World Export Development Forum (WEDF)

 

Discussion brief for the Export Strategy-Maker

Export Development in the Digital Economy

The use of the Internet to improve export performance

International Trade Information Center

Department of Export Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand

The Department of Export Promotion, Ministry of Commerce (Thailand), continuously develop its IT system to efficiently assist the Thai exporters . The system is available in many forms, including the Internet. The DEP has its own websites, available in Thai, English, and Japanese language. Thai exporters can acknowledge invaluable trade, product, and market information through the web site. The information is certainly useful for improving manufacturing, marketing skills that empower the exporters to effectively compete in the international trade community. In addition, the system drives the exporters to get online to the Internet and use the Internet as a tool for their business operation . Services offered:

Thai Language Internet Information

The DEP offers the website, www.depthai.go.th which is divided into 3 sections:

1. Activity

- Training Activity

    • Exporting to New Markets
    • Trade Mission
    • Distribution Network
    • Overseas Trade Fair
    • Trade Fairs in Thailand
    • The Prime Minister’s Export Award Project
    • Thailand Brands’s Project
    • Thailand Export Mart
  1. Trade Information

    2. -Export Procedure and Regulation

    -Trade Reports

    -Directline from Overseas

    -Golden Opportunity

       
  2. Services to The Exporters

-Web Link

-Exporters list

-List of Thai Trade Promotion Offices

-List of Province Office

-List of Trade Association

-Virtual Library

International Trade Information, English and Japanese Version

Four years ago, the DEP began to offer the English and Japanese version of its website at www.thaitrade.com. There have been over 500,000 visitors since the website’s introduction. Currently, there are nearly 35,000 visitors each month. The offered information is as follows:

- The Thai Exporter List (8,000 companies) with industry profiles.

- The Electronic Product Catalogues or Thailand Exporters Directory will soon be completed on the website. Once completed, the website visitors can fully conduct business on-line. This means that the buyers can buy the products and pay through the electronic commerce system right from their own computers. At the end of 2000, there should be the information from 8,000 companies with over 20,000 product photos available to the internet users. More over, the system enable the Exporters to correct the information and update their product catalog by logging in to the assigned URL.

- The Bulletin Board is a great business opportunity offered by the DEP. This allows the Thai exporters post a message that offers their products or services, and the importers to respond to the posted message. In other words, the DEP created the on-line matchmaker service. Currently, there are around 100 messages posted each day, 60 percent of which are those of the Thai exporters, and the remainder are the messages from the importers. The International Trade Information Center, DEP, is currently installing the product search program within the BBS.

-Other information

The Virtual Trade Show (VTS) on the Internet

The Ministry of Commerce (Thailand) has a policy to assist the Thai exporters and manufacturers to open their doors to the world through the internet. The exporters can easily advertise and publicize their products 24 hours a day on the internet. The buyers are now able to conveniently visit the sellers at very little costs. In 1998, the DEP adds more convenience to the export industry by establishing the Virtual Trade Show project on the internet. The show simulated a real trade fair on the internet through www.thaitradefair.com. The virtual trade show allows the buyers and the sellers to be just as close as they would in a real fair, everyday. The VTS eliminates several costs such as the travel and accommodation expenses. In each fair, there would be the companies and exhibitors’ profiles, the product descriptions with pictures, and contact information.

The customers can communicate, real-time, and can even buy the products online via the electronic commerce system. Once the VTS is over, all information would be displayed on the regular DEP website, www.thaitrade.com, in the form of the Electronic Product Catalogue.

In 1999, the DEP has organized virtual trade shows for 9 industries namely, ready-made garment, gems and jewelry, gifts and decorations, furniture, food, leather products, cooling machine, health & beauty, and entertainment industry. These VTS allows the exporters to keep abreast of the marketing and trading of the today’s borderlines trade and strategically plan their marketing directions to prepare for the new millenium.

In addition, the DEP organizes several seminars on the subject of "international trade opportunities on the internet."

Other Services

The DEP has set up the virtual library on the Thai website. The visitors can search for their desired publications without leaving their own office or home. Once the internet users find the books/magazines, they can travel to the DEP’s Trade Library and see the hard copies. This particular site also allow new exporters to search for the Export Procedure/ contact person/phone number and other necessary information regarding Export of specific product from Thailand.

Regarding Electronic Commerce, the DEP strongly encourage all the exporters to take advantage of the internet usage. Currently, less than 40 percent of the exporters are on-line. By the end of the year 2000, the DEP hopes to see more exporters using the internet to conduct business as a result of the continued effords of encouraging and pushing the Thai exporters to this direction. DEP is now in the process of selecting private companies to join hands and to provide complete e-commerce facility to her 8,000 member exporters and expect to complete the initial stage by the end of this year.

Posted 23 October 2008  

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