COVID 19. A story of collaboration, cooperation and “hands across the ocean”.

It all began with an email in October 2020…

“I am writing to ask if the RED Toolbox has the functionality to host a “virtual retail showcase” or indeed if you have ever hosted something like that before?”We are looking to offer a “virtual” experience to our F&B exporters instead of inviting them to Foodex 2021 in Tokyo next March.

All the State Governments are interested in the initiative so it will be a TEAM AUSTRALIA exercise. Given that we can’t be sure the borders will be open by that time, we need to be able to support exporters in more creative ways!” 

And it developed from there.

There were more emails, and Webex’s, and then more emails as the idea evolved and finally became a project.

We had already created a trade platform for the Commonwealth Games in 2018, designed to showcase Queensland businesses to overseas visitors, but the Tokyo event would take things to another level.

And I was slightly concerned.

Creating the virtual export event would require cooperation and collaboration between the Australian trade team in Japan, plus five state governments, and the food and beverage exporters, all without face-to-face meetings of any kind.

With any communication by phone, email and Webex, generating lots of opportunities for slow or uneven responses and possible misunderstandings. 

The project was driven and managed by the team in Tokyo and evolved steadily as more people became involved. 

Time was relatively short. Travel was restricted. 

And COVID demanded flexibility from all concerned.

The virus would not be controllable until a vaccine was available and then not until everybody was vaccinated…probably by the end of 2021 or early 2022.

So there was a commitment from all parties to make the project work. 

There was still international interest in what Australian Food and Beverage could offer. The challenge was linking sellers and buyers in a practical way in the middle of the pandemic.

Each Australian state had slightly different requirements, most of which we were able to incorporate into the platform as the months passed by.

Every week, we responded to new requests and queries, and the platform steadily evolved. And having “customer” requests from multiple perspectives molded the functionality to match everyone’s needs.

The platform was primarily a showcase of Australian Food and Beverage companies wishing to sell products into the Japanese marketplace. With the option for discussion, questions and conversations between buyers and sellers.

The companies were carefully selected though an EOI process. No “tyre kickers”.

Each exporter was asked to manage their listing in the showcase, editing business and contact details, adding pictures of products, videos, price lists, brochures and social media to complement what was available on their websites.

Japanese buyers needed to be able to visit the platform anonymously, look at what the exporters could offer and then contact them privately.

The state governments managed and supported their exporters, and also outlined what their state could offer – innovative products, clean and green environment, quality control and so on. Australia has a good story to tell.

The activities of the trade office in Tokyo then generated interest from other export offices around the world. COVID is a common problem for all export markets, not just Australia and Japan.

So what could work in Japan, might also work in other markets – China, Korea, USA, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, UK and the EU.

And what worked for Food and Beverage, could work for other products and services – including mining services, energy, waste management, water, pollution control, automation and robotics, furniture, art and crafts.

Showcasing and promoting Australian products and services in the midst of the COVID pandemic makes sense for many reasons.

The pandemic has highlighted the political differences between governments and their responses to COVID 19 and its variants.

But the importance of building and managing productive relationships between countries has never been clearer. We are all in this together. Connected. Reliant. 

And amenable to the benefits of sharing knowledge, products and services.

The countries that responded quickest to using scientific knowledge in an intelligent manner benefited the most.

And COVID also shook people out of complacency. The “same old, same old” approach was not good enough.

As a country we have to diversify out export markets more widely, so that the risk of any future disruption or challenge can be mitigated. Common sense.

There will be more disruptions.

And using a “virtual showcase” in a time of travel restrictions makes sense.

A virtual showcase is a practical use of digital technology to communicate, collaborate and contribute regardless of travel restrictions.

The virtual trade event in Japan required hundreds of people across Australia and Japan to work together to make it happen. Collaboration.

And the result started other people thinking. 

The platform could be used in many different ways. Not just for overseas markets, but for domestic markets. 

Not just for Food and Beverage, but for other products and services. Not just for matching sellers and buyers, but for training, investment and innovation as well.

The platform could be configured for a region, a sector or a supply chain.

When a lot of different people get involved in a project together, ideas generate and imagination is stimulated. 

People not directly involved, hear about the project and look at engagement possibilities with fresh eyes.

“What if?” and “What about?” and “Could we do this or that or the other?”

A time of adversity generates innovation. New challenges generate new responses.

“Can we capture interest and product focus?” “Could we use this beyond simply capturing business intelligence as a knowledge sharing platform?”

We can certainly measure activity on the platform. But once engagement moves offline, it will have to be chased up later with exporter surveys to find out what then transpired. 

But all these questions and ideas make sense, in a time of economic rebuilding during a coronavirus pandemic. 

Because the economy is shifting. Permanently.

Iron ore is still key, but other minerals are growing in importance as the “chess game” for world power dominance evolves and as coal loses its relevance. 

And technology generated as a result of the mining industry in Australia has created a host of new economic opportunities. If we decide to develop them.

The education and tourism sectors are still constrained. Cities have been locked down and opened up again. And as a result regions have become more attractive. 

The melting pot of challenge and opportunity bubbles away.

So it has become obvious that the “project” won’t stop on March 31. It will have to continue in some form and evolve, as the market environment continues to evolve and change.

And we can’t waste the considerable effort and contribution made by the hundreds of people involved. 

There will be new projects. Different markets. More shop windows to the world.

The way forwards will be driven by the individual and collective interest of all stakeholders in the project.

In many ways, COVID has stimulated a positive demonstration of what the internet can do. Of what digital technology can achieve. 

We know the negative digital technology stories. Manifested in identity theft. Loss of privacy. China’s “Social credit” system. Scams. Phishing. Fake news. Blackmail. These problems will continue to evolve.

But there are positive stories as well.

And this is one of them.

A demonstration of what connection, collaboration, and integration can do.

In my last post, I outlined some of the challenges to collaboration that we face, in Australia, reminded of what aFederal Minister once told me, “we are a big country, with a small population and we are ratshit at collaboration”.

Well, maybe COVID has changed things a bit. Maybe we are better at collaboration than we thought we were.

Because the virtual export event is all about collaboration.

And it happened through the goodwill, effort and well meaning of hundreds of individuals inspired and led by the trade office in Japan. 

It couldn’t have happened without the effort of individuals. The power of “one”.

Individual human beings make a difference. 

Getting on with the opportunity in front of them. Responding to a problem (COVID travel restrictions) by creating a solution (virtual trade event).

There are multiple opportunities.

“Opportunity” blindness is the biggest problem we face as a nation. It dwarfs all other problems and issues spawned by the digital revolution. Good and bad.

CEOs have to give themselves permission to understand the power of digital. To be curious. To imagine. To act. Skunkworks. 

Boards have to give CEOs permission. Boards have to give themselves permission. Ministers and politicians the same.

There is a lot we can do.

As children we were curious. All of us. 

At what age did we trade in curiosity during our educational or working life, in reward for a supposed secure, safe and reliable future? 

Well, secure, safe and reliable futures have gone out the window in the face of the fourth industrial revolution, the digital revolution, and a global pandemic.

So maybe it’s time to invite our curiosity back. 

And imagine what could be…and then do something about it.

Creating a virtual export platform and showcasing Australian capability to the world is just an example.

Just imagine what else we might collectively and collaboratively do, if we really leveraged the power of the digital revolution.

There are plenty of “wicked problems” to fix. Let’s get on with it.