Tapping into New and International Markets

Tapping into New and
International Markets

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................3
LO1.......................................................................................................................................................3
Global Business Environment in which Small and Medium Enterprises Operate..............................3
Threats and Opportunities faced by Small and Medium enterprises..................................................5
LO2.......................................................................................................................................................6
Determine and analyse the advantages of international trading blocs and agreements......................6
Tariff and Non Tariff Barriers in International Trading Environment...............................................7
LO3.......................................................................................................................................................8
Imports and Exports along with their merits and demerits.................................................................8
Merchandise and service import and export......................................................................................9
LO4.....................................................................................................................................................10
Methods to Tap into International Markets......................................................................................10
Merits and Demerits of Methods Used to Tap into International Markets.......................................11
CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
In order to operate successfully in today’s international markets, business need to
constantly be aware of the markets in which they operate in and look out for various
opportunities and threats. In this report we will study how small and medium enterprises can
enter into new international markets to expand their operations and the various difficulties
that can arise. For this purpose, we have chosen a SME called Fontain Motors, a private
limited company established in 1990, that operates from Buckinghamshire
UK. Fontain motors primarily deals in the resale of old used cars and light motor vehicles and
the repair and maintenance of motor vehicles.
LO1
Global Business Environment in which Small and Medium Enterprises Operate.
Businesses and industries operating in a market all have to function within a dynamic
business environment which directly affects and influences their operations, performance,
productivity and efficiency. Hence business environment can be referred to as the external
pressures and factors that affect the industries and influence their decision making and
operating functions (Hamilton and Webster, 2018). Due to the recent advancement in
technology and globalisation of trading, it is now for business to expand their operations into
international markets, albeit after due analysis and preparation.

Small and Medium Enterprises in UK such as Fontain Motors play a major role in
influencing the country’s business environment. An estimate by recent survey concluded that
there are close to 5.7 million small and medium enterprises operating in the UK, which
account for close to 99.9% of all privately owned businesses in the UK as of 2018. Out of
these a total of 1.4 million enterprises relied on using employees for their operations, while
almost 4.3 million business employed no external personnel and were capable of operating
autonomously (Business population estimates 2018, 2018). Small and medium enterprises
also employ a huge number of people adding to the economy of UK. By recent surveys it was
found that nearly 16.3 million people were employed in various small and medium
enterprises in the UK, which accounts for almost 60% of all the people employed in various
private sector industries in the UK. Out of all the 5.7 million small and medium enterprises
operating in UK, 99.3% of businesses operate by employing 0-49 people, 0.6% of small and
medium enterprises operate by employing 50-249 employees and the remaining 0.1% if
businesses numbering in 7500 enterprises function by employing more than 250 employees
(International trade budget boost for global Britain, 2018). It was also found that small and
medium enterprises of UK such as Fontain Motors also contributed to a total annual turnover
of 2 trillion pounds towards the British economy, which accounted for almost 52% of all the
annual turnover of private sector businesses.