And the global changes to supply chains has meant economies need to look at different ways of measuring export performance, according to the Australian Trade Commission’s (Austrade) chief economist, Tim Harcourt.
“The rise of modern globalisation means that international business activity is now not just about exporting and importing,” Mr Harcourt says in an Austrade web article.
Many small and medium sized companies in Australia were now joining global supply chains. According to Austrade/Sensis research, about 8 per cent of all Australian SMEs were now a part of a global supply chain, and that this is their key strategy for moving their products internationally.
Mr Harcourt points to the car industry as an example of the way smaller manufacturing companies have enjoyed export success as suppliers of car parts to the big four auto outfits in this country.
“These companies are known as ‘hidden exporters’, as they are not counted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) as ‘official’ exporters themselves but they do provide components to larger multinational companies that do,” Mr Harcourt said.
“In fact, according to Austrade research, there are around 200 companies in the automotive supply chain alone, servicing four Australian vehicle producers,” he said.
The ICT industry in Australia has not been export focused, despite considerable prowess as an innovator. In 2005, Australian exports of products and services measured about $5.3 billion, compared with $20 billion in imports.
But the sector has not been without success. Multinationals have used Australia as a development and service base in niche software areas. IBM Australia in particular has enjoyed success as an exporter of IT software services to customers both inside and outside of the corporation.
Multinationals have long been used as a channel to overseas markets by Australian solution providers.
Cebit Australia’s Export Alley is a joint initiative between Cebit and the Australian Trade Commission and brings together the latest solutions and the brightest minds in the international IT industry, aalong with a special Austrade Seminar series.
For more Export Alley news, click here.
