Predator or Prey
Published: February 19, 2001

RICHARD JOSEPH
GENERAL MANAGER,
CARIBBEAN BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED

Two recent articles paint different pictures of the level of international competitiveness of our private sector. In the December 2000 issue of Caribbean Week, A.B. Kirton in an article titled “WTO and the Caribbean” stated that “The general feeling was that Trinidad and its aggressive trade policies was a major contributor to the economic troubles most of the countries were experiencing. Trinidad was regarded as a predator, and an unreasonable business partner. It was seen as flooding the regional markets with its low cost goods and services and gobbling up companies, but not purchasing goods or services within the region in return.”

On February 15, 2001 as reported by Newsday, The President of the Supermarkets Association of Trinidad and Tobago, Kumar Maharaj warned that the increasing numbers of large, foreign retail stores setting up operations in Trinidad and Tobago without restraint or conditions will “depress the state of the economy and cause a certain amount of constriction in the liquidity of the country”.

Which is the real Trinidad and Tobago: the predator or the prey? There is a bit of truth in both pictures. We are a big fish in the little Caribbean pond, but a tiny fish where we get into the wider ocean.

Even without the changes mandated by the World Trade Organization, there will be an inexorable trend of penetration of the local and regional markets from overseas. Expanded communications together with creative advertising will develop demand for goods and services which are not produced locally. Improved transportation systems will move goods and people about more quickly and more cheaply. Giants in distribution will use their volume purchasing power and advanced inventory management and logistic systems to drive down margins.

If our private sector is to survive, whether as manufacturers, distributors or service providers, we will have to develop and maintain a very clear understanding of international trends and where our opportunities lie. At this time it appears that whatever the sector (except in natural gas and some petrochemicals) we will be niche players. We do not have the resources to compete in mass markets, so we have to identify those where size and volumes are not competitive strengths, and where we can develop our advantages to secure profitable returns.

Some members of the private sector have already risen to this challenge and developed a competitive advantage over the international market. A large order for garments which was originally placed internationally had to be returned to a local manufacturer because the foreign supplier could not satisfy the unique fit requirements of the local figure. In addition to this, the local supplier has been on a program of continuous improvement of quality, cost competitiveness and reliability. That supplier has become the dominant niche player in his industry in our market.

Many other sectors still have a long way to go in reaching the level of international competitiveness which would protect their home markets while providing the opportunity to develop overseas. While our experience in the Caribbean has been useful, we have enjoyed favourable trading arrangements which will change in the future for the same reasons outlined above. As we continue to progress there are two areas which will demand more and more attention. They are market intelligence and innovative capacity.

Good market intelligence requires that more than just responding to customer needs which have already been identified, we are able to anticipate needs and position ourselves to satisfy them. This requires a thorough understanding of our customers including what are their requirements and what motivates them.

Having regard to the article in Caribbean Week, we should also be very aware of what could cause a negative response in our markets and develop strategies to make them proactive.

Hand in hand with our development of marketing intelligence must be the development of our innovative capacity to respond to the opportunities we identify. This capacity should be aimed at satisfying the identified customer’s needs with the inputs available locally. These inputs should not only be raw material, but also be derived from intellectual capital such as product and packaging design, and production arrangements that use the motivating factors that would be most effective in our unique society.

We probably will not be predators in all the markets we chose to enter, and we have to develop the sensory and responsive systems that ensure we do not end up as prey.