BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

ASSIGNMENT II
4.1 Discuss the significance of international trade to UK business organisations:
UNILEVER
+ With Unilever, they focus on innovation
while improving the livelihoods of their
suppliers.
+ By 2020, 1.8 billion more consumers,
mainly from emerging markets, will move up
the ladder and become more affluent.
Reaching up is therefore a critical growth
opportunity for us.
+ They continue to monitor developments in
their markets across the world and to direct
their resources accordingly to respond to
competitive threats and opportunities.
OPPORTUNITIES + With the new business model is
sustainable, equitable growth. The USLP sets
out a range of goals to improve efficiencies
and develop more sustainable ways of
making their products, opening up
opportunities for innovation while
improving the livelihoods of their suppliers.
+ They are continuing to fill white spaces,
taking their brands into new markets and
expanding into emerging consumer
segments, to create new growth
opportunities. Today, people can buy Dove
and Axe products in more than 70 countries;
INTERCEDE GROUP
+ They pipeline of commercial
opportunities continues to grow
as they seek to deepen their
penetration of the markets where
Intercede’s MyID digital identity
technology has become an
industry standard. There are also
a number of new technology led
trends which provide additional
opportunities for Intercede; for
example mobile device security
and the deployment of digital
patient identities in health care.
The outlook is therefore
extremely positive.
+ Intercede currently has more
than 5 million digital identities
actively managed by MyID.
Intercede’s Vision is to have more
than 100 million identities under
management by
its MyID software by 2020. This
Vision anticipates that the 20-fold
increase in volume
LLOYDS BANKING
GROUP
+ In 2012 was a momentous year
for the United Kingdom. They
celebrated the Diamond Jubilee
and the London 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games. Lloyds
Banking Group was appointed a
National Partner to the Games in
2007, and in this role they helped
fund emerging athletes, supply
volunteers and, crucially, support
local businesses to enable them
to take full advantage of the
available commercial
opportunities. They are proud of
the significant role the Group
played and of their part in
creating a lasting legacy
+ The progress they continue to
deliver and their achievements in
2012 are a product of the
commitment, drive and
performance of their colleagues,
and they see a real opportunity to
improve engagement across all
parts of the Group.
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Cif in more than 60, following its expansion
into China and Mexico in 2012; Knorr Jelly
Bouillon in almost 40; and Clear in more
than 40, after its successful 2012 launch in
the US, Australia and Canada.
+ Unilever values open, constructive and
effective communication with their
shareholders. During 2012 I met with a
number of investors and industry
representatives to answer their questions
and to gain a better understanding of their
policies on governance and voting. They
expect and welcome further engagement
with their institutional investors. My
dialogue with investors this year has taken
the form of corporate governance issues
engagements, attending investor events,
together with engagement with major
investors on a number of occasions, and a
meeting with the Foundation Unilever NV
Trust Office. The AGMs are also a great
opportunity for myself and the rest of the
Board to engage with shareholders. They
provide a great deal of information on their
obsite that aims to answer any queries
about the Group and shareholders are also
invited to write to me at any time should
they have a matter they wish to discuss.
will yield a 10-fold increase in
revenue and a doubling in the
cost base. This is a very attractive
business model. On the basis of
this, Intercede is planning
additional investment, In the next
12 months to ensure the
Company is best placed to exploit
this opportunity and to maximise
the medium and long term
returns to shareholders.
+ Continue to invest in sales and
marketing in order to increase
the pipeline
+ Tapping into new technology-
led trends where growth
opportunities are developing.
+ Intercede is emerging as the
dominant supplier in the PIV
smart card market in the Federal
and corporate space. As existing
PIV contracts are rebid and new
contract opportunities emerge,
Intercede will compete on the
basis of technical excellence, life-
time value for money and
reference sites.
+ In the UK, they are participating
in a consortium bidding to win
the first contract under the HMG
+ They believe they can unlock
the potential in their franchise
and deliver value to customers
and shareholders by creating a
simpler organisation.
Opportunities exist to increase
the efficiency of operations and
processes and reduce costs whilst
addressing changing customer
needs and the external
environment more effectively.
+ Wealth provides strong growth
opportunities for the Group. Its
goal is to be recognised as the
Wealth advisor of choice to
appropriate Retail and
Commercial Banking customers
alongside targeted customer
acquisition. They aim to grow the
amount of customer deposits and
funds under management that
they manage on behalf of
franchise customers, whilst
improving margins and operating
efficiency.
+ Opportunities to migrate
customers with maturing
products into new investment
propositions. These customers
provide 34 percent of their total
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 Identity Assurance Program to underlying profit. Whilst they
supply up to 22m secure digital have invested in the systems and
identities of citizens claiming processes to help Independent
Universal Credit from the Financial Advisers through RDR,
Department of Work and they anticipate exits from the
Pensions. Whatever the outcome, market and the direct channel
other opportunities are expected will be increasingly important for
to follow. the ‘orphan’ customers created.
Risk management is integral to Unilever’s The main risks arising from the Risk Management is at the heart
strategy and to the achievement of Group’s financial instruments are of Lloyds Banking Group’s
Unilever’s long-term goals. Their success as interest rate risk, liquidity risk, strategy to become the best bank
an organisation depends on their ability to credit risk and foreign currency for customers, investors,
identify and exploit the opportunities risk. The Board has reviewed shareholders and its people. The
generated by their business and the markets these risks on an ongoing basis mission for Risk is to support the
they are in. In doing this they take an throughout the year. The policy business in delivering sustainable
embedded approach to risk management for their management is growth. This is achieved through
which puts risk and opportunity assessment summarised below: informed risk decision making
at the core of the leadership team agenda,  Interest rate risk and superior risk and capital
RISK which is where they believe it should be. In  Liquidity risk management, supported by a
addition, they have some troubles with:  Credit risk consistent risk-focused culture
 Consumer preference  Foreign currency risk across the Group. Although is a
 Competition  Interest rate profile large company but they also have
 Portfolio management  Maturity of financial three main risks:
 Sustainability liabilities  Principal and uncertainties
 Customer relationship  Borrowing facilities  Emerging
 People  Currency exposures  Governmence
 Supply chain
 Systems and information
 Business transformation

