Updated 13 December 2022.
What is this?
This is an article for companies considering exporting. It explains what problems a manufacturer can face when exporting and how we solve these problems.
Why do we need this?
Ubinodes is a decentralized and distributed organization, with consultants in several countries. Ubinodes is the most innovative marketing agency out there, you need to understand what makes us different to what you know and how we are going to manufacture success for you.
TL;DR.
- The product we manufacture is access to markets.
- Our organization will give you boots-on-the-ground in target countries. Nodes are ready to act as your private reconnaissance team and sales army.
Contents for this Article.
- 1- Background.
- 2- Challenges and Solutions.
- 2.1- Distribution channels.
- 2.2- Price’s Law and how Ubinodes can multiply 100 fold.
- 2.3- Weaponization of the U.S. dollar.
- 2.4- Three kinds of power.
- 3- Core values of Ubinodes.
- 3.1- Value Proposition.
- 3.2- Teamwork.
- 3.3- Customer Satisfaction.
- 3.4- Commitment.
- 3.5- Creativity.
- 3.6- Our Competition.
- 3.7- Trust.
- 4- How does it work?
- 5- Fees.
- 6- GST/VAT.
- 7- Books.
- 8- Sources.
1. Dilemma.
We live in a world cluttered by communication and production. As a manufacturer, you may find that getting your product(s) to market and to target audiences or consumers is your biggest obstacle. Working with Ubinodes, manufacturers can focus their time and attention on what they are passionate about and can confidently know that the external aspects of their business are in expert hands.
- Manufacturers must focus on designing, improving, and producing their products and should not have to spend their own time marketing.
- Manufacturers have an intimate stake in their products and may make biased or counterproductive decisions when making them alone.
- Manufacturers don’t have the resources to hire marketers full time.
- Manufacturers do not have contacts or leads in the marketing sector, as most of their network is in the industrial sector.
- Through the Ubinodes utility token, our own cryptocurrency, we make it easy to transact between different regulatory environments.
- Ubinodes is secure and can help our clients avoid security threats to their transactions. Not only is the token usable across borders but it is also more reliable than most forms of payment (read our other articles about the Ubinodes token).
- Utilizing a global consultant network leads to both a better-sourced understanding of different customer demographics and markets as well as a broader knowledge of business opportunities in new markets.
Broadly speaking, in a country, 80% of exports are done by 3% of the companies. Only the largest companies reap the benefits of exporting (Boeing, Airbus, Total, BP, car manufacturers, etc) while countless other companies compete locally and struggle to reach new markets. Our target is the 97% of manufacturers not exporting. We recognize and address the wide range of barriers to exporting that manufacturers face such as not having a high proficiency in English, lacking international marketing skills, being uninterested in marketing and needing to focus on design and production, being unable to finance international staff or market research, not having overseas contacts, networks, or leads, and much more.
Before manufacturers enter a market they must assess its potential. We take that burden off of manufacturers by offering:
- Detailed and in-depth analysis of markets in every country where we have nodes.
- Design for websites, social media, digital print advertisements, and other communications media.
- Partnership and contract acquisition.
- A drive to provide anything required to make a project successful.
Acting independently, manufacturers must manage points of sales, take orders handle international payments from unknown or untrusted parties, transport goods, and handle freight forwarding and customs clearance. Often, manufacturers must also arrange for storage at the receiving end.
2. Challenges and solutions.
2.1 Distribution channels.
If you are a manufacturer looking to expand your growth hubs worldwide; this is an exciting time for you. However, time and time again, manufacturers find themselves hitting a brick wall and losing momentum when it comes to finding a suitable consulting firm.
Manufacturers have three primary channels for getting their products to market and into the hands of customers.
- The first channel, direct sales, holds many challenges for manufacturers. Direct sales — selling directly to customers — requires manufacturers to be specialists in every aspect of marketing and supply chain strategies necessary to build, store, market, sell and deliver their products to customers, retailers or other outlets. Because the direct sales model is so challenging, many manufacturers prefer to work through distribution channels to market their products.
- The second channel is through distributors who receive products from manufacturers and export those products to retailers or end-users. The problem, however, is that distributors do not usually have enough personal interactions with the retailers and end-users to know if a product has been successfully adopted. Distributors also leave the product marketing to the manufacturer, meaning the difficult challenge of reaching more people remains unaddressed.
- The third channel is through consultants who get the products directly from manufacturers, then market those products through a network of retailers. Consultants handle the logistics and marketing requirements that manufacturers do not want or are unable to manage in-house. Working in a manufacturer-consultant partnership helps both stakeholders meet their goals.
Ubinodes is the home for consultants using technology and technical expertise to provide all the services required by manufacturers to achieve their desired goal. We provide services to clients in a wide array of fields like finance, economics, politics, consulting, freight forwarding, customs clearance, regulations, technology, packaging, advertising, storage, identifying points of sales, finding agents, etc.
2.2 Price’s Law and how Ubinodes can multiply 100 fold.
Prices law says that if half of the work is done by the square root of the number of employees. So in an organisation of 9 people, three of them are doing 50% of the work. (Source 01).
