International Trade: A 24/7 Business
Doing business across borders means doing business across time zones, and that can be a challenge for the small business owner whose staff is too small to keep the business open during trading partners' hours of operation. In fact, it's just one aspect of a broader continuum of problems related to time and distance. "Even if a small business involved in international activities were to staff a second and third shift to engage on a 24/7 basis, it would still lack the local language skills and expertise needed to be of value," says Bryn Heimbeck, CEO of Trade Tech, a creator of software solutions for the international logistics industry. "The real challenge is coordinating with local entities around the world for the collection and administration of information relative to that business."
