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March 2, 2004
Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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Technology
Exchanged For New Market Sales
Short
Term Sales Made In Exchange For Long-Term Competition?
Behind the scenes
around the world, multinational corporations are involved in very sophisticated
business dealings...and they often contain an "exchange component"
of some sort.
One such transaction,
where General Electric signed a $900 million contract for high-tech electricity-generation
turbines, reinforces how the world is changing. GE had to agree to exchange
sophisticated technology with two state-owned Chinese power companies
that want to eventually make the equipment themselves.
Interestingly, while
China and other nations have enormous leverage (providing access to their
huge markets), the question remains if the transfer of expertise from
multinational corporations to state-owned companies will work out as envisioned.
There are two major
reasons: Chinese companies presently lack the depth of engineering expertise,
necessary to fully exploit the technology, that would enable competitiveness
in global markets. But more importantly technology is rapidly advancing,
so any technical know-how obtained today will, in years to come, be less
of an issue.
Still one must tip
a hat to the Chinese for desiring to better themselves. Wanting to compete
in power generation, telecommunications, health care, and other advanced
sectors is an ambitious step-up from today's manufacturing of toys, textiles
and TV sets.
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NATE
& IRTA Announce Annual Convention Dates
September 2004 will
be a very busy month for the commercial barter industry, as both industry
trade associations have scheduled their national conventions that month.
As plans develop we will keep you apprised of them.
NATE (National Association
of Trade Exchanges) will hold their convention in Las Vegas September
9, 10 & 11.
IRTA (International
Reciprocal Trade Association) will be meeting in Cancun on September 30,
October 1 & 2.
Trade
Exchange Owners...
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marketing tool in the barter industry, The Competitive Edge newsletter,
is all ready for your use...no work is needed! Click
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Monster
And EBay Bartering Efforts Considered A First
According to Jeff
Taylor, founder and CEO of Monster Worldwide, the recent alliance between
his company and eBay marks the first such relationship between two of
the leading Internet companies.
Monster is the leading
online career site, it records 41 million visits per month. EBay is visited
by 69 million visitors each month. The two companies are cooperatively
working together, exchanging services and visibility to expand their reach.
The agreement will
see Monster's career services getting prominent exposure on eBay's home
page. While Monster will serve as the title sponsor of eBay Live!—an
annual conference where buyers and sellers meet from around the world.
This year the meeting is scheduled in June at New Orleans.
Monster will also
provide sessions on career planning and hiring for small businesses at
eBay Live! and eBay University. EBay U is a roving educational program
that travels across the country, teaching people the ins and outs of buying
and selling on eBay.
Editor's Note:
EBay currently sells $6 billion in cars and car parts, and almost $4 billion
in computers and electronics. It also houses storefronts for IBM, Sears,
and Sun Microsystems. The arrangement with Monster is indicative of the
efforts eBay must pursue to sustain growing at 74% a year, and thus maintain
its second place position of the top 10 fastest growing companies in the
United States.
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Private
Currencies Continue To Expand
* Cendant Corp. is
converging the individual loyalty programs of all its hotel brands under
one umbrella called TripRewards. Under the new program members will have
more than 140 ways to redeem points for free flights,
hotel stays and car rentals.
Travelers who were
members of Cendant hotel brands including Days Inn, Ramada, Travelodge,
and Howard Johnson are automatically rolled over to the new loyalty plan
which offers increased redeeming opportunities. Before, members of one
of the individual hotel loyalty programs mostly had only hotel-related
redemption opportunities.
TripRewards will also
offer a variety of non-travel treats like gift certificates to Burger
King and Starbucks, KB Toys and Best Buy, or a $25 gift certificate in
exchange for 5,500 points.
* Amtrak is taking
a cue from the airlines and rolling out a new loyalty program. It will
reward frequent riders with free travel certificates, which can be used
or transferred to friends, family, or anyone else.
* New programs that
reward doctors are starting to catch on in health care...and now patients
are getting cut in on the deal, too. A group of major corporations (GE,
Ford, UPS, P&G) are launching a pilot program to pay doctors in several
cities bonuses of up to 10% in "CareRewards" points if they
can prove better care for cardiovascular and diabetes patients.
Patients will earn points as well, and be able to redeem them for merchandise
coupons, or time off from work. Bottomline: Still another "currency"
is being introduced into the marketplace.
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informative ideas and contacts in every available back-issue of BarterNews.
Here
& There...
- The Small Business
Administration (SBA) has introduced a web site, www.assessyourinternationalrisk.com,
to help companies looking to expanding in overseas markets. It can be
hard to figure out what type of insurance is needed, from covering routine
property/casualty to major financial exposure due to extending credit
to new trading partners. The site offers an overview of the kind of
coverage needed, as well as the ability to submit specific questions
for expert input.
- According to Spa
Finder magazine, the new "thank you" gift from businesses
is a certificate to a destination spa. It reports that businesses are
increasingly using spas to build relationships, motivate employees and
manage employee health. The International Spa Association notes that
U.S. hotel and resort spas more than doubled from 1999 to 2001 (the
last year counted)...and are still growing.
- Ernst & Young
as well as the Sand Hill Group, a U.S. technology-advisory company,
say the supply of outsourcing workers overseas isn't limitless. As more
jobs are absorbed costs will rise, just as they did in Hong Kong and
Singapore 40 years ago. (Wages in India are increasing 15% to 30% annually,
and the attrition rate is high as well.)
- Have you
signed up to receive a summary via e-mail of the Tuesday Report
every week? If not, go to the top of this issue (right hand corner)
and sign up!
- New poll shows
that high-income Americans have lost much of their enthusiasm for free
trade, as they see their own jobs being threatened by white-collar workers
in India, China and other countries. The survey by the University of
Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes shows that among
Americans making more than $100,000 a year, support for actively promoting
more free trade has collapsed from 57% to less than half that, 28%.
But management
guru Peter Drucker claims we're totally ignoring all the jobs that
have been imported to the American economy because of that same free
trade. He says the U.S. imports far more jobs than it exports...and
no one has contradicted him, according to The Wall Street Journal.
-
Ken Gasper, president
of The Hospitality Exchange, and a hotel owner, will join Bentley
Commerce Corporation (OTCBB:BLYC) as the president of the newly launched
Bentley Hospitality Exchange. (Gasper's Hospitality Exchange has developed
a network of business and vacation travel properties that trade accommodations
with each other.)
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According to
the Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association, beauty salons and tanning
salons have historically relied on the print and electronic Yellow
Pages to help generate business because of the medium's high return
on investment. Beauty salons rank 7th out of more than 4,000 Yellow
Pages headings with 278 million references. Tanning salons are 125th
with 19.2 million references.
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Low-cost airlines
are making tremendous inroads in the marketplace, as consumers are
increasingly flocking to them and bypassing the big traditional airlines.
Last year, six low-cost carriers grew by almost exactly the same amount
of traffic that the seven network airlines lost-a one-for-one shift.
Today these low-cost carriers control nearly 25% of domestic air travel.
They earned $730 million in net income, while the seven higher-cost
carriers posted total net losses of $3 billion.
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Consumers love
to whine about poor customer service, but a national survey by the
American Customer Satisfaction Index shows that consumer satisfaction
is at a nine-year high. The study's authors believe that customer
satisfaction is a key driver of consumer spending.
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"The Apprentice"
television show is not only creating a powerful viewership for Donald
Trump's branding message, but Trump cut himself a lucrative deal as
well. Trump and executive producer Mark Burnett own a stake in the
show, on top of each receiving more than $100,000 per episode. Additionally,
Trump is paid an undisclosed fee for starring-as himself.
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