With 100 people, 10 are doing 50% and the other 90 are doing 50%. This is because as company’s grows, inefficiency grows and centralized organizations will have this problem more than decentralized ones, which is what Ubinodes is. One of the most common organizational design question is around centralized marketing versus decentralized marketing. In a centralized marketing structure there is a single marketing team whereas in a decentralized structure there are separate marketing teams that report to different business units.
Ubinodes is using its distributed organisation to have work done by 100% of the workforce. Price’s law doesn’t apply at Ubinodes and our clients will benefit from this.
2.3 Weaponization of the U.S. dollar.
With the weaponizing of the U.S. dollar, here at Ubinodes we have found a way to shield exporters from this risk.
The U.S. Government has the ability to freeze U.S. Banks and wire transactions. If America doesn’t like what you are doing they can and will freeze your accounts. An example of what could have happened to Iran was when Trump’s treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would “cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime.” Similar statements were made regarding Iraq which restricted its use of oil revenues. The State Department reiterated that Iraq could lose access to its government account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which would flatten its economy. This is terrifying because with the flip of a switch or press of a button Iraq’s economy could be ruined. (Source 02).
Here at Ubinodes we encourage those that work for us to use encrypted communication services so that your messages are not sent to the US government, that your Exports or Imports are protected, and your account is safe and not frozen. We have also financial systems in place to completely shield our clients against the weaponizing of the US$.
2.4 Three kinds of power.
There are three kinds of power:
- Violence.
- Wealth.
- Knowledge.
Violence is usually used by criminal organizations, including governments. Governments being criminal organizations which have created an illusion, the illusion of justice, so as to make their crimes appear “legal”. Therefore they have no limits and measure their degree of power according to the level of violence they can exert and get away with, such as genocides (illegal foreign wars, depopulation), torture (pseudo-war on terrorism), mutilation and murder (police violence), theft (tax and inflation). Unless you are sure you can get away with your acts of violence against people and property, it’s not advisable to go that way to out-power competition.
Wealth is used by monopolistic corporations, using such tactics as patent on anything and everything, unfounded legal actions used as threat and to exhaust one’s resources, ownership of media, corruption (called lobbying) of politicians. Unless you are able to outspend competition, be careful going that way, you could burn your cash assets to the grounds within a few weeks.
Knowledge is used by those who want to gain power without employing violence or using wealth. To win market share, you must out-power competition. If you can’t out-beat or out-spend competition, you’ll have to outsmart it. Ubinodes can help you going that way. With our network of international marketing consultants, locally based, we have access to insider information. We are able to understand the underlying psychology of the end users. We are able to spot opportunities out of sight of outsiders. We are able to understand the implicit rules with regard to regulation, customs clearance, market dominance etc.
If manufacturers don’t actively move to overseas markets, they leave the ground for others.
The world you were born in doesn’t owe you anything. If you don’t make a strategic move to export, money isn’t going to come your way by magic.
3. Core values of Ubinodes.
In our organization, we believe the success of any business lies in the strength of its personnel and the values they believe in.
3.1 Value Proposition.
There are thousands of marketing agencies out there. Ubinodes is unique because its value proposition can’t be matched by other agencies. The two main propositions around which the organization is built are:
- 1- We protect our clients against the most evil form of corruption, that is: a corrupt judicial system.
- 2- We have boots-on-the-ground consultants able to act as a reconnaissance team for our clients across the globe, providing unmatched reports for their accuracy and details.
From there, marketing is just the tip of the iceberg. The number one priority is maintaining our ability to defeat the attempts of our clients’ opponents to cause harm. This is value proposition number one and is done through:
- 1- Constantly upskilling Nodes to the latest IT tools available to protect communication and data.
- 2- Teaching clients how to adopt Ubinodes’ standards. Nodes must be knowledgeable enough in their fields to actually teach clients.
3.2 Teamwork.
Each person at Ubinodes contributes their individual strength, to building a strong and unified system. Crucial to making individuals thrive is having a supportive team that is never afraid to provide or accept help when needed. We stand strong through mutual respect, hard work, and dedication. Our commitment to our consultants and partners will be imbued in every aspect of our work, building trust and confidence. At Ubinodes, we work together to accomplish great things and we are driven to provide the best service to our clients.
3.3 Customer satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction is one of our major priorities at Ubinodes. This is key to our organizational growth since our aim is to satisfy our clients by meeting their every expectation and industry standard. It is important to make our business exciting not just for our consultants (called nodes in the organization), but for our customers as well.
We need to build a community that believes in our values as much as we do. The confidence we exude while performing our business will rub off on our customers and make them believe in us. In situations where a dispute arises, we objectively analyze the situation from all aspects and come to a mutually beneficial agreement, reflected in our systemic approach to risk management and payments.
3.4 Commitment.
When we say we are going to deliver on a promise, we deliver. We do not work halfway, we are consistent throughout the entire process as we make every project a priority. At Ubinodes, it’s all about character, integrity, and work ethic.
