Hi there, thanks for joining our webinar on Global growth and how to make it happen for your business. I'm Brenda McWilliams Piatek, vice president for brand communications and marketing operations at FedEx Express, Europe and today I'm joined by my colleague Dan Vines, who's our Vice President for inside sales and Freight. Hi Dan, nice to see you. Hi Brenda, likewise, and hello to all of our viewers. Thank you very much for joining us. I think I speak for both of us when I say we're really excited to talk to you today about what opportunities that exist when it comes to growing globally. Definitely, we've got some really interesting data and tips to share with you that we hope will be helpful in bringing your growth ambitions to life. So let's dive right in and talk about what we're going to cover in today's webinar. First, we're going to take a look at some key global growth trends shaping the future of international trade and the wider opportunity that these represent. Then we'll move on to talk about resilience, why this is so important to growth, and how you can build it into your own business to prepare for your future expansion. We're also going to discuss a case study from a FedEx customer that has successfully gone global with their business and find out what advice they have for you to help you do the same. Well then end the session with a few final thoughts on why now is a great time for you to consider going global. So I'll kick off by looking at some global growth trends and stats that you might find interesting. As 2021 gets underway. I'll then pass back to Dan to talk to you a bit more about what these trends could mean for your business. Our first trend is all about the potential that can be found in emerging markets. Where is growth? Recovering following the pandemic and where might you want to consider expanding first? We've pulled out a key feature here that emphasizes one of those key markets in India. Growth of 10.6% is expected this year. Now that's the highest growth rate in the Asia Pacific region. India is also forecast to see the highest annual growth rate in consumer spending due to economic development, fueling improvements in living standards. But this kind of development doesn't just apply to India. Other Asian markets such as Indonesia and South Korea are also set to bounce back through the year as the region experiences a faster recovery from the pandemic compared to other regions like Latin America and the Caribbean. However, don't write those countries off just yet as they are still set to experience growth of between 3 and 4%. So this tells us that despite how tough last year was for the global economy, there are opportunities for small European businesses to tap into. All it takes is looking further afield than you normally would, engaging potential in markets you haven't considered until now. Our second trend is centered on the extraordinary growth of ecommerce in the past 12 months. Indeed, Global ecommerce revenue is projected to reach an astounding $3.4 trillion by 2025, up from $2.4 trillion in 2020. We all know just how much our lives and our businesses have existed online since the pandemic, but this stat shows that ecommerce will continue to accelerate in the coming years, and that this shift online isn't necessarily going to be short lived. As for the markets driving ecommerce growth, we've seen that China and Southeast Asian countries in particular are driving this thanks to the growing number of consumers gaining access to online retailers, particularly on their mobile devices. In terms of sectors, fashion is contributing the most followed by the electronics, media and the toys, hobbies and DIY segment, all of which have been fueled by increased buying activity. But as I mentioned before, it's not just individuals driving the move to online, it's businesses as well. At FedEx, we conducted a survey recently that revealed that more than 1/4 of our customers in Europe are actually looking to pivot their business online. And that leads me to the third global growth trend that I'd like to share with you today, which is related to digitization. Research shows that 70% of small businesses are planning to accelerate their digital transformation following the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, this stat is indicative of a wider shift that we're seeing emerge in the business world, which is that the digital divide is widening between those that do have digital capabilities, or at least are leveraging those of a partner such as FedEx, and those that don't. Data shows that digitization is increasingly important. 46% of digital natives claimed their thriving compared to 37% of digital observers, putting them in a much better position to grow and explore new markets. Another thing to note is that it will become much more important to weave digital processes into the customer experience. After research found that the demand for safe and convenient payment methods has soared.By 2023 it's predicted that digital wallets will even account for 52%. Ecommerce transactions up from 42% in 2019. To summarize the trends and the stats that I've just taken you through. Growth of 10.6% is expected in India. That's the highest growth rate in Asia Pacific. The projected global ecommerce revenue by 2025 is $3.4 trillion. 