MANA is working closely with the Monterey Bay International Trade Association (MBITA) to expand business opportunities here and overseas for its members and associates.

The non-profit MBITA (www.mbita.org) is dedicated to providing trade promotion services to business communities in California, the United States and foreign countries. The organization uses advanced global e-commerce technologies for its clients and members in order to maximize global trade opportunities.

In pursuit of its goals, MBITA manages the TradePort.org website, a “click & mortar” solution for trade promotion services, and the TradePort Collaborator, an online community of public-private sector trade promotion organizations called the California Trade Partners (CTP). The CTP represents more than 60,000 small to mid-sized enterprises located throughout California.

TradePort, described as “California’s Gateway for Global Trade,” serves as the premier international trade service portal in California. In existence since 1996, the organization has served as the primary web portal and online resource for California’s trade promotion service network — CTP.

Originally proposed and funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, TradePort is currently ranked as one of the top international trade directories on the web. More than 70,000 visitors from around the world visit TradePort monthly seeking trade information, guidance and services.

It’s that level of traffic that has spurred the partnership between MBITA and MANA. According to Tony Livoti, MBITA president, “In order to make this venture effective between MANA and MBITA, we’re communicating the message that we continue to work with foreign companies that wish to market in the United States and could make use of MANA agents as part of their marketing programs through our organization.”

The venture with MANA adds to an impressive list of partners that MBITA has already been working with including the U.S. Commercial Service Trade Mission Program, the City of San Jose, Office of Economic Development and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to use of the aforementioned websites, Livoti explains that the organization’s message is further communicated via its online magazine or “e-zine” that “goes to more than 3,800 recipients. That number of readers is multiplied by the foreign-country networks that MBITA partners with throughout the world. We continue to develop linkages with other organizations, and those kinds of linkages are the objective of our venture with MANA.”

Complementing Efforts

Echoing Livoti’s words on the benefits of the venture between the two organizations, Jerry Leth, MANA’s manager of membership, notes, “MBITA is an excellent resource complementing what MANA already provides for those independent manufacturers’ representatives and manufacturers that are interested in finding and repping international lines.”

The varied services that MBITA provides are detailed on the organization’s website. Among those services are:

• Export Promotion Services — TradePort assists companies to:
  • Get started in trade.
  • Research foreign markets.
  • Develop an export strategy.
  • Qualify and select strategic foreign partners and distributors.
  • Provide detailed support in shipping logistics.
  • Provide e-training on online global trade services.
• Trade Finance Services Program — TradePort has teamed with Trade Export Finance Online (TEFO) to provide domestic and foreign companies with financial solutions for sales to and from North America. TEFO’s trade finance specialists are able to cut through the complexities of trade finance and structure optimal trade finance solutions.
• Purchasing Services Program — assists individuals in finding, negotiating and successfully purchasing required products. One of TradePort’s most important roles is to make it easier for international buyers to conduct business with North American companies.
• Marketing Services Program — serves as a gateway for business-to-business market sales and technology transfer in North America. “TradePort is particularly well established to promote ‘green, sustainable and environmentally preferred’ products or technologies.” TradePort provides selected overseas suppliers with the capability to efficiently market to North American organizations including large corporate and government entities.
• Technology Transfer Program — serves as a means to transfer technology to a qualified company in North America. TradePort provides selected technology developers with the capability to efficiently connect with North American organizations that are seeking innovations.

Livoti adds that visiting and navigating his organization’s website and reading the information concerning MBITA is an ideal way for reps to familiarize themselves with the services the organization has available. “We’re networked with a number of other organizations linked on the Internet — including MANA — and there are many ways that manufacturers’ representatives interested in working with international suppliers can benefit.”

MANA rep and associate members should feel free to contact either organization with questions concerning this joint venture.