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ACB2B in the News

Virtual company builds business bridge to China

MetroWest Daily

By Bob Tremblay/Daily News staff

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - Updated: 12:05 AM EST

You don't need to be well-versed in Confucius to know that China offers a wealth of businesses opportunities - and wealth is the operative word here.

Several large U.S. companies have already established a presence in the world's most populous country. The same is not true for many small- and medium-sized companies who lack the resources and/or know-how to make economic inroads in China.

To help these firms accomplish this task is the goal of AmeriChinaB2B, a new virtual company that recently launched its Internet Web portal on which American businesses can present their sales messages to literally millions of Chinese businesses. It's no coincidence that the company's ``expanded'' title reads America-China Business to Business.

With offices in Hudson, Palo Alto , Calif., and Beijing, the company was founded six months ago by Ben Lee, a Chinese native and former Natick resident now residing in Palo Alto.

"We saw the opportunity to help small- and medium-sized U.S. businesses explore the Chinese market,'' says Lee, in explaining why he started the company. ``And it's a good opportunity for us. We can take advantage of our connections with China."

Those connections include access to broad industrial databases covering such major industrial groups as biotechnology, environmental protection, wastewater, medical devices and optical equipment.

The posting of a sales message on the site is free. However, if a company wants the message translated and reach a wider range of businesses, the cost is either $400 or $800. The higher price provides a wider range.

In addition to posting messages, AmeriChinaB2B provides consulting services for small- and medium-sized companies interested in doing business in China.

"Many of them have a very tough time understanding what it takes to enter this market,'' says James Noonan, the company's executive vice president. ``That's why they've avoided getting into it. We're here to help them get over the hurdles and the barriers."

It's in their best interest to do so, Noonan says. "The reason they need to do it now is because the market in the United States and the world is maturing,'' he says. ``The competition is becoming even greater in these markets. (Businesses) must look for new markets and one of the best markets ... is China - the largest globally expanding market in the world."

AmeriChinaB2B functions basically as a sales lead generation tool. In one week, its platform received 2,000 visits from across the country. The firm is currently negotiating with companies in Westwood, Wisconsin and the West Coast who are interested in its consulting services, according to Noonan. The cost starts at $5,000. Meanwhile, other companies in the United States are interested in forming partnerships with AmeriChinaB2B, he says.

"As consultants, we define what businesses need to do,'' says Noonan, who has worked in the field of strategic business planning with regional and national enterprises for more than 30 years and is currently a professor of business at Fitchburg State College. ``If they need middlemen, we'll connect them with middlemen. We'll negotiate for them, if need be. We'll do credential investigation, if need be."

AmeriChinaB2B operates the first American-run, American-based Internet marketing platform to China , according to Noonan. While other companies offer consulting services to China, they don't have a Web platform, he says.

Other services include recruiting help, online and offline marketing promotion, market research, documentation, trade shows and legal assistance.

"Chinese businesses want American goods. They like the U.S. brand,'' he says. ``And it's not necessarily consumer goods. It can be medical devices and optical equipment that may be included in another product."

AmeriChinaB2B faces hurdles of its own. "Our name is not really well known yet and we're working on that now," says Helen Lee Murphy, the company's vice president who previously worked as a marketing information specialist and consultant in Boston. A China native and Hudson resident, she is Ben Lee's sister.

Another challenge is bridging the information gap between the United States and China, says Murphy. "On the U.S. side, some think of China as it was 15 years ago," she says. "They think the Chinese don't have money to buy U.S. products. That's not the way it is today. There's an emerging middle class in China and they need high-quality products.

"From China's side, they need U.S. products, but they lack a channel to the United States. There's the language barrier, for example. What we need to do is send this message out - China needs U.S. products and Chinese have money to buy these products. We also have to convince the Chinese to get online. The platform works both ways."

According to Lee, China may soon take steps to deal with its trade imbalance with the United States, where America imports much more than its exports. He noted that the goal expressed at a recent trade conference in China was to balance trade with the United States.

"They said the trade surplus was too much and encouraged more importing," says Lee, whose resume includes 10 years of experience in high-tech research and design and engineering in the Silicon Valley, Massachusetts and North Caroline. In the Bay State, he worked as an engineer at Analog Devices in Norwood.

Noonan points out that eliminating this trade imbalance would help reduce America's overall budget deficit.
That's one positive development that won't get lost in translation.

(Bob Tremblay can be reached at btremblay@cnc.com or 508-626-4409.)