Clusters Small Business and International Competition †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Clusters Small Business and International Competition. Answer: Introduction: Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) need an entrepreneurial leadership which could open up a wide range of possibilities to itsmanagement and the other stakeholders. In course of action, such SMEs start thinking to grab the opportunity which is achievable also if being approached with strategic plans. This study is purposefully based on the highlighted theme and in course of this; Ascent Solutions is being picked up to further the discussion. The Singapore based SME has caught the attention of business experts in a very shorter period of time. The company is specialized in logistics solutions and provides Internet of Things (IoT) software to the logistics industry not just limited to the local country but has also been expanded to other parts of the world like in Africa (Ascent 2018). The study is purposefully aimed at analyzing the business potentials of the Ascent Solutions. Background of the chosen organization: The chosen organization is a small and medium size enterprise (SME) that has its aim from the very first day of its startup to grow to other parts of the world as well. The company had an idea that the Singapore market is very limited. This is due to the fact it has intended to move to other parts as well. Nevertheless, it had the success in the form of its entry to Africa. It provides the software solution to the logistics industry through its innovative package of software. One of the tools is the iSpot which is an end-to-end solution that incorporates the electronic cargo tracking system of Ascent and also fleetmanagement system (Ascent 2018). The learner has interviewed its CEO and the co-founder Lim Chee Kean. The interview has helped to understand much more about the company. The learner has found that the company had interest in a global expansion from the very first day of its startup. This is the reason why the company had been so innovative and had also successfully landed in the African markets. It was further confirmed by the CEO that they have been able to enter deep insight into the requirements that the overseas clients have by using the Google Analytics. With the help of Google Analytics, they are able to effectively understand what their foreign client needs (Ascent 2018). Internationalization: Focus on a case where a small company made its first international sale. Discuss how it found its first foreign client (E.g. through a local client, or through an intermediary): A small and medium-size enterprise requires a creative and an entrepreneurial leadership which could encourage an entry into the overseas markets. The creativeness in the leader encourages it to go for innovative approaches in regards to product or service development. The entrepreneurial skill in leaders encourages it to take challenging decisions which result in surprising outcomes that may either be positive or negative (Henry et al. 2015). The similar things have had happened with the Ascent Solutions. The CEO of the Company is a part of the Singapores Internet of Things Technical Community. The sheer experience that the co-founder has, had actually encouraged him to think of global markets from the very first day of the business. The CEO had the idea that there are very fewer opportunities in Singapore due to the market saturation; however, the fact that the country supports innovative thoughts had actually worked in favor to this company (Iesingapore.gov.sg 2018). The company takes the help from the local clients who have a better idea of how to move to the overseas markets. The very similar strategy it has followed while planning to expand to the South African and the Mexican markets. In both the market, it has approached to IE Singapore seeking the required assistance (Iesingapore.gov.sg 2018). Nevertheless, they follow the very same strategy at the time of their expansion to the various overseas markets. The CEO of Ascent Solutions has a belief that an SME like its company should seek the assistance of local clients that are specialized in guiding the ways to enter the overseas markets. The travel to its first market is very interesting and knowledge gaining also for the numerous other SMEs that remain confined to their country of origin. The first market for Ascent has been the African markets. The interesting fact that what made it enter the overseas markets was being made clear by the CEO Mr. Lim when interviewed by the learner. The CEO had all surprising answers for the learner. The learner had not imagined the level of innovation an SME can have. However, it had happened and CEO had replied when being asked about the expansion process to overseas markets. Mr. Lim had said that going global' was in the mind from the very first day of the company's business (Chrisman 2015). The CEO further added that the use of innovative approaches had actually helped the company to produce innovative software solutions to the logistics issues. The company has not kept its solution confined just to the domestic circles but they had also considered a rapid progress to various ove rseas markets till the date (Iesingapore.gov.sg 2018). The company at the moment is operating at the various global markets like Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Interestingly, they have an approximate around 80% of the business outside Singapore (Ascent 2018). The two proprietary products for tracking are Atlas and iSpot. ISpot is an end-to-end answer to logistics challenges which provides an electronic-based cargo-tracking system and a fleetmanagement system as well. Atlas, on the other hand, uses sensor-enabled tags which can also be read with a Smartphone to follow assets. The cargo can now be transport to its destination without any hassle. All thanks to the lock and tamper-proof tracking device, there is no longer the need of inspecting the cargo by customs officers. Atlas, on the other hand, has been used at Singapore's Changi Airport for tracking the assets like pallet dollies. Pilot projects have also been introduced to Africa for tracking livestock, and also the schoolchildren when the y are traveling to and from school (Iesingapore.gov.sg 2018). What were its main concerns with operating international like cost-effectiveness, language and culture: The main concerns of operating at the