We help international traders that import or export goods. Exabler cloud-based software automates trade documentation and accessing trade services like customs filings, transportation, insurance, finance and more. Sign u
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24 Apr 2024
Guest briefing: How well do you know the companies or people you trade with? The reputation of your business is one of the most important assets you have. It is also the most difficult to repair once it has been damaged.
8 Sep 2023
See Ramin Takin of EXabler participate in this engaging panel discussion on the eve of the Electronic Trade Documents Act coming into force.
30 May 2023
The role of distributed ledgers in digital trade is maturing, as the CTO of one of the more mainstream bank-led consortia explains
4 April 2023
What may initially seem like the most seller-friendly terms of delivery can cause more trouble that it's worth
28 Sep 2022
The CHIEF imports switch-off presents data-driven opportunities as well as challenges for large and small businesses.
17 May 2022
The launch of the ICC Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (C4DTI) in the UK's Tees Valley paves the way for common international standards and a digital trade system that is paperless, sustainable and secure.
3 May 2022
An interview with Professor Steve Evans, Director of Research at the Centre for Industrial Sustainability, part of Cambridge University's Institute for Manufacturing.
14 April 2022
A new free trade deal signed between the UK and New Zealand is hoped to boost trade between the two nations by 60%.
15 February 2022
A team of top negotiators is hoping to strike a range of new trade deals for the UK in 2022. Key deals include Canada, Mexico, the Gulf (GCC), and the CPTPP.
30 January 2022
The cost of net zero CO2 does not need to be high - in fact often less than 4% impact on the end consumer price according to recent research by BCG
25 January 2022
As the UK's new customs rules have come into effect, there has been at least one recurring hiccup at the border. European shippers moving imports of animal origin have faced difficulties because of challenges around connecting two customs IT systems.
29 December 2021
The UK will be spending £180 million to create a “smart border” that will allow agencies to share information in real-time.
5 December 2021
With full customs controls going into force from January 1 HMRC is now cracking down on businesses that have been abusing the delayed declaration scheme.
18 November 2021
A new trade deal between the UK and the US has been delayed, leading to rumours the UK may instead apply to join the US-Mexico-Canada agreement. But for right now, the UK continues to struggle to secure meaningful access to American markets.
22 October 2021
We've heard the buzzwords, but what's in it for traders?
23 July 2021
Appointing a customs intermediary can be a tricky yet vital decision for many traders and business
25 June 2021
Read about the new VAT procedures affecting many e-commerce operators
3 June 2021
Find out about the codes needed to classify your goods for import and export
Find the essential information needed to draft your commercial invoice
24 May 2021
They are a registered trademark of the International Chamber of Commerce. But when to use them, and which one?
16 Mar 2021
Exabler helps forwarders get more complete and timely information from shippers. Why is this important?
23 Mar 2021
With the UK Border Operating Model delayed 6 months, get yourself set up with customs and freight services and good record keeping. Delay full customs declarations if you want. With Exabler, you might prefer to avoid creating the supplementary declarations backlog.
Postponed 6 months - announcement here (11 Mar 2021)
9 Mar 2021
Effective from 1 April, there are new rules for importing from the EU to the UK as the next step of the UK Border Operating Model. How many businesses are ready to comply?
10 Feb 2021
Don't be fooled by the Brexit myth that dominated January 2021: struggling to navigate international trade processes is not new.
Download our training delivery to the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants® (CIMA) - world leading and largest professional body of management accountants.
Read this guide to a tool we created to help with background checking companies and exploring your business landscape
Published in Surrey Chambers of Commerce magazine in 2016
The government's goal was to double exports to £1 Trillion by 2020. We are less than 60% of the way there.
One reason for this is that many businesses do not have the tools, processes and resource necessary to trade compliantly and ultimately profitably - some only see risks in exploring outside their home market. Every international order in a new or existing market with a customer requires compliance to customs requirements, export controls, anti-fraud measures, 3rd party screening, etc.
Doing it profitably requires a firm grasp of commercial processes such as customer due diligence, evaluating risk of delay, dealing with fluctuating exchange rates, getting finance or credit insurance and guarantees, or assessing working capital needs, agreeing pricing and payment terms, product market localisation. Traders, therefore, must organise themselves effectively.
According to a study by Maersk in 2014, about 30 people and organizations are involved in the shipment of a product using a shipping container, resulting in over 200 separate interactions, each requiring a new set of documents, and earlier communication to determine duties and tariffs, carry out certification and organise valuations. Involving financing and credit insurance adds a level of complexity that is often simply overwhelming.
Many small firms under £2m turnover rely on an owner-manager or one or two key individuals. We surveyed this group revealing that 55% rely just on the CEO/owner to run the entire export process and a further 10% still need the involvement of the CEO/owners themselves.
