Initially put together at the request of a major Singapore public company, and drawing on the best practices of Lava IP International’s strategic planning projects over the past two years, the TGD system enables companies to aggressively enter multiple international markets simultaneously and to turn them into organizations with a truly global footprint.

This is without a doubt the fastest way to radically develop an organization globally and to turn a successful national or regional business into an international success.

If you are seeking international business expansion and are considering investing in any international marketing or business development growth activities this year, make sure that you compare what the TGD programme has to offer.

Core features of the 10-month programme include:

• Market Entry and Business Development in 10+ Countries

Target the USA, Canada, UAE, UK, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, and The Philippines (or any other 10+ countries of your choice) simultaneously

• Intellectual Property Consulting

Leverage your company’s intellectual property and learn how to use local patent searches to give you a competitive advantage in each new market

• Legal Frameworks

Establish a solid, enforceable legal framework in which to operate your international operations as efficiently as possible

• Systems Consulting

Streamline your reporting systems so that your global sales activity is easier to monitor, benchmark your internal and external operational procedures, and gain an insight into current industry best practices in different regions

• Marketing

Learn new ways to develop business-to-business leads across different cultures and turn them into satisfied clients, as well as how to audit your internal marketing resources to find areas to improve

• Website Optimization

Gain fresh insight into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Platform Benchmarking

• Advertising/Media Opportunities

Quickly identify niche-specific advertising and media opportunities for your company in each of the target markets

• No Disruption to Your Business

Your staff are free to continue with their core tasks as normal whilst the TGD programme is implemented, with the TGD programme requiring no travel and taking up no more than 1 hour per week of your current resources

• Guaranteed Results

All results are guaranteed, with no hidden costs

• An Immediate Start – No Waiting

No waiting for months for the project to be completed – you and your team can expect results within 1 week of starting

Leveraging on the work Lava IP International has completed for international private and public companies, this one-stop solution is aimed at larger SMEs and public companies that are looking for ways to expand their operations and client bases into new territories very quickly and efficiently, with maximum impact and minimum risk.

Private equity companies may also find the TGD programme of value for portfolio companies for which they need to drive international growth.

The TGD programme is an effective mix of consulting, hands-on implementation, project management, and operational excellence which draws on the strengths of Lava IP International’s unique mix of services.

For more details, deliverables, and available pricing options, please contact us today at info@wearelava.com.

Asia’s ASEAN region has set up a Free Trade Zone with China, which has been the world largest manufacturer for at least 3,000 of the last 4,000 years.

In 1850, China represented 33% of world GDP compared to Britain’s 32%, and just 2% for the embryonic USA.

In the intervening century, trade with the West contracted. However, in 1979 the Chinese government introduced economic reforms and began opening China to the outside world.

Since then China has enjoyed 30 years of 6-14% annual GDP growth, averaging 9% growth per year over the period.

On January 1^st this year, China and the 10 South East Asian members of ASEAN joined together to scrap tariffs and create a Free Trade Area spanning more than 1.9 billion people, hundreds of languages, 11 countries and three time zones.

The combined GDP for the new free trade zone is US$5.8 trillion, or 10% of Global GDP (2008 figures).

With Europe and the US in recession, this new economic zone will quickly rival the European Economic Area (EEA) and the countries included in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“Since the financial crisis, demand for goods has declined from Europe and the United States,” said Dr. Tang Min, Deputy Secretary General of the China Development Research Foundation, based in Beijing.

“If the zone grows to include Japan, Korea or even Australia, it could be a similar size to the North American market. China’s goal is to quadruple GDP in 20 years, which implies an average 7.3% annual growth“, he added.

This new trade zone represents a significant source of new business for UK manufacturers and service companies in all sectors, from Software to Soft Drinks, Financial Services to Franchising, Education to Environment and Construction to Cosmetics.

