If you are a manufacturer looking to expand your growth hubs worldwide; this is an exciting time for you. However, time and time again, manufacturers find themselves hitting a brick wall and losing momentum when it comes to finding a suitable consulting firm.
Manufacturers have three primary channels for getting their products to market and into the hands of customers.
The first channel, direct sales, holds many challenges for manufacturers. Direct sales — selling directly to customers — requires manufacturers to be specialists in every aspect of marketing and supply chain strategies necessary to build, store, market, sell and deliver their products to customers, retailers or other outlets. Because the direct sales model is so challenging, many manufacturers prefer to work through distribution channels to market their products.
The second channel is through distributors who receive products from manufacturers and export those products to retailers or end-users. The problem, however, is that distributors do not usually have enough personal interactions with the retailers and end-users to know if a product has been successfully adopted. Distributors also leave the product marketing to the manufacturer, meaning the difficult challenge of reaching more people remains unaddressed.
The third channel is through consultants who get the products directly from manufacturers, then market those products through a network of retailers. Consultants handle the logistics and marketing requirements that manufacturers do not want or are unable to manage in-house. Working in a manufacturer-consultant partnership helps both stakeholders meet their goals.
Ubinodes is the home for consultants using technology and technical expertise to provide all the services required by manufacturers to achieve their desired goal. We provide services to clients in a wide array of fields like finance, economics, politics, consulting, freight forwarding, customs clearance, regulations, technology, packaging, advertising, storage, identifying points of sales, finding agents etc.
1. About Us.
Ubinodes began as Love4aviation which was incorporated in New Zealand in 2007. L4A, as it’s fondly called, provided international marketing services including import and export of aircraft parts, supplies, and everything associated with the aviation industry. Initially, our services were limited to New Zealand and Australia, but we quickly expanded to the rest of the world through the internet and our global network of agents.
In 2016, we incorporated the organization in Estonia, with the aim of being well positioned to serve the European market as well as to better handle taxes from within Europe.
In 2017, we discovered that our passion exceeded the aviation industry. Beyond aviation, we had a passion for business, consulting and international trade. Consulting is not limited to the aviation industry alone but rather plays an important role in every industry worldwide, and has a huge impact on all aspects of an organization.
Even as Love4Aviation, we began to study services we were not yet offering our clients. We discovered that companies needed consulting and international trade services, so we decided to take up the challenge and tackle the need head-on.
A lot of resources went into researching the IT tools needed for our network to be secure and efficient. As a result, we produced a significant amount of research regarding IT and data security, which we made publicly available through our publications.
We fully rebranded from Love4Aviation to Ubinodes in 2018. We brought the values that guided us at L4A together with our experience, and our unwavering commitment to our customers, including creating solutions to meet any of their needs and providing exceptional service delivery.
Having met and satisfied all criteria required to become a major consulting brand in the international scene, we decided to onboard an international network of skilled business consultants and manufacturers to join in our vision and help achieve our goals.
2. Core values of Ubinodes.
In our organization, we believe the success of any business lies in the strength of its personnel and the values they believe in. Fundamental to the core values of Ubinodes are:
2.1 Teamwork.
Each person at Ubinodes contributes their individual strength, to building a strong and unified system. Crucial to making individuals thrive is having a supportive team that is never afraid to provide or accept help when needed. We stand strong through mutual respect, hard work, and dedication. Our commitment to our consultants and partners will be imbued in every aspect of our work, building trust and confidence. At Ubinodes, we work together to accomplish great things and we are driven to provide the best service to our clients.
2.2 Customer satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction is one of our major priorities at Ubinodes. This is key to our organizational growth since our aim is to satisfy our clients by meeting their every expectation and industry standards. It is important to make our business exciting not just for our consultants (called nodes in the organization), but for our customers as well.
We need to build a community that believes in our values as much as we do. The confidence we exude while performing our business will rub off on our customers and make them believe in us. In situations where a dispute arises, we objectively analyze the situation from all aspects and come to a mutually beneficial agreement, reflected in our systemic approach to risk management and payments.
2.3 Commitment.
When we say we are going to deliver on a promise, we deliver. We do not work halfway, we are consistent throughout the entire process as we make every project a priority. At Ubinodes, it’s all about character, integrity, and work ethic.
2.4 Creativity.
If we are too regimented in following tight protocols to get things done, we will never allow our nodes (consultants) to flourish and show off our true potential. By giving our nodes creative freedom we believe they respond with innovation. We embrace creativity and diversity.
2.5 Our competition.
Trying to compare ourselves to the competition will only distract us from our goals. The best place for us to receive feedback is from our own customers, potential customers, and nodes. Listening to our community and comparing their expectations to our services is what will help us succeed.
2.6 Believe.
We have the utmost confidence in our nodes, system, and organization. Everything is possible and achievable if we can believe in ourselves. Some paths are more challenging than others, but recognizing that tackling new challenges will lead to a road of self-discovery is vital to success.
3. Challenges and solutions.
We live in a world cluttered by communication and production. As a manufacturer, you may find that getting your product(s) to market and to target audiences or consumers is your biggest obstacle. Working with Ubinodes, manufacturers can focus their time and attention on what they are passionate about and can confidently know that the external aspects of their business are in expert hands.
- Manufacturers must focus on designing, improving, and producing their products and should not have to spend their own time marketing.
- Manufacturers have an intimate stake in their products and may make biased or counterproductive decisions when making them alone.
- Manufacturers don’t have the resources to hire marketers full time.
