E-commerce: more opportunity and more help
It is clear that while e-commerce affords SMEs opportunities to access new and global markets there are challenges that many SMEs find overwhelming. These challenges highlight the importance of SMEs seeking support to realise the advantages of e-commerce.As discussed in the video, in Australia the national postal service, Australia Post, provides a range of business solutions to help SMEs access new markets. Christine Holgate, CEO of Australia Post, describes some of the ways the postal service can support SMEs as they look to enter into international markets.If you’re outside Australia, you might like to search for an equivalent service available to SMEs in your particular area.Contribute to the development of online shopping culture in new frontier markets or provide consumer access via their marketplace solutions for third parties … [in addition, they also] set the standards with respect to the consumer experience in domestic and international online shopping (DHL 2017, p. 16).
Your task
Thinking about your business or an SME with which you’re familiar, what assistance or additional services would you need in order to supply a customer in a new market offshore to your operating base?How confident are you, as an SME owner, that you know the sorts of assistance you require, how to access that assistance, and the questions to ask that would enable you to begin operating in new markets?Share in the comments some steps you can take to increase your level of confidence.SMEs and New Markets: Trade, the Chinese Powerhouse and Online Opportunities

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