In Financial Services, for example, Singapore has this year been ranked by the World Economic Forum above Hong Kong as the world’s 4th most important financial centre, up from 10th position in 2007.

From Indonesia to Malaysia and from China to Thailand, the whole region is rapidly industrializing, globalizing, urbanizing and consumerizing, driven by a fast growing, young middle class who have known nothing but rising expectations and upward mobility.

In Indonesia, for example, the middle class is estimated to have grown from just under 35m people to over 45m people between 2008 and 2010, as is the huge increase in personal disposable income that accompanies such growth.

In fact, the size of the fast-growing middle class in Indonesia is now larger than the entire populations of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland and Portugal combined.

The most common problems faced by Western organizations seeking to enter Asian markets are:

• Management culture and business methods
• Navigating Local and Central Bureaucracy
• Unclear Regulations and unpredictable Interpretation
• Lack of Transparency
• Contract Enforcement
• Economic nationalism

Lava IP International Pte Ltd is a business development company based in Singapore, the country that leads the entire ASEAN-China Free Trade Area in terms of transparency and having a business-friendly environment.

In 2009, Transparency International ranked Singapore as the 3rd most transparent economy worldwide, after New Zealand and Denmark. The next closest territories and countries within the new Free Trade Zone are Hong Kong, in 12th place worldwide, and after that Brunei, in 39th place worldwide.

For easy and transparent access to this multi-trillion dollar Free Trade Zone, there are many reasons why many British SMEs and multinationals are seeing Singapore as the perfect entry point.

Lava IP International can help companies and organizations to successfully enter this new and fast growing trade zone by offering:

• ASEAN-China Free Trade Area Business Development
• ASEAN-China Market Entry Strategies
• Country-Specific Services, Contacts & Insight
• ASEAN-China Free Trade Area Business Matching & Lead Generation
• Custom ASEAN-China B2B Market Research

A full list of Lava IP International’s services for government trade organizations, public companies and SMEs can be found at http://www.wearelava.com.

Lava IP International covers markets globally from its Head Office in Singapore and through its network of international regional associates.

Lava IP International Pte. Ltd.

Registered Office: The Peninsular, 3 Coleman Street #03-29, Singapore 179804

Company Registration Number: 200803238K

Tel: +65 9725 5229 (Singapore)

Tel: 07743 968 931 (UK)

Fax: +65 6742 4171

UK enquiries – please contact ken.garner@lavaip.com

###

Lava IP helps companies find new distributors – or in some cases better distributors – for companies on a weekly basis. We don’t just look at quantitative metrics, such as market share – we assess a potential distributor or reseller’s complete service offering and level of capability, and match this to your own business requirements.

This makes it possible for us to match companies with well-suited distributors and resellers that really want to work with you – not just to enhance their overall product offering, but because they fully intend to promote your products and services, and they have the capability to deliver success.

On a larger scale, we are even ready to set up a turnkey global distribution network for you – whether it be 4 countries in your key target markets, or a network of distributors in 50 countries across Europe, North America, Asia, The Middle East and Africa. We can set up standardized reporting systems, metrics, and KPIs so that you can measure your success and avoid creating a highly fragmented distribution system.

We can help you answer many important questions, including:

• Which qualities of a potential distributor are going to be most important and most relevant for my business over the short-, medium-, and long-term?
• How can I benefit from a distributor or reseller stocking one of my competitor’s products?
• How can I compare different distributors more accurately?
• Should I work with a distribution partner that is already distributes similar products, or might it be better to work with a company that is distributing complementary products? When is this most important?
• How important is market share?
• Why do my distributors seem to have ‘lost interest’ in promoting my product range?
• My distributor in Country X seems to have disappeared. How can I get back on track?
• How can I best incentivize companies in my distribution network?
• What common – and not so common – mistakes are there when it comes to appointing distributors in new markets?

If you are not getting the results you expect from your international distribution partners – or would like to set up a regional or global distribution network for your products, please contact us and tell us more about your requirements and we would be happy to discuss your plans further.