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  External economic and political risks,
and natural disaster
The competitive environment for their
business is likely to remain intense in 2013.
Their competitors, both global and local, will
continue to shift resources into emerging
markets. They expect continued high levels
of competitive challenge to their many
category leadership positions. Some of this
may be price based, but they also expect
strong innovation based competition. With
the improvements they have been making
to their business they are well prepared for
COMPETIVENESS these challenges. In addition, Unilever
operates globally in competitive markets
where other local, regional and global
companies are targeting the same
consumer base.
There is an increasingly
irresistible case for believing that
the digital identity market is
rapidly moving to mass adoption.
For an organisation to fully
exploit this opportunity, it needs
to have developed a suitably
robust technology platform,
entrenched itself in the market
and scaled up its infrastructure.
Intercede has spent many years
achieving the first two of these
and I’m pleased to report that
they have made significant
progress towards achieving the
third. The investment they have
made this year in their sales and
delivery capability gives are a real
competitive advantage of
Intercede in UK market.
In the competitive open markets
in which they operate, customers
benefit from an increasing range
of products and services from a
growing choice of providers. The
expectations and demands of
customers continue to rise.
Access to convenient branches
remains important for many
customers, but demand for a
quality multi-channel banking
proposition is now more
prevalent. More customers
expect to be able to manage their
finances whenever and wherever
is most convenient for them,
whether by telephone, online, or
using smartphones. The service
remains one of the key drivers of
customer satisfaction and
customers are less accepting of
poor service given the
competitive nature of the market.
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Global trade is a factor which has affected directly in the countries in the world about services and goods. It is very huge and in 20 years the
global trade has been developed quicker than growing the internal economies of countries around the world. UK is a country where has an
open economy and it means overthere the rising of quantities, goods and service of UK always tied to trade with other countries in the world.

According to the recent trade profile demonstrated UK was published by the World trade organization:

 The UK is a country where is the 7th largest the export about goods in the world and the 4th biggest in import.
 The UK is the 2nd largest export of commercial service in global
 The UK has a 3.7% market share of export in the world and 5% market share is import in the world.
 The UK exports 8% of the world`s commercial service
 78% of UK export come from the manufacturing and 15% from fuels and mining products
 62% of UK export come from other members of the EU and 13% go to the US
 50% the import products come from EU, 8% from US and 6% from China

With market share, some the main manufactured goods of UK are beverages, fuels and chemicals. According to World Trade Organization
(WTO), in 2008 the UK is a country with largest commercial service export in the world. In addition, the profit on UK in commercial service is
$263 billion. Besides that, export is also a main sector of UK and three top items export of UK:

 Petroleum and petroleum products

 Road vehicles
 Pharmaceuticals product

Some ports critical for trade in UK:

 Southampton
 Dover
 Port of London
 Liverpool