3.5 Creativity.
If we are too regimented in following tight protocols to get things done, we will never allow our nodes (consultants) to flourish and show off our true potential. By giving our nodes creative freedom we believe they respond with innovation. We embrace creativity and diversity.
3.6 Our competition.
Trying to compare ourselves to the competition will only distract us from our goals. The best place for us to receive feedback is from our own customers, potential customers, and nodes. Listening to our community and comparing their expectations to our services is what will help us succeed.
3.7 Trust.
We have the utmost confidence in our nodes, system, and organization. Everything is possible and achievable if we can believe in ourselves. Some paths are more challenging than others, but recognizing that tackling new challenges will lead to a road of self-discovery is vital to success.
4. How does it work ?
- We are structured as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Governance and data are distributed using the best IT tools. Consultants use secure and encrypted communication channels to start, manage and complete projects.
- Consultants are NOT commission based, they get paid for their time, no matter the outcome for the manufacturer.
Example:
A manufacturer [MA] of furniture based in Canada wants to expand its market. A Ubinodes consultant, closest to them, probably from Canada, will get in touch and help the manufacturer define which markets to target, according to Ubinodes’ network at that time. It is the “Sending Node” [SN].
They will then find a Node in the target market, it is the Receiving Node [RN]. They will then enter into a tripartite agreement: The manufacturer, Ubinodes, and the [SN] who is the representative of Ubinodes as (s)he is the one who will meet and visit the manufacturer. They now form and work as a team. They comply with Ubinodes procedures and IT tools, including the manufacturer. Ubinodes being a distributed organisation, there is no need to refer to a central governance. The team now forms an autonomous “circle”. Ubinodes stays available to support them and as a fail over.
First, they will put together a basic marketing plan, the cornerstone when beginning to export. Based on the manufacturer’s feedback and further research, the team will develop the basic marketing plan into a full in-depth marketing plan. As importing markets are identified, nodes operating there [RN] will contribute more and more to the final marketing plan. By receiving input from nodes who better know the market in the recipient country, the project as a whole benefits. From this stage, more Nodes may become involved on specific tasks (coding, graphic design, translations, regulation etc).
During the process of market research, which can include some product sampling, the manufacturer works directly with each node involved. In the agreements, there is a schedule for each node, so that manufacturers do not have to enter into a full agreement with each node after the initial full agreement is signed. When a node becomes involved, only their individual schedule and fee must be agreed upon.
When it’s time to start exporting goods into a target market, a local Receiving Node [RN] will handle the services from its side.
A Receiving Node [RN] will handle all services required by the Manufacturer [MA]. However, in this capacity, they will not act as an agent nor take money on behalf of the Manufacturer [MA], so as to abide by relevant regulation. Buyers of the goods in the destination country could be stores, resellers or private consumers.
In any case, transactions will occur directly between the final buyer and the manufacturer [MA]. We provide our own fiduciary services to protect any financial transactions.
5. Fees.
Ubinodes does charge a monthly fee roughly equivalent to the cost of a half-page color advertisement in a small print magazine. However, where such an advertisement will struggle to captivate new markets, our fee is an investment. On our end, the fee is put to use, growing and strengthening our network and gaining access to more markets and services for your use. This monthly fee is waived if you use our Ubinodes cryptocurrency token for all transactions, including the buying and selling of physical goods.
In addition, each node maintains an hourly rate. Invoices are usually sent weekly. In the beginning, you may be asked to put a small credit into an escrow account as a security, to ensure our nodes receive the payment for their initial work week until invoices roll over on a weekly basis.
As a cost comparison, you could instead fly to each target country one by one, spend weeks trying to understand the market, the culture, the laws, and regulations. Presumably, the costs would quickly become prohibitively expensive. Alternatively, paying our local nodes to handle these tasks for you puts your money to efficient and impactful use.
Payments can be made in fiat currency or using our own cryptocurrency, the Ubinodes token, which offers a wide range of advantages: micropayments, instant transactions, escrow accounts, store of value, no bank fees, anonymity etc.
If you don’t know about cryptocurrency, you can start using fiat currency through traditional banking channels, using wire transfers to our company’s bank account. As part of their consulting work, you can ask your local node to guide you through the use of cryptocurrency so that you can take advantages of the plethora of benefits offered by our token.
6. GST/VAT.
Ubinodes is incorporated in Estonia and GST/VAT is charged as follow.
- Private Individual: 20% Estonian VAT has to be collected on your payment.
- Business in Estonia: 20% Estonian VAT has to be collected on your payment. Don’t forget to give us your VAT number.
- EU Business not in Estonia: Provided you have a valid EU VAT number, no VAT will be collected and your invoice will show “The purchase is liable to Intra-Community supply 0%, Reverse charge”. If you don’t have a valid VAT number, please make your payment as if you were an individual or a business in Estonia, as 20% VAT has to be collected.
- Outside EU Business: No VAT will be collected.
7. Books.
To understand our threat model, you must read the following books.
- Permanent Record by Edward Snowden. Translated in several languages.
- Le piège Américain by Frédéric Pierucci. Available only in French for now.
8. Sources.
- Source 01:
Ubinodes 