departments, synchronization of each operational process to reduce loses, avoid penalties, keep data updated, and keeping this harmony in place through constant process auditing and dealing with every issue as a team.

Imagine running an assignment service and your writers sit idle because the orders are not coming through. The whole team should work on finding the solution that will allow seamless workflow and keep the customers happy with the turnaround time. 

Nick Martin

Founder of RiskLogic says that logistics strategy should be resilient. His thoughts are that Just-in-Time strategy seems perfect in the short run but it is fragile because minor setbacks can put your entire operation to a halt. A resilient strategy is one where you are prepared for every eventuality and there’s not much that can disrupt your flow.

Rick Blasgen

Council of Supply Chain Management President and CEO, Rick Blasgen, keeps it simple. His advice is to hire a logistics expert with a proven track record and let that person analyze your options and start working on your strategy. You could start your hunt on LinkedIn and carefully pick top candidates. You could also visit professional conferences for potential hires. Think of it like googling to decide would you hire AssignmentMasters, Assignment Geek, or Grademiners review service to develop marketing content for you.

Clay Gentry

Transportation Insight’s VP of Logistic Operations says that one should develop a strategy according to its impact on your business goals and customers’ operations. His advice is to focus on fulfilling service level goals while implementing the most cost-effective method of resource distribution. Moreover, Clay suggests that outsourcing is sometimes more effective than investing in the development of logistics infrastructure.

Mark Broussard 

CEO of SAMI emphasizes the importance to keep investments in logistics rational, especially in the early days of conducting business. His idea is to be clear that each action you take makes perfect sense for your business at the time that action is taken. Mr. Broussard thinks that every investment and step forward in the development of your strategy needs to support your entire process. 

Kenneth B. Ackerman

Mr. Ackerman devoted his entire professional life to logistics and warehousing management, eventually founding Warehousing Forum, a vault of industry wisdom. His advice is to follow the corporate strategy. Let’s say you decide to start a business and write custom papers for college students and your goal is to provide the fastest service on the internet to take over the market from bestessays.com.au and myassignmenthelp review because they are your main competitors. From the moment you pick up an order to the moment of delivery, the process efficiency depends on flawless logistics. 

Tim Garcia

As it’s to be expected from one of the leaders in the chain management software development industry, Mr. Garcia suggests you should invest in digital solutions to enhance your logistics. His arguments include commonly understaffed supply-chain which makes people work faster and make more mistakes, ability to keep track of each item and financial leverage against a team of experts that would do the same job for much more money.

Conclusion

Enhancing your logistics doesn’t necessarily mean you should pour money into expensive infrastructure or state of the art management software. In most cases, it’s all about organizing that which you already have to serve your purpose the best. However, working with limited resources makes planning and organizing the chain that binds the production somewhat of a challenge. We hope these words of wisdom will help you in achieving your goals.

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This guest post is contributed by Kurt Walker who is a blogger and college paper writer. In the course of his studies, he developed an interest in innovative technology and likes to keep business owners informed about the latest technology to use to transform their operations. He writes for companies such as Edu Birdie, XpertWriters and uk.bestessays.com on various academic and business topics.