70% of small businesses plan to accelerate their digital transformation. I'll now hand over to Dan, who's going to take a look at the potential impact of these trends for your business. Thanks Brenda. So let's focus on the three key implication of these trends. What actions might you want to take as a result? Well, firstly there clearly seems to be a growing need to seek out new opportunities in international markets. Asia Pacific is likely to be particularly fruitful in the current climate, but as more regions and economies recover from the pandemic, this could open up in the coming months and years. The second implication is that you may want to either introduce or expand your E Commerce capabilities. This could help you to keep pace with this ever growing sector and compete with the other European businesses reaching online consumers in new markets. As Brenda mentioned, the continued growth of E Commerce signifies a clear pattern for the years ahead, making an online presence essential. It can also make it easier to tap into the global growth areas we revealed earlier on due to the fact consumers in these markets are increasingly using online channels to buy and search for products. And finally, we shouldn't ignore the digital transformation that shaping the world of trade, not just when it comes to Commerce and the way consumers buy, but also across the supply chain. Neglecting new technologies and ways of doing things, could see you get left behind. Now is a good time to do things like train your employees in digital skills and start automating your supply chain wherever possible. Partnering with a provider that really understands new technologies and can help you to implement them is also becoming more essential. So that wraps up our first section. Next, we're going to be looking at resilience and how you can build that into your business to help you grow. To begin with, I'd like to say a few words on why resilience is so fundamental to successful growth. First, resilience can improve your ability to react and thrive. It means that your business doesn't just survive. When things are tough, it actually becomes stronger and better able to turn challenges into opportunities. We've seen this in recent years in the UK with Brexit developments. Most UK businesses will be affected in some way by the uncertainties this has caused. But by making certain changes there now more prepared. For example, 28% said they have diversified their supply chains, and 24% have stockpiled due to Brexit. More than 1/3 of small businesses even said that getting ready for Brexit as enabled them to be better deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Resilience is also important because it demonstrates an organization's intent for the long term, which makes for a more productive workforce. To use FedEx as an example, late last year after transitioning to working from home, one of our sales Department actually recorded the highest number of calls all year in a single day. This highlights just how much adapting to change and doing things a bit differently can positively impact your businesses output and motivate your team if handled in the right way. And Lastly, being resilient is important because it can increase your competitiveness and durability. Showing that you can keep going in a crisis not only highlights your ability to deliver continuity, it also better positions you as a business your customers can work with and trust in the long term. The stronger your connections, the better your chances of making new ones and leveraging these to tap into new growth opportunities. Next, we're going to look at some tips on how you can boost your business resilience and I'll hand you back to Brenda to take you through those. Thanks Dan. So how can you bolster your resilience and put your business in a better place to expand? Well, to begin with, you can maximize your strengths. Look at your businesses current shipping and distribution processes and see if you can develop them. For instance, you could look to enhance your data capabilities by including real time analytics, making sure you have the clearest view of your supply chain. Or you could make processing online orders faster and easier by integrating ecommerce software into your existing systems. Take a look at how the world around you is shifting and think about how you can mold and change your business too. You can also improve your resilience by forming new partnerships or strengthening existing ones to make sure you're really meeting all of your customers needs. If you're already working with suppliers and logistics providers, learn what other capabilities they can offer to fill any gaps in your supply chain. What extra value can they offer that might help you expand? Which markets and regions do they ship to, and how quickly? Asking these questions could help turn your business into a growth engine. You may also want to reach out directly to your customers to find out first hand what their needs are. Fundamentally working with a logistics provider that has a powerful infrastructure,a broad portfolio services and a far reaching global network, is key. Our final tip is to increase flexibility and control across your supply chain. To make it more flexible and therefore more adaptable to change, you can diversify your network. This could involve working with multiple partners and setting up warehouses in different locations to spread your risk and make sure inventory is always readily available. Another step you could take is to adopt a direct to consumer business model. This would involve cutting out any middle men such as third party marketplaces or sellers and reaching customers directly, giving you more control over your operations. Direct to consumer brands were particularly resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic because they didn't face the same complexities in their supply chains as Department stores and online marketplaces. They were also able to build stronger customer relationships, boosting loyalty in the long term. In fact, research shows that 81% of consumers intend to buy from a direct consumer brand in the next five years, highlighting the sales potential that can come with moving to this model. To recap, when it comes to the key actions you can take to give your business the resilience to grow. We see these as being the following. Maximize your strengths. Choose partners that meet a breadth of needs, increase flexibility and control in your supply chain. That's all for this section. Dan over to you. Great thanks Brenda. So next I'm going to talk to you about one of our customers and how they achieved global growth. I'll also look at what their advice would be for other businesses out there looking to expand. Hopefully this will be valuable to you and your business and inspire you to start your own growth journey. The business we're going to talk to you about is Artipoppe, a baby carrier brand that was launched in 2012 by Mother of four Anna van den Bogert. Anna's inspiration for art pop came from a desire to produce a baby carrier that wasn't just