Competence of the certificate:

To identify and analyze the most important theoretical and practical elements for the companies in the international business environment.

Instructions:

You supervise the international development of a Mexican organic cosmetics company based in Mexico. Thanks to innovative products in skin care, your company has successfully entered the Latin America markets, and more recently, has started to sell its products in North America.

It now seems advisable to expand in Europe and Asia. You must convince the members of the general management of your company that it is time to conquest the European and Asian markets. Imagine you must prepare a PowerPoint presentation with your export plan.

Key concept:

An export plan helps you to understand facts, constraints, and goals around your international effort. Use it to create specific objectives, decide on implementation schedules, and mark the milestones of your success.  It can also motivate your team to reach goals.

Completing an international business plan helps you to anticipate future goals, assemble facts, identify constraints and create an action statement. It should set forth specific objectives and implement a timetable and milestones. A strategy for entering or expanding into targeted markets is critical to your success in the global marketplace.      

Elements of an export plan

As you develop an export plan, consider the following questions for each market.  This Sample Outline of an Export Plan can help you organize your work.

1. Which products are selected for export development? What modifications, if any, must be made to adapt them for overseas markets?  
2. Is an export license needed?
3. Which countries are targeted for sales development?
4. What are the basic customer profiles? What marketing and distribution channels should be used to reach customers?
5. Is there any challenge to face? For example, competition, cultural differences, import and export controls and such.  Which strategy could address these challenges? 
6. How will your product’s export sales price be determined? 
7. What specific operational steps must be taken?
8. What will be the time frame for implementing each element of the plan?
9. What personnel and company resources will be dedicated to exporting?
10. What will be the cost in time and money for each element?
11. How will the results be evaluated and used to modify the plan?   

Evaluation criteria:

• The export process and the different actors that intervene are described in a table and a flowchart.
• The target market is identified.
• A market research on the countries of interest is done.
• The pricing strategy for the product or service is determined.
• A strategy to find buyers is defined.