by Rick Holden

There are many great things happening in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Key among them is the ongoing effort to attract new businesses whose goals include exporting product.

Citing the ongoing trade war and saying states must take international trade into their own hands, Gov. Ralph Northam recently announced a plan to take Virginia from ranking 41st in the country for exports to ranking in the top 20.

The strategic plan sets significant goals, aiming to increase trade output by 50% in 15 years.  Essentially, this would double the amount of export business in the Commonwealth.

An executive summary of the plan outlines two main ways the state will assist businesses who engage in international trade: first, by investing in trade development services and second, by helping new business locate in the Commonwealth and helping existing businesses expand.

In order to execute this far reaching goal, the state of Virginia will be offering incentives for companies who want to export all or some of their products form the Commonwealth. As new and existing companies look to make this move, it will be to their advantage to engage with Third Party Logistics Providers (3PLs) who are strategically located in Virginia and have the resources and services to assist in this effort.

3PLs in the Commonwealth who have strategic warehouse footprints, transportation services, systems, processes, as well as supply chain knowledge can help many of these companies take advantage of what Virginia has to offer.  Companies can better focus their limited resources on their core business and outsource the supply chain function.  This would reduce the overall total investment as well as provide a more rapid ramp up period.

In this economic environment speed to service is key.  Companies who can start operations more expeditiously will be positioned to take advantage of the incentives the Commonwealth of Virginia will be offering.