practical, comfortable, and comforting for her baby, but also stylish too. Nine years later, Artipoppe is a global brand shipping to 70 countries worldwide. With FedEx, it's roughly doubling in growth every year. And as even built a high profile among celebrities and influencers. So first, let's take a look at the three key factors that Artipoppe told us have help them to successfully achieve global growth. Number one is a strong vision and purpose. They didn't launch with the aim to make money. It started with the desire to impact people's lives and actually contributes something. And that could be a very important foundation for your own business. Having belief as that's what will ground you during the more challenging moments. The second factor that contributed to artipoppe's growth is the fact that they've constantly set high standards for their business and haven't compromised on those standards. From their relationships with their partners to the data they've gathered, they've learned to be selective and to always ask questions to make sure quality is prioritized and doing the same for your business could really help you to move forward in a way that best reflects your vision. If you're persistent and don't compromise on your initial strategy, simply for short-term financial gain, you may reap the rewards. The third factor that helped Artippope to grow is their market knowledge, which is come from researching two key areas, consumers themselves and their appetite for Artipoppe's
products and how taxes and duties are charged in different countries. So for the first area, they analyzed data points such as how many children are born per mother and what income levels were there in various markets. They also looked at how to then approach customers in each market and research things like offline marketing and advertising tactics. Then for the second area around taxes and duties, they developed a solid understanding of how to charge these to different markets based on consumers typical habits and expectations. For countries like Norway that expected to pay charges, they didn't include that in the price of products on their website. But for countries like China that are used to these costs being included, they made that part of the product price and took care of the duties and taxes themselves. And offering the same convenience and level understanding to your customers could help you with your own growth. We'd also like to share with you some of Artipoppe's top tips for growth so you can feel better prepared to begin your own global expansion. Their first tip is to take it one step at a time, rather than focusing on 200 countries all at once, do what's achievable Artipoppe themselves didn't add 20 currencies straight to their webshop. They started in euros. They then thought the US might be a good market to explore and so they added dollars next. They then saw sales from Denmark were rising and added Danish kroner so it was really a step by step process. Our second tip from Artipoppe is to go big on each new market. You expand to. Every move should be carried out as well as you can and you should put everything into it to make your brand a success in that market. Their feeling is that it doesn't make sense to approach 50 different countries in 1/2 hearted way in the same way it's not convenient to use 10 different Courier services to ship your products. And finally their third tip is to leverage the power of social media. This is because it has no borders or limitations, meaning you can reach new potential customers anywhere in the world. What's more, with social media comes influencers. Currently, Artipoppe has numerous influencers. In all the markets that they target and they're helping to raise awareness of the brand, approaching a new market could even start with building relations with influencers before spending any money on social media advertising. So when it comes to your business, you could think about whether there are any influencers in the markets you're breaking into, who resonate with your vision and purpose and who you could collaborate with to drive that growth even more. As we come to the end of our session, we're going to offer a few final thoughts on why now is an exciting time to grow globally and how to make it happen. Firstly, now is the time to grow because of the opportunities that are emerging across the world. Despite a somewhat turbulent period, we have seen there are actually reasons to feel optimistic, particularly when it comes to emerging markets. There's also a lot of support available to businesses looking to get growth plans underway, especially here at FedEx. That doesn't just mean international shipping, we also have the expertise to clear goods through customs and can offer connections to hundreds of global markets. And finally, now is a great time to expand because of the competitiveness it can bring to your business. Our researchers found that 68% of small businesses see opportunities to sell to new customers, either in an existing or new market. So you don't want to fall behind. Brenda, do you want to share any final thoughts? I agree with all your points Dan, particularly that last one around competitiveness. The struggles of the last year might still be on your mind, but I think to help you stay relevant. And increase your chances of bringing in sales. It could be good to cast your net wider. I also think that diversification which we touched on before is fundamental to making global growth happen for your business. Not only does it help you to minimize your risk, it can also help you to discover new revenue streams and leverage the expertise of a range of partners, particularly if you explain to them exactly what your growth ambitions are helping you to get the most out of them. and that takes us to the end of today's session. We hope you've all found this webinar informative and useful. If you have any questions at all about growing your business and want to know how we FedEx can help facilitate that growth, just get in touch. Our teams are always willing to help. Simply go to FedEx com to find out more. Thanks so much and have a great day. Thanks very much for joining us everyone and goodbye. _1732467661191