A typical medium to large enterprise organises themselves to better spread fixed costs across many transactions. As these organisations are often serving many countries, each full time employee can cover 4-5 countries according to industry benchmarks. These businesses get tailored support from banks and specialist service providers, and they have greater choice of available technology solutions. In this way larger entities are more able to withstand uncertainty in periods of change, such as now.
However, if well-prepared, smaller businesses can be more nimble than a badly organised large business. And in an environment like today, more nimble means more profitable.
This continues in the next post
One approach for a business to profit from exporting while reducing risk is getting help from the many good service providers - training, finance, freight forwarders, inspection agencies, consular services agents, customs brokers, lawyers, accountants, translators and of course Chambers of Commerce – but as this long list suggests, the industry is highly fragmented.
Businesses are faced with the challenge of finding and selecting providers – starting with conversations to understand who is needed, then assess their qualifications, agree terms, manage their activities - all the while retaining ultimate responsibility for compliance. More often than not, every new market needs different providers with special capabilities to fulfil the order. When you must also find a buyer and secure the order in the first place, it is not surprising that many businesses regard international sales as a non-starter.
It is possible to create commercial export relationships by striking deals with distributors or dealer networks who can do much of the legwork. For example a North West based trader in sport equipment sells goods through a worldwide network of dealers across 6 markets. Large dealers pick up Ex Works, so the trader can manage with just 2 FTE in the export department shipping direct to worldwide dealers in this way.
This is an effective way to establish relationships and learn about the market, but there is a corresponding loss of control, brand recognition and perhaps profit. It also requires a whole layer of background checking and due diligence on these intermediaries, to protect the company from commercial and legal risks. Building this kind of effectiveness takes a long time – 40 years in this example.
Changing your business model is an option too. Many manufacturers have fallen into this approach by accident. De-emphasising big ticket but infrequent low-margin sales, and maximising after-sales support and parts business opportunities. Some of these smaller but more predictable revenue streams can be financed more readily and are more naturally carried out with lower overheads through B2B eCommerce, where there are many new and maturing products and services that can assist, such as Exabler.
Firms need to demonstrate they are not at risk of failing to fulfil their export contracts - both operationally and financially. Many times businesses sadly are ill prepared when applying for financing, resulting in swift rejection, or losing money on contracts due to bad planning and avoidable mistakes.
You can change your business model to maximize returns and minimize risks of exporting by de-emphasising big ticket but infrequent low-margin sales, and maximising after-sales support and parts business opportunities for example. Some of these smaller but more predictable revenue streams can be financed more readily and are more naturally carried out with lower overheads through B2B eCommerce, where there are many new and maturing products and services that can assist.
High street banks have struggled to support this delivery model in light of modern financial regulation and are pulling back from supporting smaller exporters. That leaves government and private sector service providers.
A default answer is to simply expect all businesses to develop in-house expertise and tools. Some businesses require closer, more targeted support. Even though some SME business owners sometimes find it difficult to accept, our survey suggests external services are broadly welcome - 25% want help with duties and tax, 25% shipping and customs documentation and 25% in both disciplines to give a fully costed quote.
Export support services have traditionally relied strongly on personal relationships. Tomorrow’s business leaders who have grown up on the internet will find this approach a little dated. It is also not scalable.
Technology plays a role in aggregating data and streamlining processes, and organisational culture and industry initiatives are also vital. Exabler has been helping firms lead the way in this transition.
We applied cutting edge data visualization software to often overlooked government datasets to reveal hidden' information with our tool GEX. Today we introduce you to it and the kind of additional insights and trade risk metrics that our customers glean with its help.
Two major areas where GEX adds value is Due diligence research, and exploring your business landscape.
When doing due diligence on a trade finance transaction, financial due diligence on the buyer and seller are necessary but not sufficient.
Dealing with buyers and sellers that lack experience and track records of similar deals would normally suggest a higher risk profile, but within innovative industries there won't be much financial or press history to examine.
With GEX we can use our International Trade Graph to see which companies have a genuinely strong track record of cross-border sales and dealing with customs clearance, etc.
It's essential to know who else shares or neighbours your niche in the market place. You can use GEX to find your Peers and Competitors - which companies actually trade (export/import) similar goods to you?
We find it useful to use a two stage process - start with a large buyer, then drill down the graph to see the deal volumes of smaller suppliers that may not publish accounts and not have frequent press releases etc. about their business.
With GEX, finding and confirming new insights from the mass of trade data goes from being an intractable problem to a rich seam of opportunity.
For instance, we established within minutes that most companies import a much wider variety of products than they export. Maybe that ratio could be a useful metric of how far down the supply chain a company is?
In addition, smaller yet interesting insights can sometimes be found. For example, in the captioned image you will see that both Group Lotus and McLaren export a significant number of T-shirts ... surely part of their brand merchandising!