- Manufacturers do not have contacts or leads in the marketing sector, as most of their network is in the industrial sector.
- Through the Ubinodes utility token, our own cryptocurrency, we make it easy to transact between different regulatory environments.
- Ubinodes is secure and can help our clients avoid security threats to their transactions. Not only is the token usable across borders but it is also more reliable than most forms of payment (read our other articles about the Ubinodes token).
- Utilizing a global consultant network leads to both a better-sourced understanding of different customer demographics and markets as well as a broader knowledge of business opportunities in new markets.
Broadly speaking, in a country, 80% of exports are done by 3% of the companies. Only the largest companies reap the benefits of exporting (Boeing, Airbus, Total, BP, car manufacturers, etc) while countless other companies compete locally and struggle to reach new markets. Our target is the 97% of manufacturers not exporting. We recognize and address the wide range of barriers to exporting that manufacturers face such as not having a high proficiency in English, lacking international marketing skills, being uninterested in marketing and needing to focus on design and production, being unable to finance international staff or market research, not having overseas contacts, networks, or leads, and much more.
Before manufacturers enter a market they must assess its potential. We take that burden off of manufacturers by offering:
- Detailed and in-depth analysis of markets in every country where we have nodes.
- Design for websites, social media, digital print advertisements, and other communications media.
- Partnership and contract acquisition.
- A drive to provide anything required to make a project successful.
Acting independently, manufacturers must manage points of sales, take orders handle international payments from unknown or untrusted parties, transport goods, and handle freight forwarding and customs clearance. Often, manufacturers must also arrange for storage at the receiving end.
4. How does it work ?
We are structured as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Governance and data are distributed using the best IT tools. Consultants use secure and encrypted communication channels to start, manage and complete projects.
Consultants are NOT commission based, they get paid for their time, no matter the outcome for the manufacturer.
Example: a manufacturer [MA] of furniture based in Canada wants to expand its market. A Ubinodes consultant, closest to them, probably from Canada, will get in touch and help the manufacturer to put together a basic marketing plan, the cornerstone when beginning to export. Based on the manufacturer's feedback and further research, the consultant will develop the basic marketing plan into a full in-depth marketing plan. As importing markets are identified, nodes operating there will likely contribute to the revised marketing plan as well. By receiving input from nodes who better know the market in the recipient country, the project as a whole benefits. From this stage, two nodes or more may become involved as sub-nodes on the project.
During the process of market research, which can include some product sampling, the manufacturer works directly with each node involved. In the agreements, there is a schedule for each node, so that manufacturers do not have to enter into a full agreement with each node after the initial full agreement is signed. When a node becomes involved, only their individual schedule and fee must be agreed upon.
When it’s time to start exporting goods into a target market, a local Receiving Consultant [RC] will handle the services from their side.
A Receiving Consultant [RC] will handle all services required by the Manufacturer [MA]. However, in this capacity, they will not act as an agent nor take money on behalf of the Manufacturer [MA], so as to abide by relevant regulation. Buyers of the goods in the destination country could be stores, resellers or private consumers.
In any case, transactions will occur directly between the final buyer and the manufacturer [MA]. We provide our own fiduciary services to protect any financial transactions.
5. Fees.
Ubinodes does charge a monthly fee roughly equivalent to the cost of a half-page color advertisement in a small print magazine. However, where such an advertisement will struggle to captivate new markets, our fee is an investment. On our end, the fee is put to use, growing and strengthening our network and gaining access to more markets and services for your use. This monthly fee is waived if you use our Ubinodes cryptocurrency token for all transactions, including the buying and selling of physical goods.
In addition, each node maintains an hourly rate. Each node will set their own price based on their estimation of the time and effort needed to complete your project. Invoices are usually sent weekly. In the beginning, you may be asked to put a small credit into an escrow account as a security, to ensure our nodes receive the payment for their initial work week until invoices roll over on a weekly basis.
Transactions can be made online at https://holvi.com/shop/Ubinodes/
As a cost comparison, you could instead fly to each target country one by one, spend weeks trying to understand the market, the culture, the laws, and regulations. Presumably, the costs would quickly become prohibitively expensive. Alternatively, paying our local nodes to handle these tasks for you puts your money to efficient and impactful use.
Payments can be made in fiat currency or using our own cryptocurrency, the Ubinodes token, which offers a wide range of advantages: micropayments, instant transactions, escrow accounts, store of value, no bank fees, anonymity etc. Please read the articles on our blog: https://steemit.com/@ubinodes
If you don't know about cryptocurrency, you can start using fiat currency through traditional banking channels, using wire transfers to our company's bank or using a credit card on our online shop. As part of their consulting work, you can ask your local node to guide you through the use of cryptocurrency so that you can take advantages of the plethora of benefits offered by our token.
6. How to contact us.
We communicate through an open source secure messaging app called Riot. Riot is an open standard communication protocol for decentralized real-time communication. Riot is the front-end client of Matrix which is executed as home servers and is distributed over the internet. As a result, there is no single point of control or failure. The application offers a RESTful HTTP API for generating and managing the distributed chat servers that send and receive messages, invite and manage chat room members, manage user accounts, and provide advanced chat features such as VoIP and Video calls etc. Matrix also establishes a secure synchronization between the home servers that are distributed across the globe.
We use this source of communication because of its strong and secure communication between both parties. We understand that your security is paramount and we take it upon ourselves to utilize communication platforms that are unlikely to be spied on by external agents.
Click here to open a free account and join our chatroom
To contact us via email: [email protected]