Whatever the physical location of your company, you can expand to other regions and countries with the click of a button, especially now that marketing tools have made international advertising campaigns so much easier, so that the experience has become very tempting. But before you do, stop and think about how you can best serve your new customers.
In this article we will talk about the technical capabilities and management of your supply chain, and the local rules and laws you may need to follow.
Planning these details will help reduce risks, and identify potential problems before we move on to other topics.
Technical capabilities and management of your supply chain
1. You should check the performance of your website in the countries where you want to sell products; Because some areas suffer from slow Internet connection, so make sure that your pages appear on the Internet, and that your site works well in the places where you want to sell.
2. check your supply chain and make sure you can deliver your products to all remote areas; where you want to sell it.
3. don't forget to review all the taxes and laws that affect business activities in those markets.
Local government agencies can sometimes provide this information and may offer consulting services to help you know what you need to know about the market you plan to export to.
Remember that you want all of your customers to be able to reach you no matter where they are located, and an easy way to get started is to provide customer support via email and communications through your website.
At some point, you may have to set up a connection to your website, such as a phone line, and if you use a free line, make sure it's properly configured; So that customers in other countries can easily contact you.
Now think about how the customer will respond to your business, from discovering your products and services to placing an order.
Do you need to make any adjustments to your plan to keep things under control? Reviewing your business operations, especially supply chain management, will play an important role in your success.
Suppose you own an old record store in Egypt, and you hear that the sale of these records is booming in Casablanca; So you want to start selling your records in Morocco to take advantage of this popularity.
Local rules and laws you may need to follow
Here your supply chain management may include sourcing to local suppliers, keeping transportation requirements in mind and determining the most efficient way to get the product to the customer in Casablanca.
Let's imagine you just received an order for more than 2,000 old cylinders that should be delivered within two weeks, but you don't have enough in your local stock.
If we consider that the shipping process will be in two stages and that delivering the remainder of the order, repackaging the product and shipping to the customer in less than two weeks will not be possible, you may decide to deal with a local supplier.
As you consider expanding your business to global markets, you will also need to explore the local laws and regulations for doing business in each target region because these legal consequences can be challenging to expand into a specific region or country.
Study tax requirements and export and import restrictions for your products and services. Some countries have agreements that may affect the collection of taxes and duties, which will affect your net income.
The way your business is legally established may also make a difference in your ability to operate across borders, as some countries may require you to register with the relevant authorities in order to sell there.
Summary
Make your business accessible to new customers, examine supply chain operations and how they can operate across borders, and research legal and government regulations that affect the business.
In the end, your expansion into new regions and countries may be a long and difficult process, but once you take the right steps you are guaranteed your path to success.
See: Production, Promotion and Marketing