Lava IP International is able to guide you through all aspects of the import procedure into Singapore. Not only is our advice based on first-hand experience, as we hold our own import licences and permits for certain product categories, but we also regularly advise international companies on the best way to make their products and services readily available in Singapore.

We can help you answer important import questions such as:

• Do I need an import licence to sell my products, services, or technologies in Singapore?
• If so, which type of import licence do I need?
• How can I apply for a Singapore import licence?
• What are the costs of an import permit?
• What’s the difference between ‘controlled’ and ‘non-controlled’ items?
• Are there any special labelling requirements I should adhere to?
• How do I get an IN permit if I my company is not registered in Singapore?
• Do I need a Import Certificate and Delivery Verification (ICDV) certificate?
• How do I apply for an AVA permit?
• Do I have to pay import duties or GST in Singapore?
• How does customs clearance work in Singapore?
• Is there an easy way to get my products delivered to my Singaporean customers?

If you would like to import your products, services, or technologies into Singapore, or if you need assistance finding customers in Singapore, please contact us to find out how we can help.

We help companies from all over the world reach out to potential clients in new markets and new industries through carefully crafted telephone marketing campaigns.

Let us know your target market, your expectations, and as much else as possible about your proposed campaign, and we will do the rest. Don’t worry if you haven’t worked this out yet, as we can help you design the cold-calling campaign which will best  meet your objectives. If you do have a clear idea of your objectives, we can briefly review them with you and recommend some tips based on our previous experience in those markets.

Our services feature all aspects of developing and implementing successful cold-calling marketing campaigns, including:

• Helping you decide which regions, countries, or industries are most likely to be receptive to the proposed cold-calling campaign
• Identifying how your message can be tweaked for different international markets, maximizing the degree to which a receptive audience is found for your marketing campaign
• Leveraging on the success of our other activities in those target markets
• Identifying situations where cold calling is a waste of time – and alternative ways to reach your prospects
• Creating a campaign that does not rely on ’scripts’ read by untrained staff in call centres, as often the best opportunities can often be found by ‘reading between the lines’ in the course of normal conversation – a commercial background is usually necessary to do this
• Avoiding the mistakes made by hundreds of thousands of telemarketers every day

Contact us today and let us know what you have in mind, and we will work with you to implement an intelligent cold-calling strategy which will put you in contact with companies that are genuinely interested in benefiting from your services.

Whether you are looking for trade leads and business introductions in California, Texas, New York, Florida, or anywhere else in the United States, we can help you define your target market even better, and develop a strategy to make sure that no leads fall through the cracks.

We can help you identify:

• More US companies that can potentially use your products, services and technologies
• People within those organizations that are likely to ‘champion’ your products, services, and technologies
• The ‘roadblocks’ which need to be overcome in order to clear the way for you to do business with new clients
• Offline methods of lead generation which have a MUCH greater impact than large volumes of bulk leads taken from unqualified ‘lead databases’
• Innovative ways to avoid making your sales presentation look too much like a sales pitch
• Ways to efficiently follow up with trade leads across the US which can greatly improve the number of RFQs and enquiries you receive

To start developing a systematic strategy to improve the quality and conversion rate of your trade leads, please contact us today and ask for a no-obligation quotation.

Obtaining predictive insights into your business processes can have a significant impact on the financial success of your business. The optimization of your business processes can help you capitalize on new sources of revenue, streamline the way your business works, and generate new operational efficiencies.

A combination of fact-based analysis and on-the-ground business intelligence can help you answer many important questions, including:

• How can I optimize my business processes?
• Am I capturing all possible revenue streams for my business?
• Forget the theory for a moment – how do my customers want my business processes to work in practice?
• Is there a quicker way for my business to respond to threats and opportunities?
• Are there any process bottlenecks which can be streamlined?
• How can our business processes be tweaked for different target markets across the region?
• How can our business improve workflow rules and develop meaningful metrics?
• How can we close the gap between strategy and execution?

