Nottinghamshire: Achievement in International Business

Sponsored by: The International Trade ForumSponsored by International Trade Forum

The International Trade Forum is the independent voice of Chamber members on International Trade topics. Members of the International Trade Forum represent the views of both exporters and importers through their own overseas activities.

The East Midlands consistently has a higher level of exports per
employee than any other region which is why the International Trade Forum has an important role to play in strengthening the ability of the business community in our own region to successfully exploit overseas markets.

Sponsoring this award is the International Trade Forum's way of recognising that success.

Achievement in International Business - Criteria

Does your business have a history of trading products and services abroad? Or have you recently set up an International operation that has had a profound effect on sales? Enter this award and provide evidence of the International strategies that were developed, examples of how your products and services have been tailored for overseas markets, strategies for overcoming language and cultural differences, and how your company has been structured to deal with International trade.

The judges will be looking for:

  • A description of your business, the products or services it supplies, its customers and the markets it operates in.
  • Overall trend in your sales turnover and profit development together with a brief description of key events that have led to these changes where appropriate.
  • The objectives of your business over the next 3 years.
  • Specific business objectives/initiatives that impact on your local community e.g. environment, community projects, social causes.
  • A breakdown of your International sales in the last three years by market, including a commentary of notable changes and trends over the last three years, and highlight new International markets. Include what percentage of your business is represented by export sales, and details of your company structure for International sales.
  • Details of specific research undertaken. Include specific information on challenges identified, such as language and cultural differences. Please summarise any relevant research findings.
  • The steps you have taken/changes you have made to products or business operations to address these challenges, providing clear examples of changes to areas such as products/services pricing, distribution/delivery, marketing/sales, general business operations and staff/structure/training and their impact.
  • Your strategy for growth through International trade, including strategies for both existing market expansion and penetration of new markets.
  • Examples of how specific strategies undertaken by your business have driven growth. Outline the strategy and the impact it has had on your business (choose a minimum of 4 strategies covering areas such as marketing, workforce development, customer recruitment and retention, financial planning and control, supplier relationships and management, operations, IT and innovations).
  • A summary of why your company deserves the award.