Collaboration is key for small-scale NZ firms

MEDIA STATEMENT
 

12 September 2007

Exporters say collaboration is key for small-scale NZ firms

A group of New Zealand’s top exporters have identified greater collaboration as one of the best untapped opportunities to overcome the issue posed by the small size of New Zealand’s businesses.

The issue of scale and the benefit of collaboration were identified by more than 100 CEOs and founders of New Zealand export businesses during a series of five forums hosted by Export Year Business Champion Ken Stevens.

“New Zealand companies are minnows in global terms.  We think of ourselves as a nation of small and medium enterprises but we’re really a nation of micro-businesses. Many of the challenges that face New Zealand exporters stem from their small size,” Mr Stevens said today when releasing the results of the forums.

“You can try to achieve scale the hard way by growing over several years, or you can work with other companies that complement your skills, your knowledge, or your product offering.  Collaboration doesn’t have to be between similar companies or restricted to industry sectors, geographic clusters or specific commercial opportunities,” Mr Stevens said.

By collaborating with other firms, New Zealand exporters could stay small enough to remain innovative and agile while also getting the benefits of larger scale businesses such as bigger production capacity and access to specialist skills. 

The Export Year forums over the past two months pulled people together around the country to identify common challenges that most of them face and common opportunities they could pursue to grow their companies’ foreign earnings.

“The forums were effectively a brains trust of more than 100 people with real-world experience and expertise in running New Zealand businesses that operate and sell all around the world,” Mr Stevens said.

“The forum participants were generally optimists with high aspirations to grow their companies and the confidence to set about achieving success for their businesses. They saw several opportunities that were common across most of their business and many are already taking action on those opportunities,” Mr Stevens said.

Mr Stevens said that another big issue facing export companies is finding people with the right skills, aptitude and attitude for specialist roles both in New Zealand and overseas. 
“To really succeed overseas in the long term, exporters need to get very close to their overseas customers and understand their customers’  culture, language and different ways of doing business. Finding the right people to work for you overseas helps enormously in achieving this, while getting the right people back in New Zealand means you can be confident about producing the product, service and quality your customers want,” he said.

Participants at the forums saw opportunities to overcome their staffing challenges by training and developing their existing staff, hiring specialist people overseas where the skills couldn’t  be found in New Zealand and tapping into the connections and skills of the million New Zealanders who live overseas.

Beyond the issues of small-scale enterprises and skills shortages, the forums also identified common challenges for exporters in finding the right capital and finance at acceptable prices, dealing with a volatile exchange rate, and coping with compliance and regulatory issues.

Mr Stevens said that the insights and wisdom of people at the forums would be shared with the wider exporting sector and, where appropriate, ideas and issues from the forums were being conveyed to the Government and policy makers. 

Questions and Answers

Question:

Where and when were the forums held?

Answer:

The CEO / Founders Forums were held in Wellington on 24 July, Hamilton on 31 July, Auckland on 1 August, Christchurch on 15 August and Dunedin on 23 August.

Question:

Who attended the forums?

Answer:

The forums were attended by the CEOs and founders of New Zealand businesses that earn a significant proportion of their revenue from exports or have factories, offices and other facilities overseas. 

The invitation list included those that attended the original forum on 1 December last year, exporters identified by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, companies ranked in the Deloitte/Unlimited Fast 50 and the NZ Business Magazine Top 100 exporters lists, previous winners of New Zealand Export Awards, and nominees put forward by members of the Export Year Business Reference Group.

For further information or comment:

Ken Stevens, Export Year Business Champion and Chairman, Glidepath Group. (09) 818-3354

About Export Year 2007

Export Year 2007 is a joint initiative between the Government and the private sector that aims to improve New Zealand’s long-term export performance by supporting both new and existing exporters and encouraging businesses to globalise their operations. 

Increasing New Zealand’s sustainable export base by making our firms stronger, more resilient and more capable will strengthen the foundations for long term export growth.

www.exportyear.co.nz

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