This is an example of a TPO that has assessed the IT skills of
its clients, and is adapting its services to take adavantage of an
increasingly digital economy.
Austrade, the Australian Federal Government's export
facilitation agency, has a lead role to ensure that Australian
businesses embrace the benefits of international trade, especially
in the era of the "Information Age Revolution". Although many
Australian exporters are already leaders in understanding the
benefits of adapting their business to the Information Age,
Austrade has a key role in focusing on small and medium-size
exporters, including those in rural and regional Australia.
Information age trends shape Austrade
The information age has fundamentally changed business
operations and the dynamics of the global economy. It is also
profoundly changing the way Austrade does business, and the type of
business we are in. Trends influencing us include:
• Speed. The Internet and improved tele-communications enable
companies to do business quickly and more efficiently.
• Constant change. Product/service life cycles are getting shorter.
Business practices are changing more rapidly.
• Formation of networks. The Internet is allowing geographically
dispersed companies to 'meet' online, in electronic market places,
industry portals, virtual project teams and knowledge-sharing
communities.
• E-commerce. Companies have a range of ways of selling and buying
online, whether directly from their web site or via independent
parties.
• Increased importance of knowledge sharing. The speed of business
and the pressure to continually innovate raises the value of
differentiated intellectual capital.
• Erosion of distinction between 'domestic' and 'international'
business. Customers of domestic businesses can now buy from abroad
if they want to. Similarly a web site set up for domestic customers
can reach foreign customers if it wants to.
Australian exporters are 'wired'
A recent survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
tells us that Australian exporters are already 'highly
wired'.
• We know that more than two-thirds have access to the Internet,
compared to a little over 25% of non-exporters.
• More than four times as many exporters have their own web sites
as non-exporters.
• Two-thirds of exporters use e-mail, compared to around 25% of
non-exporters.
Implications
Knowing that our client base is already plugged into the
information age presents a challenge for Austrade. The implications
for Austrade are that we have to:
• Change the content of our advice. Companies need more advice on
e-commerce and e-markets.
• Change the way we deliver services. Two-thirds of our clients
have e-mail and Internet access.
• Improve the quality of our advice and information. Companies can
find information on the Internet, therefore we must provide them
with differentiated information.
• Become responsive to our clients. We need to use our web site and
database tools to know more about our clients, their preferences
and their behaviour patterns.
Our trade promotion tools for a digital age
We have appointed an e-commerce adviser; improved our web site;
developed e-communities; delivered e-trade seminars to Australian
businesses; and pioneered a business matchmaking club, tagged to
the recent Olympic games.
E-commerce adviser
Austrade began implementing its information age strategy by
appointing an e-commerce adviser to strategically drive the
development of many of its e-commerce related tools.
The Australian Government's Office of Government Online requires
an online action plan for all government agencies showing how
agencies will meet the government's target date of December 2001,
for "all appropriate Government services" to be online. Austrade
expects to meet, and in many cases exceed, this requirement.
Enhancing Austrade's web site
The first major task of the e-commerce adviser has been to
rebuild Austrade's web site as a portal of information for
exporters and potential exporters. Austrade has been providing a
web-based service to its clients since 1995, and the site has been
through many major revisions as we learn more about the needs of
our clients and as the online world matures.
Our aim is not to be an organization with a web site, but an
organization whose web site is fundamentally incorporated into
everything we do, and reflects our key asset, which is our global
network of offices.
We made basic improvements, such as increasing the bandwidth and
embarking on a web marketing campaign. The result was immediately
evident: the number of hits per month surpassed 3 million, and the
number of user sessions jumped from 30,000 to over 60,000.
Increasingly, the web site is also a vehicle for service
delivery. We are providing web tutorials on the site for Australian
business. We also feature 8,000 companies through "Australia On
Display". Australian companies can place information on their
product or service on a searchable database, providing potential
customers with the opportunity to look up and source Australian
exports over the net from anywhere in the world. A company's
presence on the site can range from a simple listing, to a
hyperlink to its own site, or an enhanced listing with the company
logo and placement within an industry classification.
Developing e-communities
Our web site is also a forum for sharing insights within the
growing online export community. Austrade has been trialing
e-communities. For example, the opportunity to assist in the
redevelopment of the newly independent East Timor was a topic of
much interest in Australia. Austrade developed and moderated an
e-community for companies interested in this area.
The advantage of e-communities over their off-line counterparts
is that anyone in Australia or the world can be a member, at any
time. They benefit from the network effects of 'many-to-many'
communications and are a means of sharing and 'growing' knowledge
faster.
E-seminars for business executives
We developed a three-hour workshop aimed at SMEs which seek an
introduction to e-commerce and its relevance to exporting. Austrade
has run over 72 of these workshops in both metropolitan and
regional areas of Australia. The workshop covers key questions such
as:
• How do I assess the global market using e-commerce
tools?
• How do I market my product using e-commerce?
• Is it possible to close the deal electronically?
• Can I source and deliver products via the Internet?
• How can I provide after-sales service via the Internet?
• What about export assistance?
• What help is available for getting started in e-commerce?
Business Club Australia - virtual club
To leverage the benefits of hosting the Olympic Games in Sydney
in September, Austrade developed a world-first Olympics-related
global networking club - Business Club Australia.
The club's key objective was to assist Australian and
international business people to network in a positive and dynamic
environment, built around the excitement of the Sydney 2000 Games.
We did this by recruiting a membership of more than 16,000
international buyers and potential investors, and representatives
of Australian companies, as well as VIPs and media members.
These people became members of the club, which has operated
through its web site for over 18 months - offering a member-only
zone for online business services and networking. The online member
database, business services and business matching area are
important components of the virtual club, ensuring that businesses
of any size, in any part of Australia, can benefit from
membership.
Julia Selby is Executive General Manager, Australian
Operations and South Pacific, Austrade. This article was adapted
from her presentation at the third World Conference of Trade
Promotion Organizations. She can be reached at J.Selby@austrade.gov.au