The North Dakota Trade Office has partnered with The University of North Dakota’s College of Business & Public Administration for the third installment of the UND Export Management Course. The 12-week course is offered to students as well as business professionals and prepares attendees for expansion into the global marketplace. For exporters, the class will run from Aug. 31 – Nov. 16, 2011.
The course will cover all key areas of the export industry, with a panel of guest speakers such as freight forwarders, financial institutions, law firms, international marketing experts and successful exporters. Through these lectures, participants will take away practical knowledge of exporting and managers will be armed with knowledge to help avoid the common and not-so-common missteps that can create regulatory headaches and strip companies of customers and profits.
“The course was developed to offer a hands-on approach to learning the fundamentals of managing an export business. Courses are taught by prominent and experienced business managers in our region from all key industries involved in exporting. It really gives students and company representatives a fresh and honest look at what it takes to be a successful exporter,” said Sharon May, Director of Global Development at the North Dakota Trade Office and organizer of Export Management Course program.
Participants who complete the course will receive a Certificate of Export Management and leave with the tools to create a Basic Action Plan for managing their own export business.
The inaugural course was held at the UND Center for Innovation Sept. 2 – Nov. 25, 2009. Since then, more than 80 UND students and 20 business leaders have participated in the Export Management Course.
The Export Management Course is held during the fall semester at UND and in the spring semester at NDSU. If you would like more information or to register for the course, contact NDTO by phone at (701) 231-1158 or email Sharon May at Sharon@ndto.com.
Cost for Trade Office Members: Members receive a scholarship for one company representative to attend each of the course’s 12 training sessions (substitutes from the same company are allowed). Additional company representatives can attend each class at a cost of $100 per person.
Cost for Non-members: Fees $1,000 to register for the entire course or $125 for individual classes. All participants can earn college credit by enrolling in this course at either UND or NDSU.
Click here to view course brochure.
This session, the courses are as follows:
Sept. 7
Country Opportunity Analysis – The purpose of this seminar is to provide criteria and techniques to identify and prioritize which international markets are best suited for your product line.
Instructor: Sharon May, Director of Global Business Management for North Dakota Trade Office
Sept. 14
Building and Managing a Productive Overseas Distribution Channel – Learn about the key resources in finding qualified foreigh distributors for your business.
Instructor: TBA
Sept. 21
International Business Development – This working class will summarize key learning steps within the export process and organizational efficiencies that will prepare you for growth in the international marketplace
Instructor: NDTO Country Market Managers and invited international guests
Sept. 28
Freight Management – Learn the role of the frieght forwarder in the export process, the service they provide and recommendations for choosing the best freight forwarder for your business.
Instructor: Ron Martin, International VP of Midwest Motor Express
Oct. 5
Incoterms, Export Documents and Export Regulations – Incoterms 2010 are rules for shipping and delivery for use in contracts for the business-to-business sale of tangible goods. This class will detail when to use them, what they mean, who should know about them and why. This seminar will also provide key requirements of export documentation, harmonized codes and tariff classifications.
Instructor: Sharon May, Director of Global Business Management for North Dakota Trade Office
Oct. 12
Financing Your Export Business and Getting Paid – Everyone wants to get paid. This seminar will talk about the finance options available for exporters and their interanaional customers and how to ensure payment on internaitonal transactions with limited cash outlays. Learn how to get paid, fund work in process and extend overseas credit.
Instructor: John A. Noval, VP/Manager of Internaional Services, Bremer Bank and Curt Hanson, Priciple of Trade Acceptance Group
Oct. 19
Development and Negotiation of International Contracts – This course explains how to develop and negotiate international contracts including product sales agreements and contracts with agents and distributors.
Instructor: Steve Dickinson, shareholder and board member of Fredrikson & Byron
Oct. 26
Global Brand Identity – You will learn the importance of global pranding and how to present a globally consistent yet country-relevant positioning message and “look” for your product line. Additionally, this session will cover trademarks and copyright.
Instructor: Mark Olson, Principal Brand Strategist, Mojo and former Great Plains/Microsoft brand manager
Nov. 2
Access to Capital to Finance International Expansion – This seminar will discuss various ways to raise critical capital to fund overseas expansion as well as ways to save money via tax credits and advantageous tax structures.
Instructor: Donavon Johnson, Director of Resource Management Group, North Dakota Trade Office
Nov. 9
Presentation Tips and Cultural Awareness – This class teaches effective techniques to make your message memorable and key aspects of international protocol.
Instructor: Ralf Mehnert-Meland, Director-Developer and OEM partnerships for Intelligent InSites and Sharon May, Director of Global Business Management for North Dakota Trade Office
Nov. 16
Student Presentations of Final Project