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The Facts:
 
The Market…  the world marketplace has a projected value of $7.409 trillion (UK billion) in 2000, and steady future growth is an absolute certainty.

The Medium…  the Internet, a global mass communication computer network providing real-time direct access to 359.8 million, or 5.92% of the world's 6.08 billion (UK milliard) population – and it's growing at a more phenomenal rate than any other mass communication medium in history!

The Margins…  substantially increase profits on export sales through a strategy employed by only 2.3% of all US exporting companies.

The Means…  through strategies and market intelligence unfamiliar to most involved in business, eCommerce, or international trade; the synergism of the global marketplace and the world's most powerful communication medium can be harnessed to secure sales and/or distribution networks throughout the world.

If your company grows, produces, manufactures or sells products wholesale, you are undoubtedly aware of the effects of foreign competition in its domestic market.  That awareness establishes the relevance of international commerce to the company's future, and will determine its ability to remain competitive as markets become increasingly globalized.

By implementing market expansion strategies incomparable to those employed by competitors, it's possible to secure an advantage representing a quantum leap over both foreign and domestic competition.  Such an advantage exists.

The Global Market Development program was conceived to integrate the synergism of international trade, eCommerce and Information Technology into a business paradigm able to provide the ultimate competitive edge well into the 21st century.

Global Commerce

The Gross World Product projected for 2000, is $32.11 trillion (UK billion) at a market exchange rate valuation ($43.802 trillion on a Purchasing Power Parity basis), while the projected value of the global marketplace is $7.409 trillion (including $5,947 billion for goods and $1,462 billion for services) – 69.8% of world economic power and 95.4% of its population are based outside of the United States!  It is worth noting that $7.4 trillion represents only a fraction of overall market potential, because that figure does not include domestic consumption (in this case, a global aggregate for personal and governmental consumption in all countries) – which in the United States alone, based on Gross Domestic Product: Second Quarter 2000 (preliminary) data, released Aug 25, 2000, is projected at $8,111.4 billion in 2000!
 
However, if a projected market value of $7.4 trillion is too vague to be useful in assessing global market opportunity relevant to your company – a potential measured in billions of dollars for most business sectors; greater insight is provided via 1998 World / U.S. Trade Data.  This table presents a breakout, at the three-digit Standard International Trade Classification Rev. 3 product group level, 266 market sectors, of $4.68 trillion of merchandise imports for reporting countries and territories accounting for approximately 87.8% of 1998 world trade in merchandise – most notable is that the $1,625,116,649,633 in US 1998 bilateral merchandise trade (exports and imports) accounted for over 34.7% of the $4.68 trillion trade value represented by world imports.  A current view of US trade is provided via U.S. 1998-1999 Merchandise Trade Data, which presents a three-digit SITC.3 level overview of US merchandise trade that can be directly correlated to the world trade table above.
 
A more forward-looking perspective of international trade potential, among 368 individual market sectors throughout 41 countries, is presented in Top U.S. Trade Targets 1999-2000.

Last year's record $253.9 billion trade deficit represented a 2.67% loss to the $9,256.1 billion US Gross Domestic Product in 1999.  Of 1999's $695.0 billion merchandise export total (SIC-based product code, Not Seasonally Adjusted), 86.51% were manufactured goods.  As impressive as that may seem, US manufacturers are losing the trade war – the aggregate value of exports of manufactured goods for 1999 was $601.3 billion, the value of manufactured goods imported for US consumption during the same period was $906.7 billion!

The recently released exporter profile developed in the 1997 US Economic Survey revealed that by major industry only 17.8% of 364,377 manufacturing firms and 14.8% of 453,184 wholesale companies exported.  Though manufacturers represented only 31% of the 209,455 exporting companies, they accounted for 69% or $388.5 of the $563 billion in 1997 exports; while wholesalers, representing 33% of exporting companies, accounted for only 14% of exports by value.

In addition, 45% of the known export value of manufacturers and 38% of that for wholesalers could be attributed to the top 50 companies in the respective sector.  That indicates that approximately 64,881 manufacturers (the 99.923% of companies accounting for 55% of sector exports) and 66,976 wholesalers (the 99.925% of companies accounting for 62% of sector exports) exporting in 1997 were (and are) capable of achieving a far greater potential.

