Take a look at your kitchen. Open those shelves , then open your fridge. Is there anything weird about that whole picture? No? Are you sure? Take a closer look please.... Pasta from Italy, Feta cheese from Greece, beers from Belgium and Czech Republic, sausages from Austria, German pretzels and the good old USA steak! This is like a Kodak moment for todays international commerce and globalized economy, which many of us fail to notice during our busy everyday living and even fewer take a moment to appreciate!
We're lucky enough to be the first generation on Earth with such a great potential of acquiring goods from all around the globe. Most products leave the factory and within a matter of a couple of days can be found in a supermarket millions of miles away. Codependence among producers and consumers was never before as strong as it is now and both those two classes need to respect one another and in some aspects even protect one another. Producers needs to provide consumers with products of the highest quality at any given price level and consumers need to be careful, educated and informed about those things. So it only makes sense that such an amazing thing would come with a great amount of responsibilities for each one of us, ensuring that we will keep being able to enjoy this and that we won't ruin it for the generations to come!
So here are a few things that we can do to enjoy international commerce at its fullest and to make sure that our kids will be able to enjoy it as we do.
First and foremost, from a producer's perspective, always provide consumers with goods and services of the highest quality at fair prices. Sure in a capitalistic economical system, personal/company profit is the “gas” that fuels the economy, but being willing to make less money to ensure products of the highest value and production methods with the least environmental impact is encouraged, even to those “ high capitalistic “ economies! Consumers that enjoy goods and services of such high quality are happy consumers that will continue buying those products ensuring the producer with a strong consumer basis. That may indeed mean less short term profit for the business, which in a macro analysis – given that the above conditions apply – translates to long term profits that are more stable and other non financial profits for that business [like good reputation, free “ mouth to mouth “ advertising etc ]. Let us not forget that high quality products and environmentally friendly production methods contribute to the betterment of people's everyday living, which is one of the criteria of an economy's economic development [ NOT GROWTH ].
From a consumer's point of view things are a little different, but the same “ ethics “ are once again required! A modern consumer needs to be informed, aware and ready to complaint about things that are just wrong. Filling a complaint is not just a consumer's right, but a consumer's responsibility as well! Demanding the best and only the best is something that will not only warrantee consumer satisfaction but will also urge and motivate producers to provide goods and services of the highest quality, with all the advantages that this has for everyone, some of which we mentioned above. Being informed is what allows you to take advantage of the exchange market out there, what let's you take advantage of possible offers or what simply allows you to know what's best for you and your needs and what's not! Do not act like a robot, with your needs and desires being a “constant” to the equation. Do not let producers define what you want and need. It's you the ones that define that, or that should define that. Which brings me to the last thing that i value as an essential characteristic of the modern consumer and producer in today's global market and international commerce.
Open mind, which is what took the consumer habits from the cornbread all the way to Mc Donalds and hotdogs and from there to Sushi and fine Italian cuisine. Open mind which opened a whole new world to businesses in several fields, like marketing, advertising, production methods, distribution, strategical business' plans, investments and many many more. We're living in a world that no matter where your home is, German sausages producers are just a few steps away to the nearest supermarket, Italian clothing industries are down the street and French wineries are as far as your local liquor store. Open mind is what made e-bay what it is today, what made online purchasing of goods a given and what is constantly changing our needs and preferences. Customs and values are no longer a constant for consumers. Or at least shouldn't be. So what's the constant today? Well no other than open mind itself! Look around,compare prices and don't be afraid to add and remove from your shopping basket. Why settling for that bad quality cooking oil when you're just a few clicks away from purchasing a top of the line Greek or Italian olive oil for essentially the same price? The fact that you are after the best of the best motivates companies to come up not just with better products but with better distribution plans as well, better storage facilities, better and more effective productions methods [ which i feel i should remind are not always about lower production cost and faster production outcomes, even though that's the general perception ]. A small example of companies that adjusted well to today's market, even though they suffered a serious hit in the near past, are haute horlogerie companies [ high end mechanical watch making companies ] . With an epic marketing and product advertising that was one of a kind, they managed to revive ordinary people's interest for mechanical watches. Companies like Rolex, Patek Phillipe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger LeCoultre and many many more, after the quartz plague of the 70's and the 80's , not only managed to survive but they hit record profit levels as well! Providing their customers with top of the line products, great after sales services and the overall feeling that you're buying something that really deserves the money that you're spending, they became a “model” for modern businesses. Another great example is Apple. Top of the line hardware with probably – and i'm sure most of you out there who have had the chance to experience it will agree – the best operating system out there, along with one of a kind innovations in portable media players and an epic phone. Add to all that fair prices and voilla... a company that was in the verge of a total fail transformed, in just a couple of years, in a company which acts as a role model in the tech world! Profits for the company and amazing products for the customer!
With that we reached the end of our first little series of articles on economics. I will try my best to keep this simple and in the same time pass out some of the most complex economic functions for you to be able to understand not only how things work on global and/or local economy, but also what you can do as individuals to profit and improve your economical status. Until next time , take care and remember; profit is not always measured in currency
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