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Whether you’re planning to export across the globe or just across the border, doing business in a new country always involves dealing with the unknown.
Might hidden costs cut into your margins? Will trade agreements help or hinder you? What do you need to know to ensure you comply with export regulations?
Large multi-nationals have extensive market research, compliance, and strategic development staff—not to mention, connections—to help them take full advantage of potential opportunities and avoid pitfalls.
But SMEs can also tap into powerful resources, says Ray Fogarty, director of the John H. Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Founded in 1988, the Chafee Center works primarily with small to medium-sized companies in New England, helping these businesses gain the intelligence and connections they need to profitably expand into new export markets.
Webport Global spent some time talking with Ray Fogarty to learn what the Chafee Center might offer members. The following interview is edited for space and clarity.
Webport Global: Are most of Chafee’s customers new to exporting or are they experienced and ready to expand?
Ray Fogarty: We work with both. Some companies are just starting out in international business while others are already in 15 to 20 countries.
Webport Global: How do you work with them?
Ray Fogarty: Many times, the customer is interested in breaking into a certain country, but they’ll ask us to look into three different countries in one region of the world, maybe the Middle East, Far East, or South America, for example. We determine the better avenue for their specific product so that they can be more competitive. Of course, exporting might not be feasible where there’s a lack of demand, or where tariffs add too much to costs.
Webport Global: And you also take companies on trade missions around the world. Tell us about the preparations for these missions.
Ray Fogarty: Prior to entering new markets, companies utilize teams of about 100 Bryant University student researchers in our International Business Practicum programs to determine all the barriers, as well as the opportunities.
Our companies spend about 15 weeks with our students. Then we bring in multiple partners such as international accountants, lawyers, and the US Department of Commerce to show them the dos and don’ts of breaking into a certain market. Collectively between the students and all our partners, we give a company about 500 hours of research. And we use that when we set up meetings in the country.
Webport Global: How do Bryant University students prepare to complete such intensive research?
Ray Fogarty: We have one of the top rated international business curriculums in the country and beyond the curriculum, they also travel to as many as 10 countries while they’re fulfilling their four year academic obligations. They, of course, get a business education in finance, marketing, supply chain management, and export compliance.
And some of our students in the global studies area concentrate on the political or economic climate in countries.
These students have four languages pretty much as a minimum. They have presentation skills. They have team dynamic skills. They have international skills, learning about several different countries while they’re here.
Webport Global: And what preparation do you do when taking companies to international trade shows?
Ray Fogarty: We look at the company, their size, their potential, their product. When we take them on a trade show, they’re going to see buyers who already have expressed interest. They may have as many as a dozen major opportunities by the time we take them to a certain country.
Webport Global: But can’t it be costly for a small company to participate in major international trade shows?
Ray Fogarty: That’s why, for the smaller companies, we put together a booth that companies can share. It makes it more affordable at a big show.
Webport Global: Does the Chafee Center also offer training for non-Bryant University students?
Ray Fogarty: Yes, we prepare individuals to take the test for a national certificate, similar to the CPA, called the certified global business professional or CGBP. They learn about global supply chain logistics, import procedures, global banking and finance, export regulations, global marketing, and more, so that they’re prepared beyond their academic training. Most of these individuals are from the business community where a CGBP might be required for an international sales position, for example.
Webport Global: The CGBP sounds like one of the careers of the future as we become more of a global economy.
Ray Fogarty: Yes, regardless of where you work, what you do, whether you’re in a hospital, or finance, or international marketing, everyone runs into someone from another country. You need the global study skills. You need economic skills to understand other countries’ systems related to finance, tariffs or rules, and export compliance.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| CR26X NTN | 15.875 | 41.275 | 23.8 |
| CR24X NTN | 15.875 | 38.1 | 23.8 |