Having assessed your company’s global purchasing readiness, defined the global purchasing objectives and products or service to be sourced and set performance targets.

The first step in identifying supply markets is to target countries suitable for your business.

Outside the United States, a range of business factors could help or hinder your success. On a regional as well as individual country basis, consider - at least - the following factors in defining your potential supplier countries:

1. By keeping abreast of world events that influence the international manufacturing and service industries.

2. By analyzing trade and economic statistics. These statistics provide the U.S. firm with information concerning production levels by industry which can be important indicators of the market potential for a company's sourcing.

3. By obtaining the advice of experts such as The Mauduit Group Network of   Consultants in Global Purchasing.  
Gathering and evaluating secondary market research can be complex and tedious. But it is a necessary step.

1. Obtain statistics that indicate product imports from various countries.

2. Identify 5 to 10 countries which meet your purchasing objectives. Look at them over the past three to five years:  
Has their export growth been consistent year to year?  
Did their export growth occur even during periods of economic recession?  
If not, did growth resume with economic recovery?

3. Identify some smaller but fast-emerging countries that may provide ground-floor opportunities.

4. Target three to five of the most statistically promising countries for further assessment.  
Depending on the nature of the product or service being sought, a useful approach is to initially focus on specific regions, such as the EU, Latin America, or the Pacific Rim.

1. What is the overall economic outlook for the economy in each target country?

2. What is the general environment for importers?

3. What are the legal considerations involved in purchasing the product/service in a given country?

1. What are the major manufacture or service providers for your product in each target country?

2. What is the nature of the purchasing competition in each target country?

3. How are potential suppliers positioning their products?

As we have seen, some risks are associated with global purchasing, such as foreign exchange risks, the physical and performance risks associated with shipping and delivering the product from abroad to your company, as well as the cost, price, and interest rate risks which the firm normally deals with in its domestic business.

Since "risk" is the likelihood that something bad will happen, then some form of "risk list" should be defined on what are the acceptable risks to your company. The targeted regions and countries should be screened accordingly.

While preparing your "risk list" for screening your targeted region and countries, you might want to also prepare a Risk Management Program for the acceptable risks that your company is willing to accept.By doing so, you will be able to identify those risks as early as possible, adjust the development strategy to minimize those risks, and develop and implement a risk management process as an integral part of your global purchasing process.

You must be prepared - on an ongoing basis - in the event your company does encounter anyone of those risks.

Since global purchasing involves import, your organization will have to deal mostly with the U.S. legal system and especially its Customs and International Law.

Customs and International Law include the interpretation of over 400 federal laws which are administrated by more than 40 federal agencies, as well as some state laws!

Depending on the nature of the product or service you will be importing, some or most of these agencies’ regulations might affect your business.

But regardless of the product or service, you should be familiar with the United States Customs Service.

You should also be familiar with the agencies and the regulations related to your products or service to be globally purchased if only for the following five major reasons:

In gobal purchasing, as in any other form of trade, the two major legal regulations to watch very closely are the Corruption Act and antitrust violations.

They are the most encountered cases in international business and might victimize experienced and inexperienced buyers and purchasing professionals alike. Therefore, all those involved in procurement are obliged to have a working knowledge of antitrust laws and understand how to identify potential violations.

There is no doubt that culture impacts every aspect of international trade, emphasized in the previous presentations on the subject.

Most of us think of a foreign country's culture in terms of protocol and tips: using both hands when presenting a business card to Japanese counterparts, or never revealing the soles of one's shoes in an Arab country. 

These social and business tips are very important to help us avoid faux pas that can destroy business relationships. But even more important is how culture impacts the strategic decisions a U.S. company must make when doing business internationally.

An awareness of local negotiation and motivation tactics, which vary from country to country, is essential.