Insights

The word innovation has become firmly embedded in our vocabulary. Countries from the US to China and firms from Fortune 500s to Startups continue to develop innovation strategies with varying success. Yet we tend to forget innovation’s original meaning and why it’s important to our competitiveness. Innovation is not just a new technology or an invention. It’s a process beginning with new combinations of knowledge and resources and ending with market entry. Its impact on economic change can be either disruptive or incremental. The key, emphasized by the Austrian economist Alfred Schumpeter [...]

The US-Canada bilateral trade and investment relationship is the largest in the world with $714.1 billion worth of goods and services traded in 2018. No wonder trade tariffs and the still to be approved, US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) continue to make headlines. Disrupting supply chains and an economic partnership of this size forces firms and consumers to make costly adjustments, but under the radar is a vibrant innovation ecosystem between the two countries. Organizations from both the US and Canada are teaming up in ways that positively impact value chains of R&D partners, [...]

Managing International Payables In today’s global economy, small-to-medium sized companies increasingly source goods and services from international suppliers. These suppliers offer a wide range of high-quality products that are in great demand all over the world, including French cheese, Australian wine, Italian tile, Danish furniture, German precision equipment, Japanese electronics, and Swiss watches. Without the negotiating leverage of larger companies, paying international suppliers in a timely and cost efficient manner can be challenging, especially for smaller companies. In today’s global economy, small-to-medium sized companies increasingly source goods and services from international suppliers. [...]