Lava IP International can help you optimize your business in South East Asia by identifying your business processes, analyzing them, and streamlining your business processes to make them more efficient.

Dublin-based Trulife, headed by Chief Executive Noel Murphy, creates, develops, manufactures and markets niche healthcare products such as Orthopaedics, Breastcare, Prosthetics, Pressurecare products and Walking Aids.

The company employs over 600 people worldwide, with operations in the UK, the USA and Canada.

Manufacturing and research & development of orthopaedics, prosthetics and custom breastcare products takes place in Poulsbo, Washington, Jackson, Michigan and Trenton, Ontario. The company’s revenue for 2008 was US$80m.

Using Lava IP International’s unique qualification methods, over 50 potential distributors in the healthcare and medical device sectors were evaluated and interviewed in order to find the one which most closely shares Trulife’s objectives in this region.

Lava IP International identified the distributor which is best positioned to introduce Trulife’s products into Singaporean hospitals and clinics.

Sheila Judge, Business Development Manager of Pressurecare at Trulife, found Lava IP International’s work ‘precise’ and ‘timely’. Lava IP International is delighted to help Trulife add yet another distributor to the 300 specialist distribution partners it already works with in over 80 countries.

To find out how we can do the same for your company in your business sector, please contact us for more details.

This year has been a year of many changes. We have seen a new US President, witnessed financial meltdown in the banking sector, got used to the impact of a continued international economic downturn, and been encouraged by an increased public commitment to addressing the world’s climate issues despite the limited success of Copenhagen. It has been an interesting year in the face of much uncertainty, but one thing has remained constant throughout – few  businesses have managed to avoid the challenges of 2009.

Many international projects throughout both the private and public sectors have been put on hold over the course of 2009, as companies wait and see if now is a time to ‘withdraw and consolidate’, or if now is the ideal time to make bold strides forward in order to enter new markets and take maximum advantage of their competitors’ current uncertainty and hesitation.

At Lava IP International, we are helping companies make those bold moves. We want to keep building our clients’ businesses one project at a time, by providing great service and delivering great results, continually expanding our global network of associates in order to increase the international business growth opportunities available to our clients within different verticals and across different markets.

Our network now includes key partnerships in Japan, Singapore, the US, the UK, and several more which we will be rolling out in the New Year.

We are pleased to announce that we are now offering services in even more international markets, and are able to save clients a considerable amount of time when it comes to researching, assessing and implementing business development strategies in a variety of new overseas markets.

Companies we were able to serve this year included Cranfield Precision -  part of Fives Group, a driving force in European industrial engineering for almost 200 years – Rendition Digital, a major technology development, testing, and outsourcing company from Ireland, and Laureate Online Education, the world’s leading e-Learning company. We also delivered our first research study to a major Japanese company, Panasonic.

I am delighted to say that Lava IP International has now helped companies from 16 countries enhance their international business development activities. This includes everything from helping companies which have never done business overseas before, to optimizing the international development strategies of companies and organizations with an already-established global presence.

Our website has been greatly expanded, too, yet at the same time simplified, throughout 2009, in order to show more clearly the international markets and sectors in which we are able to contribute to our clients’ goals.

We would like to thank all of our clients and partners who have supported us throughout 2009 and have trusted us to help develop and grow their businesses internationally.

In particular we would like to thank all our clients who have passed on Lava IP International’s details to their associates and referred us to other companies seeking new business who we have in turn then also been able to serve.

For those companies that are not yet using our services, we would encourage you to ask us for examples of relevant projects we have already completed in order to help you see the diverse ways our core services are being used by companies in different sectors.

After all, most of the projects we are asked to work on incorporate a subtle blend of capabilities, and we would be happy to discuss your objectives and suggest some fresh new ways in which we can help you reach your goals outside of your home market.

I personally invite you to submit a no-obligation enquiry through our website so that you can get a relevant idea of what we might be able to do for you. You are also welcome to follow us on Twitter to see what we are up to in your sector, and we hope to be of  service to you in the New Year.

Thank you again to everyone who has worked with us this year, and we look forward to contributing to your continued success.

Have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. On behalf of Lava IP International I wish you a very successful 2010 as you explore new markets in many new international regions.

With very best wishes

Jonathan Fayers

Managing Director, Lava IP International Pte Ltd.

Many companies make the mistake of seeing their first customer in a new market as their de facto distributor. They have no reason to be concerned, as this might indeed result in new orders and some solid new business in  brand new market.

When this happens, it is a stroke of luck. However, given the importance of the potential global audience for your products and services, why leave this to chance?

Often it is better for companies to be more measured in their approach to appointing distributors. If it’s done correctly, you can be confident that the distributor or agent you have appointed in a particular territory is the best match for your business, is motivated in the correct way and for the most mutually-beneficial, transparent reasons, and above all has the edge that you need in order to grow your customer base successfully in overseas markets.

Here is another typical scenario which many companies face:

You have often wondered if there could be a large market for your products in a particular region – in South America, for example. Then, one day, you happen to receive an enquiry from a Brazilian company offering to act as your exclusive agent. You’re not too keen on their demand for exclusivity, admittedly, but at the same time you’re not doing any business there at the moment.

Should you pursue this opportunity? If so, what is the most straightforward way to handle it, without incurring any unnecessary costs – especially in terms of missed opportunities if they are not right for the job?

Appointing an exclusive agent in a country after a few emails and phone calls may seem like a simple process and an exciting prospect – after all, they will be out there every day marketing and selling your products and services in a new territory, sending in regular orders and driving your business, won’t they?

Not necessarily.

There are some important questions to answer before you can be sure that their performance will be mutually beneficial to you both, such as:

• How do you know that they are based in the best city and country within that region for your target market?
• How do you know that they have demonstrable access to the part of the market you are seeking?
• How can you find out how much active promotion they will do on you behalf?
• Do you know what their Service Level Agreements are with their customers?
• How often do they meet with new prospects as opposed to existing clients?
• What are their other revenue streams, and how important will you be to their business?
• How can you understand what motivates them and what will keep them from losing interest after 6 months?
• How do you know that they aren’t seeing this deal as a way to make themselves seem more ‘international’, so that they can then win bids with customers on behalf of their existing product lines?
• How do you know that they are stable and/or growing, and not just seeing this opportunity as a means to stay in business?
• How much of their business is relevant to the products and/or services you are discussing?

Would you ship products to a company on an ‘Exclusive Distributor’ basis without having answers to some, or all, these questions?

Once these questions have been answered, it is then vital to then verify the part of the market in which your new distributor occupies – as this can cause major headaches down the line.

For example, if your product or service has the highest specifications available, and therefore commands a high premium when compared to your competitors, how do you avoid working with a distributor whose core competency is in selling to the low-end, ‘value’ part of the market?

Similarly, if you can deliver a ‘good enough’ product or service more efficiently and at a lower cost than anyone else, it would make little sense to sign up a distributor or agent whose strongest connections are with buyers at the premium end of the market and would require more expensive, ‘feature rich’ products and services which you do not currently offer.

In other words, there is no point trying to sell premium products to companies that do not have a genuine need for the additional features that justify that premium – and there is no point attempting to sell large volumes of budget products to customers that would rather pay extra for features which you have not included in your price.

The importance of adequate market-based due diligence in these cases cannot be underestimated. Lava IP International can help you cut through the noise and make sense of these issues in the international markets we serve. Do your homework, leverage your local network of contacts in those countries, and make sure that you are entering each new market on a stable footing.

That way, you can be sure that your entry into new export markets will be a success.