Click here to listen to Nancy Ward's presentation on  Canada's market conditions.
Click here to listen to Vince Lencioni's presentation on Mexico's market conditions.
Click here to listen to Claudia Tomaselli's presentation on Brazil's market conditions.
Click here to listen to Paul Swenson's presentation on China 's market conditions.

On May 14, 2009, UW-Madison partnered with Northcentral Technical College and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce to deliver the first in a series of in-depth workshops for northern Wisconsin businesses on increasing profits through export opportunities. “Navigating the Global Marketplace: Opportunities for Northern Wisconsin Business” was held at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau. CIBER and the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) are leading the university’s participation in this effort.

Attendees learned how to get started in global trade and make valuable contacts to help carry out a successful international business strategy. Wisconsin experts and company representatives led sessions on the basics of export, development of international sales and distribution strategies, the mechanics of overseas transportation products, market opportunities around the world, and the logistics of receiving payment. “The majority of companies making a profit in the U.S. manufacturing sector are those that have become engaged in international trade,” said Brad Schneider, export development manager for the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. “Through exports, companies can increase sales income, diversify market risk, extend product life cycle, use idle capacity, and reduce unit costs through economies of scale. Exports also help sharpen competitiveness, broaden contacts, and enhance understanding of global markets and cultures.

Keynote speaker Jeff Pharris, director of Asia-Pacific Regions at Harley-Davidson Motor Company, talked about the challenges that a company even as large and well-known as Harley-Davidson must manage in order to be successful in the global market. These challenges include language and cultural differences, time differences and the length of travel between Milwaukee and overseas facilities, the suitability of the company’s products for local markets, assessing competition in those markets, the quality and availability of financial services, and the economic and political risks associated with other countries. Harley-Davidson had a particularly difficult time communicating the benefits of the “Harley experience” of independence, rebellion, and freedom to Chinese government officials involved in the company’s entry into that market, Pharris said. He also shared with workshop participants Harley-Davidson’s experience with formal trade barriers that all companies might confront, including importation quotas and licenses, country-of-origin restrictions, and embargoes, as well as informal or “invisible” barriers such as foreign exchange controls, government procurement restrictions, domestic or export subsidies, and technical standards.

The program opened with a Department of Commerce update on Wisconsin exports and an overview of the free and low-cost resources available to Wisconsin companies interested in global markets. Other speakers included Kersi Antia, assistant professor of marketing at the Wisconsin School of Business, who discussed how to develop an international sales and distribution strategy; Randy Kupfer, vice president of M.E. Dey & Co.’s export division, who addressed the basics of shipping products overseas; and Pauline Klaffenboeck, vice president of M&I Bank Global Trade Services, who shared her knowledge about minimizing the risks of getting paid in international transactions. Directors of the Wisconsin State Overseas Trade Offices from Brazil, Canada, China, and Mexico talked about market conditions and opportunities in their respective regions. Many conference participants took advantage of the opportunity to schedule one-on-one meetings with these directors later in the day. “It was a great workshop; very well thought out and presented,” said Mike Smith of OEM Fabricators, Inc., of Woodville, Wis., who added that these meetings with the trade directors provided additional insight into specific markets his company hopes to enter.

Sponsors for the forum series include Northcentral Technical College, UW-Madison (with funding from the Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment), and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Global Partnership Services. The Northern Wisconsin International Trade Association (NWITA), Workforce Learning Solutions at Northeast Technical College, the UW-Eau Claire College of Business, Bentley World-Packaging Ltd., Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection, and M&I Bank co-sponsored the event.