“SMEs and PPPs”: Innovative Public-Private Partnerships Provide SMEs with More Tools to Support Export Sales

Small and medium-sized businesses seeking to export their U.S.-made products often encounter problems finding potential customers abroad.  These businesses often operate with limited resources, making it difficult to invest in international market research and make the necessary international connections.  Addressing this problem is essential to achieve the goals outlined in the Obama Administration’s National Export Initiative (NEI) of doubling U.S. exports between 2010 and 2015 and creating 2 million new jobs in the process.  The U.S. Department of Commerce’s New Market Exporter Initiative leverages important partnerships with the private sector to provide SMEs with the tools they need to expand their business abroad.

The Department of Commerce is collaborating with a handful of “Strategic Partners” to identify SMEs who currently sell to at least one international market and help them expand to more markets.  This is important because according to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 58 percent of American exporters are active in only one international market.  These businesses already have the knowledge to export, so it is possible to increase volume of American exports if they are provided additional tools and resources.

Strategic Partners include FedEx, UPS, DHL Express, and the U.S. Postal Service.  These partners already interact with exporters to meet their logistical needs and have a type of data at their fingertips that Commerce does not: sales data.  Within the New Market Exporter Initiative, this public/private partnership acts in five key ways to help SME exporters:

1. The Strategic Partners analyze their sales data to determine which of their customers are already exporting to one or more markets and which foreign companies are importing.  With this information, they can offer their customers tools such as matchmaking programs to expand their market presence and increase their own business. This is a win-win for both parties.
2. Private sector employees are given training about government resources for exporting, ensuring that more businesses are aware of existing government programs that could be beneficial for them.
3. The Partnership also created and is maintaining a market campaign to woo companies that they have targeted and promote trade.
4. This partnership also strategizes on how to better meet exporters’ needs.
5. The private sector partners track the results of the campaign, capturing the number of companies to whom they have marketed the New Market Export Initiative and tracking the number of exporters who are expanding to new markets.

SME exporters do not have to wait to be targeted by the program to take advantage of export resources and tools. 

• Register here to access export counseling services through the U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service, which includes market-specific intelligence, matchmaking to connect with future customers, and shipping and logistics advice from the Strategic Partners.
• Connect with FedEx services directly here
  

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​TradeMoves is ready to help answer questions or provide additional support for your U.S. exports.  Contact us at 202.415.4016 or via email at [email protected] or [email protected].