Thursday, December 16, 2021
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
The 15Ps of Export Readiness Assessment Criteria: The Products
Today, I will be explaining the second P in the 15Ps of export readiness evaluation criteria and the company's characteristics which I will be focusing on this edition is the product.
The product is the item of export and this can be intangible services or tangible goods, however my focus here will be tangible goods. A product that is deemed to be export ready is the one that has met the quality specifications expected of the buyers and consumers in in the export markets. It is important to note that the quality specifications here is has to do with the constitutes of the goods and this varies from one market to the order. A product is ready for the export market of it meets the quality specifications expected in the target market.
Another important characteristics of the product in export readiness is the labelling requirements. This has to do with the information provided on the packaging materials of the item of export. It helps the consumers to know exactly what they are buying and the implications. Each market defines how products should be labelled and this is particularly very important for edible items like foods and drinks. A product that does not meet the labelling requirements of the export market is not ready for internationalisation.
A product that will be deemed ready for the export market needs to also have a unique selling point (in terms of cost or the value it delivers) which makes it stand out from the competition in the export market. In addition to this, the product should also have a level of sophistication (or at least a secret formula) in the production process in order to have a sustainable competitive advantage over competition. If this is not the case, such a product can be easily copied by competitors in the export market and this will negatively impact on the market share.
Finally, packaging materials is a very important factor in determining the readiness of a product for the export market. The packaging materials should a very attractive design to get the attention of the target consumers. It should also be strong enough to endure the stress of logistics involve in moving to goods by air, road, rail or sea from the country of production to the destination in the export market.
So before your organisation commences the journey to going global, ask this question: How will you describe the level of readiness of the products for the international market?
See you in the next episode
#quality #packaging #like #markets #packaging