IHTC helps improve the performance of Foreign Subsidiaries of medium and large High-Tech companies, whether your subsidiary(s) is (are) located in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Pacific Rim, Africa or the Middle-East.  IHTC expertise of High-Tech companies in foreign markets include Personnel, Sales, Marketing, Customer-relations, Distribution & Logistics, Technical Support, Financial and Subsidiary-Parent Company relationships. The problems within such subsidiaries can be based upon one or a combination of these different areas of business.

Our company provides consulting in Foreign Subsidiary Management based upon the above mentioned areas. To help pinpoint the problems within a Foreign Subsidiary of a High-Tech company, IHTC has developed its own Audit Checklist in each of the above mentioned areas of business. With this Checklist, identification of the problems, as well as internal organization procedures, are identified and analyzed, so that IHTC can recommend the best course of action.

IHTC is aware that Hardware, Software and Service Companies all operate and are structured differently,  and such differences can directly effect and influence the relationship between the Foreign Subsidiary with its Parent company.

We are also aware that governmental regulations where either the Foreign Subsidiary or Parent Company are based, can themselves cause strain within this inter-organization relationship. That’s why IHTC‘s consulting services also covers Government Relationships and how their effects on doing business abroad (this same information on Government Relationships can also be provided in IHTC‘s Foreign Market & Analysis Consulting.

The following are summaries of the different audits that IHTC provides its clients in Foreign Subsidiary Management Consulting:
 

1. Subsidiary Personnel Audit

2. Subsidiary Sales Audit

3. Subsidiary Marketing Audit

4. Subsidiary Customer Audit

5. Subsidiary Distribution & Logistics Audit

6. Subsidiary Technical Support Audit

7. Subsidiary Financial Audit

 8. Subsidiary-Parent Company Relationship Audit

 9. Overall Analysis & Recommendations
 

     IHTC checks all aspects of the personnel relationships within the Foreign Subsidiary. We start by checking the hierarchical structure, from top to bottom, as well as the Management Structure and how it relates or conflict with one another. We also analyze the key strengths and backgrounds of the Management organization. Next, we look at the departments, and analyze how the departments are suppose to work together, versus how the departments are actually working together.

After that, the other personnel, within the various departments, are analyzed - their strengths, background and motivations.

By looking at the structure of the Foreign Subsidiary, and understanding, in theory, the goals and interaction of the various departments, and how they relate to the actual interaction, perceptions and performance of the individuals, IHTC will better understand where the bottlenecks are created, and how to resolve such bottlenecks.

Problems can exist based upon insufficient training of personnel, conflict of department or individuals goals, poorly defined job or department goals and guidelines, and/or atmosphere of working environment.

IHTC is familiar with the Labor Laws in all countries of the world.
 

An individual difficulty or a web of problems may attribute to poor sales performance in a Foreign Subsidiary. IHTC will look at the variety of concerns that make-up these sales activities and sales cycle. We will look at the structure of the sales organization, the sales support, the sales cycle, the sales budget, sales tactics, sales strategies, sales interaction with customers, sales personnel, sales management and sales goals.

IHTC will also look at the sales of the competition in that foreign market, and will compare overall sales performance, sales per sales employee, sales per company employee, and will compare sales growth versus competition.
 

IHTC‘s Marketing audit will focus on three areas:

1. Product & Marketing Mix - compare with competition:  Product, Price, Promotion & Distribution

2. Market Research & Analysis - how much marketing investigation has the Foreign Subsidiary made & how much
             does it know about its competition

3. Marketing Communications - how well does the Foreign Subsidiary promote itself and its products

We will analyze and review these 3 areas, and show how its effects on the Foreign Subsidiary's Sales Department and its Customers, and how these 3 areas can be improved.
 

IHTC will analyze customer satisfaction, as well as customer’s perception of the Foreign Subsidiary. We will also look closer at the interaction and relationships between the customer and sales, marketing and technical personnel.

We will also analyze the customer’s purchasing decision making and purchasing cycle. Lastly, IHTC will look at how to improve the communications between the customer and Foreign Subsidiary.
 

     IHTC has seen many times American High-Tech companies set-up European headquarters and distribution centers in poorly defined locations, based upon location of where the Managing Director lives (or wants to live) or where a good distributor is located.  In the same breath, IHTC has seen most of these companies spend millions of dollars on relocation of European Headquarters and Distribution centers. Plus, relocation of personnel can be messy and difficult.  Worse, it can cause huge delays in normal operations, and add costs in finding new personnel.

IHTC helps your company get it right the first time before distribution centers are situated.  If  such centers are already set up, IHTC will analyze shipping costs to market, with hardware, both importation by the Foreign Subsidiary, as well as its warehousing and re-shipping to customers. With software companies,  IHTC will show how to set up media reproduction centers that save on importation costs.
 

     IHTC will look at the technical personnel and how they interact with customers. Such items as response time, quality of support and turnaround time with new updates or bug fixes will also be analyzed. Sometimes, scheduling of onsite visits is also necessary. IHTC is report upon how that process is handled, which personnel are going on customer visits, and possibly suggest who would be better in Technical Support to go out on Customer visits. We will also look at ways of improving the Call Center, to try also to get marketing information based from the Technical Support department.
 

     IHTC is linked worldwide with local Financial and Accounting companies that will greatly reduce the costs of investigating and analyzing your companies financial books. These costs are  dramatically less expensive than utilizing the Big 5 Accounting companies. Besides Financial Reporting, IHTC works together with its Financial and Accounting partners to provide your Corporate Headquarters with costs improvements within your Foreign Subsidiary.

Because IHTC is experienced in such various aspects of Foreign Subsidiary Management, we are uniquely qualified to provide insight on how to get the most out of the Financial Budget for each Department within your Foreign Subsidiary.

IHTC also provides recommendations on Foreign Currency Translation, including Hedging and setting up Foreign Tax Havens.
 

     IHTC understands the difficulties that major corporations occur when try to solve foreign business problems. Many times foreign personnel, even foreign management, have different goals and aspirations, than those of the parent company. We help audit such relationships, and see if such relationships are healthy in their conflict, or if such conflict will tear at the fabric of the entire corporate infrastructure.

Of course, sometimes the Parent company learns, with difficulty, that the Foreign Subsidiary may have a better or improved way of doing business. Let’s not forget, for example, that a major company like Ford Motors, was, in essence, saved by its European Foreign Subsidiary by developing and manufacturing the Ford Escort.
 

     You may hire IHTC for any number of these specific areas in Foreign Subsidiary Management. IHTC will provide your Corporate Headquarters with detailed Analysis and Recommendations - real time and down-to-earth improvements on the performance for your Foreign Subsidiary.

If you hire IHTC to provide Foreign Subsidiary Management on more than one Foreign Subsidiary and/or in more than one region of the world, IHTC will additionally provide analysis and recommendation not just on a micro-level, but on regional and macro-levels. With this information, we will provide your company with a regional or global strategy that will improve  your company's overall performance.
 

                                 Strength of Subsidiary    Impeding Business   Slowing Success    Non-Impediment  Helping Business

Personnel Audit

Sales Audit

Marketing Audit

Customer Audit

Distribution & Logistics Audit

Technical Support Audit

Financial Audit

Parent-Foreign Subsidiary
Relationship Audit