international level were to get the global platform as the CEO had already sensed a limited opportunity in Singapore (Yousafzai, Saeed and Muffatto 2015). As confirmed by CEO of the company during the interview time that Mr. Lim had wanted it from the very first day of the business to enter the various global markets. The reason could be many; however, it is clear from what the learner had come to know during the interview that Mr. Lim had open views about grabbing the elevated opportunities particularly at the global level (Serra and Kunc 2015). In a course to enhance the business profitability, Mr. Lim had first entered the African markets followed by several other overseas locations like Kenya, Tanzania and the Middle East (Yusof and Jain 2017). As understood from the interview. Mr. Lim had wanted to move out of the box that generally considers SMEs confined just to the local country. The thought was in the picture as the CEO of the Ascent Solutions had wanted bigger markets where it could take the advantage of innovative technologies and has a better chance of incrementing business. Mr. Lim as understood from the interview was also aware of that Singapore has very less to offer because of saturation in the market. The company is very well known for its two proprietary products like iSpot and Atlas. Both are monitored through Cloud-based software. The emerging markets like Africa and Southeast Asia have been quite successful for iSpot (Iesingapore.gov.sg 2018). Mr. Lim had an idea that there are a few countries which need the logistics solution badly (Iesingapore.gov.sg 2018). However, such needs are not served as very few companies in the worldwide countries focus on the prospect. Countries as such Africa had immensely required a solution which could help in tracking the items efficiently. It was his core strategy which compelled Mr. Lim to explore markets where products could be sold (Iesingapore.gov.sg 2018). Explain how the first international sale affected its subsequent trajectory: The first international foothold of Ascent Solutions was Africa which was a result of sheer analytical skills of the companys CEO. It had received a good response which was also expected by Mr. Lim as the African markets had no prior solution from any other company. It had really encouraged the CEO to fulfill his vision to reach a wider global platform. As a result of which they entered Kenya. They were successful again. In Kenya, Ascent helped local customs agencies to slash a journey time from 20 days to just three for an 800 km distance (Iesingapore.gov.sg 2018). After Africa and Kenya, they never stopped and continued moving to different parts of the world like Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Middle East and Tanzania. Riding on the success it had in Africa, the company took the assistance of IE Singapore in its various ventures thereof like in proving the concept, business development, patent filing and branding (Iesingapore.gov.sg 2018). They had the products; however, they had wanted ways to enter the potential markets. The CEO was able to resolve this issue and had identified potentials in IE Singapore. It was not less than a leadership act which helped the companys CEO to approach the firm for its further ventures into the various overseas markets (Kernbach, Eppler and Bresciani 2015). The assistance in the form of IE Singapore and the successive successes in Africa than in Kenya had further encouraged Mr. Lim to look for various other locations as well. Moreover, the CEO was smarter enough to identify the potential locations for the products (Morschett, Schramm-Klein and Zentes 2015). Consequently, those locations were being targeted which have struggled in past to respond to the logistics complexity. Of all those locations, few were the emerging markets. Africa and Southeast Asia had faced challenges in tracking the shipment. This was enough reason for Mr. Lim to be attracted towards the African and the Southeast Asian markets (Pippal et al. 2014). Talk also about its second and third sales: The success that the Ascent has in Africa had further encouraged the CEO, Mr. Lim, to look for other potential regions. Lim knew it exactly the countries which could be productive for the business. However, this does not generally happen with an SME and also this was one of the rarest moves that a Singapore based SME had shown resilience to look for global locations (Beckmann, Hielscher and Pies 2014). Due to the fact as revealed in an interview with the CEO of Ascent that Singapore is a small market and also that there are various potential locations at the global platform, Mr. Lim had this vision to operate at the international market. This reflects the entrepreneurial skills in him that encouraged Mr. Lim to think differently than the other SMEs in Singapore do (Drucker 2014). The decision had also paid off as Ascent was successful to enter Africa. The next entrance was in Kenya where iSpot, the proprietary product of Ascent, had helped the logistics industry in the country to slash a journey time from 20 to just 3 days. The further entrance had been into various other locations like Tanzania, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Middle East. The high visionary in Mr. Lim had compelled him for every possible step like consulting to IE Singapore to enter the global markets. Conclusion: To conclude, it can be said that Ascent Solutions is the rarest SME not only in Singapore but also at the global level that thrives on its visionary thoughts. Such visionary thoughts are largely the contribution of leadership skills in the form of CEO Mr. Lim. Mr. Lim had clear ideas from the very first day of the business. Consequently, the ideas had also paid off and took the company to various global locations like Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, the Middle East and others. The company had always relied on consulting the local firm IE Singapore to strategically land into the various global locations. References: Ascent. 2018.GPS Cargo Security Tracking, GPS Container Freight Tracking. [online] Available at: https://www.myascents.com/ [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018]. Beckmann, M., Hielscher, S. and Pies, I., 2014. Commitment strategies for sustainability: how business firms can transform trade?offs into winwin outcomes.Business Strategy and the Environment,23(1), pp.18-37. 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