NORFOLK, VA
xTuple — downloaded in 200-plus countries — strengthens international business and software development operations
Norfolk, Virginia (USA)-headquartered xTuple, the world's #1 open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) software company, has been selected to participate in Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) — a state program sponsored by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), which promotes international trade for companies and professional firms.
"Virginia leads its sister states in international trade, and there's little wonder as to why. VALET is a clear example of a well thought out, well executed program, and, with experienced and dedicated leadership, has proven itself a model of success. Paving the way for exportation of Virginia goods and services, the VALET program provides Virginia companies with a truly unique opportunity to expand their presence in international markets, increase their revenue and grow job opportunities back at home,” said xTuple’s director of partner channel development, Danielle Kerner, who leads the xTuple-VALET Team.
According to Kerner, xTuple applied to the VALET program to seek greater opportunities for company growth outside the U.S. — in direct response to increased global community requests for a geo-located user experience, such as software translations, localizations and Cloud servers; significant growth in the number of worldwide downloads to evaluate and use the software; and growth in non-North American business and partner channel inquiries.
"We're pleased to partner with the VEDP to strengthen xTuple's international development operations. Our software has been downloaded over 1 million times, in over 200 countries, and translated into over 20 different languages. We look forward to building on that momentum in partnership with the VALET program,” said xTuple CEO Ned Lilly.
With its first global partner-customer/user conference, xTupleCon 2013, nearly sold out with more than two months to go, Kerner noted, “xTuple experienced a 33 percent growth in the value-added reseller (VAR) partner channel in the first half of this year and, with VALET’s help, is on target to double that by year’s end.”
According to a press release issued by the VEDP, 12 Virginia companies were selected as part of the 24th class for the two-year VALET program, launched in January 2002.
Photo credit: Mary Maier Photography for VEDP
In addition to xTuple, new companies accepted into the program include
- Cask, LLC, of Stafford County
- Dynamic Aviation Group, Inc., of Rockingham County
- ENSCO, Inc. Fairfax County
- Euclid Systems Corporation of Fairfax County
- G2 Ops, Inc., of the City of Virginia Beach
- Kollmorgen Corporation of Montgomery County
- Lumber Liquidators, Inc., of James City County
- Premium Steel Building Systems, Inc., of the City of Roanoke
- Rainbow Station, Inc., of Henrico County
- Trinity Applied Strategies Corporation (TAS-Corp) of the City of Alexandria
- WeightPack, Inc., of Powhatan County
Identifying real business opportunities in international trade requires resources, and the VEDP has distributed more than $2 million in reimbursements to Virginia companies to offset expenses and has completed more than 700 market research projects at the request of Virginia companies.
FACT — 87 percent of world economic growth over the next five years will take place outside the U.S., according to the International Monetary Fund, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
FACT — 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S., according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2011.
Each year, the award-winning VALET (Virginia Leaders in Export Trade) program helps Virginia exporters grow their international business with the assistance of VEDP and expert private-sector partners. Recognizing that it is difficult to seal a deal without a face-to-face meeting, the VEDP has pre-identified buyers and distributors, and then taken more than 400 Virginia companies abroad on trade missions to help them sign new business with visits to targeted markets. The VEDP employs more than 45 in-country consultants across the world who serve as eyes and ears on the ground and are available to VALET participants to make connections in target markets.
VALET, which currently has 47 companies in the program and more than 200 alumni, provides assistance from the Commonwealth and from a team of experienced international service providers to help meet participants’ international goals. These private sector service providers, such as attorneys, website designers, bankers, translators, accountants and freight forwarders contribute essential expertise to assist companies in executing their export initiatives.
Examples of VALET Successes
- Blacksburg, Virginia-based Aeroprobe Corp. CEO Nanci Hardwick said VALET was helpful as the company grows international sales, providing due diligence and research assistance to find new distributors — April 2013
- Lighthouse Instruments, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, expanded into Asia in 2005 (established its European arm in Amsterdam in 2010), and since then, international sales have doubled every three years. Today, 40 percent of the company’s sales are international — October 2011
- Charlottesville-based manufacturing technology company — and VALET participant — Mikro Systems, Inc., more than doubled its number of employees in 18 months, and revenues increased more than 50 percent annually for the past four years. Domestic to international business mix will be 50/50 within the year — August 2012
- During the past five years, Leesburg-based Waterborne Environmental, Inc., has seen a 50 percent increase in total revenues and continues to grow its international business and to expand geographically, fueled by the company’s participation in VALET — May 2012
Reported by Virginia Business magazine
Tweets
See you @VirginiaExports 65th VA Conference on World Trade (Oct 23-24)! Register: | http://t.co/E7imD87LF5 #ERP
87% of world economic growth over next five years will take place outside the USA per @VirginiaExports | http://ow.ly/nsihT via @xTuple #ERP
95% of world’s consumers live outside the U.S. says @VirginiaExports | http://ow.ly/nsihT via @xTuple #ERP
Selected for @VirginiaExports VALET, xTuple expands international development says CEO @nedlilly | http://ow.ly/nsihT #ERP
About xTuple, the world’s #1 open source ERP
Award-winning xTuple, makers of the world’s leading suite of open source accounting, Corporate Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), is supply chain management software for growing businesses to control their operations and profitability. xTuple integrates all critical functional areas in one modular system: sales, financials and operations — including customer and supplier management, inventory control, manufacturing and distribution — the powerful tools to Grow Your World®.
As a commercial open source company, xTuple works with a global community of tens of thousands of professional users. xTuple gives customers the ability to tailor solutions with multi-platform support for Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile as well as flexible licensing and pricing options. Connect with the company at www.xTuple.com, and join the innovation conversation with the open source community at www.xTuple.org.
About Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP)
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) promotes international trade for companies throughout Virginia with a mission to increase the number of Virginia companies selling overseas and their volume of international business, year after year. The VEDP assists businesses by identifying potential new markets, developing market entry strategies, and locating possible distributors and representatives for products or services — all at little to no cost.
Contact: Jordan Watkins, VEDP International Trade Manager Eastern Region, [email protected], or Stephanie Robinson, VALET Program Manager, [email protected]