Using Zepol's TradeIQ™, a food company was able to track both competitors and suppliers, allowing it to fend off a rival and generate millions in new revenues.

Challenge

A major food company had a dilemma; its main competitor was consistently beating it to market with new revenue-generating products. It would hear rumors that the competitor had a new product in development, but could never confirm it in time to launch a timely alternative. By not being first to market, the company missed out on millions in lost revenue. When its competing products hit store shelves, the buzz had worn off and the product lifecycle was already maturing.

In today's marketplace of product lifecycles that are measured in quarters rather than years, the food company needed to know what its competitors were doing before it went to market. All it knew for sure was that the competition was sourcing outside of the United States. It needed hard evidence from a primary source. Only with extra time could the company ensure that its competitor would not be first to market again.

Solution

The food company turned to Zepol to provide it with the trade data it needed. While other vendors claimed they could provide the most up-to-date information available, Zepol proved it by showing what the main competitor had imported within 3 days of its arrival. During the free online demonstration, the company learned how easy it was to track what a competitor was doing on a daily basis when the U.S. Customs trade data is coupled with Zepol's user-friendly trade data tool.

Results

Once it decided that Zepol's TradeIQ™ was the right service, other uses began popping up throughout the company. Marketing wanted information about market shares of internationally sourced products. Sourcing wanted to find new suppliers in emerging markets to lower costs and diversify supply chains. Soon, Zepol's TradeIQ™ became a must have for every department involved in international trade.

Not only had Zepol helped the company fend off a rival and generate millions in new revenues, the return on investment from TradeIQ™ continued to improve as the company developed new uses for the service. TradeIQ™ allows for subscribers to add new user licenses to their already competitively priced subscriptions.

Below is a sample Bill of Lading that can help identify if a competitor is importing prototypes for a new product.

This food company utilized the easy-to-use saved search functionality in TradeIQ™ to regularly track both competitors and suppliers. By frequently checking saved searches, it was able to find suppliers importing products to potential competitors while staying on top of its current competitors' activities.

The company used TradeIQ™ effectively by identifying a list of potential suppliers from around the world. In case of unexpected events (labor strikes, natural disasters, and political events), it was able to shift production quickly, staying two steps ahead of competitors.