National Export Strategy 2002 - International Trade Administration ...

The 2002 National Export Strategy
Using the TPCC as a Management Tool
Since its inception, the TPCC has worked to bring multiple agencies and their
varied missions together for the common purpose of promoting U.S. exports. In so
doing, the TPCC has helped to eliminate duplication and overlap, coordinate
policies and programs, and develop a unifying framework and strategic vision.
While the TPCC must continue to serve these vital functions, this report takes the
first step toward using the TPCC as a tool for systematically improving performance
and efficiency, i.e., ensuring that U.S. exporters have access to world-class export
promotion programs and services and that these programs are effective.
As management scientists warn, there are no quick fixes to solving all of an
organization’s problems at once. This would hold particularly true for an entity
such as the TPCC that crosses multiple agencies and jurisdictions. Rather, what is
called for is a systematic and continuous benchmarking process of “identifying,
understanding, and adapting outstanding practices from organizations anywhere in
the world to help your organization improve its performance.” (American
Productivity and Quality Center, Benchmarking Pure and Simple, 1996)
The efforts described in this report lay a solid foundation for using such
management tools to benefit the TPCC agencies. We are gaining a better
understanding than ever before of the needs of our customers and the competitive
environment they face. We are gathering more information than ever before on
how our most formidable trading partners meet the needs of their exporters. As
reflected in the recommendations in this report, we are moving aggressively in the
short- and medium-term to improve programs and services based on what we are
learning.
At the same time, there are certain processes and programs that call for a more
deliberate, quantitative approach. Our surveys and focus groups indicate that the
areas where this approach is most needed include training of new exporters,
improving information flows within and between the trade promotion agencies and
our clients, and speeding the delivery of service to our customers. These areas lend
themselves to measurement, quantification, and comparison to processes in other
governments, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector.
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