Going Global
the Rio 2016 Olympics. The area will house several of the Rio 2016 administrative operations during the games.
As with the 2014 World Cup, a wide range of goods and services will be required throughout the Rio 2016 project. A key distinction is the multi-sport nature of the Olympics, with some 26 sports taking place. Following the success of London 2012, UK companies are well placed in this area, with current knowledge of dealing with the complexity and scale involved.
Some tender opportunities are published on the Rio 2016 website (
www.rio2016.com), however these are generally in Brazilian Portuguese. As with the World Cup project, the major source of addressable business opportunities will be within the supply chain. This requires a knowledge of the companies which are winning upper- tier contracts.
What can UK SMEs provide? I ask Philip Gray, MD of Commercial Doctor Ltd, who specialises in helping UK SMEs make the most of emerging business opportunities in Brazil which kind of products and services the organisers and other buyers will be looking for that UK SMEs could provide at this stage. He said:
“UK SMEs can engage at many points throughout the life cycle of these major projects, including the construction phase, which is currently underway across the 12 World Cup host cities, the overlay/fit-out phase, the games-time phase and the post-event legacy phase.
“At Commercial Doctor, we have developed a detailed major sports project life-cycle mapping methodology which uses the supply chain experience gained during the London 2012 build-up to inform our consultancy and briefing work regarding other major sports projects. We have a special focus on Brazil and are looking to engage with companies that are interested in addressing the opportunities there.”
Turning opportunities into reality In order to take advantage of the opportunities I have discussed, you need to think laterally. Thinking laterally is key to exporting to Latin America, particularly for SMEs. You might not have the in-house resources or the marketing budget of large corporations, but your flexibility will put you at a distinct advantage. You will see the importance of lateral thinking throughout this book in almost every case study. When confronted with a challenge to entering these markets, rather than be put off, think again.
Partnerships
The key to making the most of opportunities in Latin America is the ability to build partnerships. In Latin America, business is about people. But how do you go about identifying the right people to do business with, building relationships and maintaining them?
Relationships can have many starting points: a piece of market research, a market visit, a trade show (in the UK, Latin America or somewhere else), a phone call, an inbound visit, a referral, a networking event, and so many others. It might be one of your staff who can act as the catalyst, or it can be an outside resource (like a consultant, a networking group, UKTI, Chambers of Commerce, etc.).
What is really important and so often overlooked is nurturing these relationships. Take your time for them. Drop that email, but, more importantly, make that call often and, if you can, get on that plane and meet face-to-face as often as possible.
Make the most of social media and technology for this; use Skype and meeting software (such as GoToMeeting (
http://www.gotomeeting.co.uk), for example), as a lot of business people in Latin America are becoming very fond of this technology. Make your business partners part of your business, integrate them, tweet with them, add them to a newsletter, connect on LinkedIn. The more connected you are, the more you have regular contact with them, the stronger the relationships, which will in turn be critical to the success of the business for both sides.
Relationships are not a side issue in your business plan. With Latin America, they are central to any planning. Only this regular contact will give you a real insight into what’s going well and not so well, what people think of you and your products/services, and how you can serve them better and adjust your plans as you go along.
A lack of communication and a lack of solid relationships will leave you too exposed to competitors and to bad practice. On the other hand, your business will run so much more smoothly if you give time to these relationships. Most people working in export find this is the best thing about exporting anyway; getting to know other people from other countries and having that huge sense of achievement to be able to do business around the world.
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