Although 202,185 of US exporters (96.5%) were Small to Medium-sized Enterprises, companies with 500 or less employees, they accounted for only 31% of exports by value – the unfulfilled potential they represent is enormous. 

Overall, in 1997, just 16.14% of the 817,561 US manufacturers and wholesalers were involved in exporting; however that's just part of the story.  Though equivalent data from the 1997 Economic Census has not yet been released; the 1992 Economic Census revealed that the 15.4% of all US companies involved in exporting accounted for over 39.7% of total merchandise sales – selling over 2½ times as much (based on value of shipment) as their non-exporting counterparts!  Yet, while the majority of exporting companies are benefiting from their international marketing activities, only a small fraction are approaching their full potential!

While not developed for the retailer, because it was intended to support exporters in all markets of the world (requiring awareness of bilateral market activity), numerous elements of the GMD program could be applied to significant advantage by any of the 1,566,049 US retail establishments (SIC based, 1997 Economic Census) wishing to boost profits by actively sourcing products in foreign markets or expand into foreign markets via franchising opportunities – of course, that also applies to retailers in all other markets of the world!

Recent developments have made it possible for companies throughout the world to secure, via the implementation of a single strategic initiative, highly significant future competitive advantages in scores of markets representing 89.5% of the Gross World Product and 54.3% of the world population in 2000!
 
The Internet: A High Tech Highway to the Future of Commerce
 
The Internet is a global mass communication medium with an explosive user growth rate that, as of July 2000, provides real-time direct access to 359.8 million or 5.92% of the world population.  Though Internet users represent only a small percentage of the total population, it's essential to recognize that this is a group to which 92% of the senior executives (CEOs, CFOs and CIOs) of some of the world's largest companies and government organizations belong.  The Study of Senior Executive Web Usage (May 1999), conducted by Andersen Consulting, included executives at Fortune 1000 companies (or their equivalent) as well as leading government entities in 24 countries.

On June 6, 2000, the University of Texas' Center for Research in Electronic Commerce released its latest update in the first major study providing hard data on the scope of the Internet economy relative to the US market.  Sponsored by Cisco Systems, the study titled The Internet Economy Indicators, revealed that the Internet economy supported 2.476 million U.S. jobs in 1999.  Even more significant is the remarkable growth rate of the Internet economy; from the report: "The Internet Economy grew 62 percent last year to $523.9 billion and, if present conditions continue, can be estimated to reach about $850 billion this year."
 
Despite the media attention directed toward online business-to-consumer marketing, the business-to-business arena represented 84% of 1998's eCommerce activity and is demonstrating faster growth rates than direct sales on the web.  A current quarterly estimate of online retail sales is now available in the Census Bureau's new release, Retail eCommerce Sales.  However, online commerce mirrors economic activity in the US and world markets to a much greater extent than most are aware – though US retailers represented over 60.2% of mercantile business establishments in 1997, they accounted for only 29.3% of all sales in 1998; comparatively, manufacturers and merchant wholesalers (enterprises that take title to the goods they sell) represented only 39.8% of business establishments in 1997, but accounted for 70.7% of US sales in 1998 – see table, 1998 Profile of US Mercantile Business.

Understanding these dynamics can put a new perspective on eCommerce; even so, in terms of profit, relatively few industries and service sectors are currently exploiting eCommerce to any significant degree.  The strategies developed for the GMD program represent an alternative implementation of Internet commerce, one dispensing with many concerns conventionally associated with cyberspace marketing (hits, impressions, click-throughs, and site visitor statistics, etc.) and more thoroughly integrating real world efforts – this makes it possible for a wide range of companies, atypical of types most often associated with eCommerce success, to tap into market potential far beyond that projected for eCommerce.  The GMD program was not developed to pursue marginal increases in sales – through the convergence of awareness, anticipation, relevance, preparation, exposure and timing necessary to exploit international marketing opportunities to greatest advantage, the GMD program has the power to increase gross sales faster and more effectively than any other marketing measures.
 
Export Profit Potential

Note:  Increased profits are just that, and are independent of increases in sales
            volume.  The figures below are based on a specific export strategy that's
            exclusive to US companies, variations on that strategy are available in some
            other markets.  However, there are alternative strategies through which
            exporters in all markets of the world can increase profits on export sales.

