 Amongst the wide variety of light industrial and retail products that will be on display at the 17th annual Southern African International Trade Exhibition (SAITEX) next week, visitors can also find a range of service providers geared to facilitate import and export trade. SAITEX takes place at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from 25 to 27 July 2010.
Blue Strata Trading, a Johannesburg-based consultancy, specializes in trade finance, supply chain management, import logistics and risk management for importers and exporters. Exhibiting at SAITEX for the first time, Chief Executive Officer Adam Orlin sees the SAITEX show as the ideal platform to engage with visitors in a setting geared towards trade.
“A number of foreign customers will be visiting the expo to source products and will be able to integrate their entire import and export cycles under one roof,” says Orlin. “At Blue Strata we can manage every aspect of a customer’s import from order placement, confirmation and tracking through to hedging of foreign exchange risk, funding of foreign and local payments, and management of import logistics until delivery to the first warehouse.”
The importance of service providers like Blue Strata is not lost on business professionals, says John Thomson, Managing Director of Exhibition Management Services (EMS), organizers of SAITEX. “Trade finance is increasingly viewed as a strategic enabler of business, rather than just a necessary credit transaction,” says Thomson. This is emphasized by Orlin, who says that Blue Strata’s holistic approach assists companies in freeing up valuable working capital for greater profit creation, effectively reducing the quanta of working capital tied to the import transaction.
“The ability to integrate the full import cycle, including Forex, funding and logistics, to better manage the risk outcome is the preferred way forward for many importers,” he says. “We are confident we will see the industry moving towards a far more integrated solution to the import process.”
The Southern African International Trade Exhibition (SAITEX) once again provides a vast showcase of thousands of products from hundreds of suppliers sourced from all over the world. SAITEX takes place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, near Johannesburg from 25 to 27 July 2010.
Established in 1993 and acquired in 2008 by specialist trade show organizers Exhibition Management Services (EMS), SAITEX is the only multi-sector trade fair of its kind on the African continent. The event hosts hundreds of exhibitors showcasing thousands of products, services and business opportunities from all corners of the world. It has developed a reputation for translating export, import, development and investment opportunities into solid business transactions.
For the full range of products available at SAITEX, visitors can access the “Product Preview” on the EMS website at www.exhibitionsafrica.com. This marketing breakthrough, which is unique to SAITEX and Africa’s Big Seven, its sister show, allows visitors access to a full list of products that will be exhibited at the shows, as well as the countries represented.
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Trade finance just one of many reasons to visit SAITEX