As a network that is composed of SMEs and provides the tools that can help promote the growth of an organization and makes the tools available to compete with multinational corporations in the freight forwarding industry. Certainly there are no strict rules to the growth and expansion of a business, but there are a few guidelines that can be followed to promote sustainable growth and business development.

Expansion
Studies have shown that SME’s who expand to markets outside of their home market are more successful. However, expansion requires extensive research, planning, and of course resources to be a feasible path towards business growth. For freight forwarding, perhaps the top two considerations can be knowledge of the local culture and understanding personal relationships and the other important item to review and give serious consideration to is the administrative requirements for the various sectors of the government ministries or departments that will be required for efficient business processing.

Customs Expertise
This may be an obvious one, but customs expertise is a must for efficient business practices and something that is a requirement for when expanding overseas. For economic communities such as the EU or within countries using a federalized system, customs can be better understood. In some countries, goods may sit and wait 10 days to clear customs while in some lesser developed states, the same goods may take about a month to clear customs processing.

Combining Courage and Knowledge
These two elements when combined create a formula that can prove successful. Unfortunately, sometimes the careful plans of SMEs fail because of too much courage and not enough knowledge or there is simply a lack of courage and the knowledge becomes wasted through failures to begin the activities it takes to successfully expand and grow.

SME’s are often in a unique position and it can be difficult to navigate the sometimes murky waters of new markets or anticipating future events in order to make the best decisions now. The above items are only a few of the more important things to consider when making considerations about how to best grow and expand your business.