Competitive Intelligence
Companies of all sizes needing import data use TradeIQ. “Generally speaking, the larger an importer they are, the more likely they are to have a need for our data,” Rasmussen says. “But companies of all sizes use our software. If a company is involved in at least 100 shipments per year or is consistently importing finished or raw goods, they can benefit from our software.”
“Industrial, apparel, textile, consumer goods, and food and beverage companies turn to TradeIQ to not only research their competitors’ import activities, but also to identify and qualify new overseas suppliers,” Rasmussen explains. “For example, prices coming out of China are increasing at a significant rate on many products [clothes, toys, et cetera] and it will only continue over the coming years [and expand to other products]. China is not the cheapest supplier on the block in all industries. A sourcing or purchasing manager for a consumer goods company would use TradeIQ to find new sourcing options in Vietnam or other Southeast Asian countries.”
Using Data To Do Battle
Brand infringement investigators frequently use TradeIQ to research companies suspected of importing counterfeit products or breaking exclusivity agreements. Banks and financial organizations use the software to create prospect lists and evaluate their current customers’ import activity.
Law firms and corporate councils use TradeIQ to help identify and research counterfeit shipments and prepare themselves for cases. Rasmussen gives the example of a company receiving a seizure notice from U.S. Customs and turning to TradeIQ to research the offending companies.
“There is often little information to work with, so companies need to be creative in figuring out who is doing what. TradeIQ helps them do that,” Rasmussen explains.
Choosing a trade data provider such as TradeIQ is a lot like buying any other business software. Zepol customer-service employees versed in TradeIQ are available to users on line and by telephone.
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Norway has named former U.S. Senator from Minnesota and U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale honorary consul general for the newly established Norwegian Honorary Consulate General in Minneapolis. It replaces a consulate that was staffed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was closed earlier this year. Mondale will strengthen business and research ties between Norway and the Upper Midwest.
—Andrea Wagenknecht
East View Cartographic, a Minneapolis-based provider of maps and geospatial data, acquired Netherlands-based RMIB Geosciences, which specializes in hard-to-get maps from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. RMIB works with research institutes, universities, and governments to gain access to topographic maps of some of the most difficult countries in the world for outsiders to enter.
—A. W.
Companies in Chile’s growing commercial fishing, meat, agriculture, and fruit production markets could be a good fit for St. Paul–based Lawson Software’s M3 Enterprise Management System enterprise resource planning software. Lawson chose TDX Solutions, a software distributor in Chile, to provide sales and support for its products there. Lawson’s software is often used in agricultural industries.
—A. W.
According to the Minnesota Trade Office’s first quarter manufactured exports report, computers and electronics exports accounted for about $1 billion in sales, an increase of 6.6 percent from a year ago. Exports of integrated circuits to the Philippines and computers and related components to France did particularly well. Only two industries had a decrease in value of exports over last year: medical products and petroleum and coal products. The decrease in medical products is largely due to cuts in purchases from Ireland.
—Katie Harholdt
Israel has 35,000 high-tech companies, and nearly 5 percent of the country’s gross national product goes to research and development, making it the ideal destination for a high-tech trade mission from Minnesota. A group of Minnesota businesspeople will touch down in Israel for a one-week mission in November. Led by the Minnesota Trade Office, participants will tour Hebrew University (pictured above) and business incubators, and meet with Microsoft, Intel, and Google representatives. Israel is a big trade partner. In 2007, it imported products worth $121 million from Minnesota—mostly transportation equipment, machinery, and computer products.
—K. H.