Though changes in the legislation are pending, it has been possible for exporting companies to increase the profit on export sales from 7.7% to 18.4%, through a strategy employed by only 2.3% of all US exporters – in 1996, the most recent year for which data is available, only 4,363 of the 189,670 US exporting companies had implemented this strategy.  Is not a primary purpose of business to gain advantage over competitors?  A profit increase of up to 18.4 percent would seem highly relevant in accomplishing that goal.

Viewed from a comparative perspective, in 1999, the after tax profits per dollar of sales of all US manufacturing corporations was more than 6.21 cents, calculated from 1999 data in the Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining and Trade Corporations series (revised fourth quarter data released Jun. 28, 2000) – profits that could have ranged from 6.69 to 7.35 cents for each percentage point of export intensity for any company electing to implement this strategy.

Let's see what else can be learned from a thorough examination of the after tax profits of U.S. manufacturers in 1999.  A closer analysis of the table below reveals that profits of manufacturers controlling assets over $1 billion, a category dominated by multinational corporations, were more than double (2.03 times) the average 3.73% profit of all other U.S. manufacturers – establishing a benchmark few companies could equal relying solely on domestic marketing strategies.  Although the international arena represents a marketplace in which it's feasible to remain competitive while implementing marketing strategies able to significantly boost after tax profits – an awareness that the returns on such initiatives are proportionate to a company's export intensity (the percentage of net sales represented by foreign markets) should weigh heavily in determining the priority given international market expansion.  The global marketplace represents a quantum leap in a company's future growth and earning potential, and should not be entered without a total commitment to achieving success.

The 2000 IDC/World Times Information Society Index (released Feb 14, 2000), the fourth annual survey of countries' capacity to access information and effectively utilize Information Technology, reveals that IT growth increased by 7.17% worldwide from 1997 to 1998 – the Four Tigers (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) led this growth by increasing their scores by more than 10%.  Sweden displaced the US as the world's most information oriented economy via a corporate "Employee Purchase" initiative through which companies made greatly discounted PC's available to employees; its enormous success resulted in a 54.4% increase in 1998 PC sales throughout the Swedish market.  A total sales of 1,514,555 units for a 1998 midyear population of 8,886,738 of which only 5,173,737 were between the ages of 19 and 65 – if all sales were for personal use, approximately 29.3% of Sweden's labor force purchased a PC in 1998!

The top tier of ISI 2000 rankings expanded to 13 countries, up from seven last year, including (in ascending order from third): Finland, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom and Germany.

The ISI examines 55 countries accounting for 75.9% of the world's population, 97% of global GDP, and 99% of world expenditures on Information Technology.  It analyzes 23 variables associated with the information, Internet, computer and social infrastructures of each country to measure its progress toward developing an economy driven by Information Technology.  ISI findings establish Information Technology as the most universal and readily exploitable asset through which companies are able to secure a decisive edge in global markets of the 21st century.

A Business Paradigm Like No Other…

During a time in which the terms eCommerce and globalization are among the most frequently used in the lexicon of business; except as benchmarks of market potential captured by competition, they remain inapplicable to most enterprises.  For that reason the Global Market Development program represents the most unique and extraordinary opportunity available to many businesses.  Before prematurely dismissing that assertion, consider that the relationship between international trade, Electronic Commerce and Information Technology – presented here as integral elements of a synergism unparalleled for power and potential by any other business paradigm – represents an aggregation of commerce that has eluded those in business and industry; including major market research companies, Internet and eCommerce consulting firms, and trade intermediaries.  It is appropriate that the aspect of the Internet allowing human knowledge to be indexed and searched can be applied to substantiate this assertion.

The ProFusion® metasearch page enables the simultaneous search of nine of the Internet's most powerful and popular search engines (and indexes) including: AltaVista, DirectHit, Excite, InfoSeek, LookSmart, Lycos, Netscape, WebCrawler and Yahoo.  Placing a plus (+) symbol before individual search parameters requires that each word be included in websites returned by the search.  By enabling a search for all related websites in which the terms below are inclusive parameters, a ProFusion® search definitively demonstrates the exclusivity of the concepts presented on this Web site.  By performing a search based on the following parameters: