QLD smartens up it’s exports

Musicadium set up its online infrastructure for artists to cheaply and easily distribute their music to the world via iTunes and Amazon mp3. So far, they have experienced enormous success, distributing more than 400 releases worldwide this year with sales made in New Zealand, Japan, Europe, the UK, US and Canada. For general manager Nick Crocker, Queensland provides an exciting growth area for his business. “New opportunities emerge here every day and there is a sense of possibility here that is unique to Australia.”

Musicadium are currently looking into Austrade’s Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) program. “It’s a fantastic way for exporters to claw back some of their export promotion dollars,” says Crocker.

Many businesses considering exporting for the first time can be intimidated by the uncertainty of entering a new overseas market. A lack of local market and business knowledge is a key contributor to these feelings of uncertainty, says Mickel.

However, there is no lack of support for those seeking help at any stage of exporting. New exporters can access Trade Queensland’s export skills development program, Getting Export Smart, which provides a series of workshops designed to explain the steps in the export process, facilitated by specialist presenters in areas such as export marketing, finance, logistics, export documentation and e-business.
This is designed to take the guesswork out of establishing relationships with distributors and to provide advice on regulations, standards compliance, financial arrangements and a myriad other issues.

Direct one-on-one advice and participation in inbound and outbound trade missions is also provided. Over 2,800 firms received export assistance from Trade Queensland during 2007-08.

CASE STUDY
Supermarine Aircraft Factory
Mike O’Sullivan officially began his business in kit aircraft manufacturing in 1995 after taking seven years to develop the innovative procedures and manufacturing techniques required to make the very first all metal replica of the World War Two Spitfire. Through the business, Supermarine Aircraft Factory, O’Sullivan admits he had to learn the hard way when it came to exporting, despite 30 years of experience in building aircrafts. “There wasn’t much export happening 17 years ago, so there wasn’t the assistance that’s available now.”

However, O’Sullivan’s determination has allowed home builders worldwide to buy Spitfire kits. With 700 hours of construction work already complete, the kit is shipped to customers in Europe, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand and Scotland.
O’Sullivan says they now seek government support in terms of marketing and breaking into other countries of interest. He explains getting people to believe in the Australian product proved the biggest hurdle. “The paperwork for Europe is tremendous and we spent years alone trying to complete the air-worthiness documentation for England. We were just one of 10 aircraft passed in 10 years when most other countries probably had 200 or 300 passed.”

For O’Sullivan, understanding your market and what you’re trying to achieve is vital. “The biggest thing for us was ensuring we had the right agents and dealers. People initially take the first one they can get, which is not always the best. We found it very difficult to get someone to understand our product and that’s where we fell initially as you simply can’t do it on your own.”

Perseverance and supporting those in other countries has also been key to Supermarine’s success. “I always knew England would be a buyer of the Spitfire, and the US has been hard to crack. The only reason we’re in there now is because we’ve been going for 17 years.

“We took the time to prove the aircraft to ourselves and within our own shores instead of just throwing it together and trying to market it. Years of development testing made us stand out and meant we didn’t have to redesign it when we took the product overseas. You can’t just walk in and say ‘we’re here and we’re the best’.”

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Related Keywords: Adviser Network, Austrade, Current Resources, Demographic Changes, Export Environment, Export Success, Global Offerings, Material Handling Equipment, Quality Reputation, Queensland Companies, Resource Exports, Rural Industries, Skilled Workforce, Specialised Services, Sunshine State

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