Globalization will inevitably present increasing opportunities and threats to more and more companies.

Local buyers, who have historically provided protected local markets for local products and services, will in future be increasingly tempted by offers from sellers around the world !

Even the smallest suppliers of products and services can offer them for sale on a near global basis via a personal computer. The potential to win orders on an international scale is already here.

For companies with good international trade skills globalization offers a healthy future.

Catalogue type items and commodity goods share a tremendous potential for e-commerce sales. Most other goods will continue to be sold during or following face to face meetings, requiring technical or financial discussions, assessment of samples etc. Advances in information technology will provide, at the very least, a powerful marketing and business tool to add to the fax machine, telephone etc.

The need to acquire or update international trade skills to compete in this rapidly evolving globalized world is both essential and urgent !

The price of failure to respond will prove terminal for too many companies with the loss of many more jobs.

Make East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce your first call for assistance.

Ed Murphy
International Trade and Training Director