The Office of Domestic Operations - what makes us unique? - branch of Department of Commerce

The Office of Domestic Operations (ODO) has close to 300 international trade professionals in over 80 Export Assistance Centers nationwide. ODO has the look and feel of a private-sector, performance-based organization, but we are part of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Commercial Service-a federal government organization. Our domestic network takes the best of both the private and public sector worlds to transform federal export assistance into responsive, client-focused programs for U.S. businesses. A corps of dedicated public servants, with a focus on results for U.S. exporters, has proven to be a winning combination. International trade professionals make a difference in the economic prosperity of the nation through increased exports. Through one-on-one counseling with small- and medium-sized exporters in every state, trade professionals help firms begin exporting, enter new markets and increase their presence in markets where they are active. Success stories, examples of which are recounted throughout this issue of Business America, repeat themselves hundreds of times a year across the country in the Commercial Service's domestic field.

Last year, we implemented several National Export Strategy recommendations. These major programmatic accomplishments focused our efforts on better serving our clients -- the U.S. exporter. They included:

* Opening client-focused Export Assistance Centers across the country;

* Expanding public and private sector partnerships to leverage resources, with an eye towards doing more with less;

* Improving service delivery through technology; and

* Focusing on Big Emerging Markets and Key Industry Sectors.

These priorities continue as key components of our strategy and vision for the future. Our long-term goals include better service to small- and medium-sized exporters with an emphasis on performance and quality. Whether in making the EACs a shining example of public service, or in developing partnerships that work, we strive for results that expand the bottom line for our client -- the U.S. exporter.

As you peruse the anecdotes depicting the work of our trade professionals, ask yourself, are these typical exchanges between the federal government and the U.S. business community? We think that you will be pleasantly surprised at how the Commercial Service's domestic field network is replete with knowledgeable, motivated professionals who have a "can-do" attitude and can help you meet your international sales goals. Consider our staff an extension of yours-export marketing and trade finance specialists to supplement your own company expertise.

THE BOTTOM LINE . .

The real test of our success is the impact we have on our clients' businesses. Barnaby Zelman, the International Sales Director of Penta Laboratories, Inc. in Chatsworth, Calif., says, "We would not have been able to exist without the assistance from the [Commercial Service's] Los Angeles Office. Now, 50 percent of our total sales are for export."

How do we measure the success of our programs in the domestic field? We assess the results of our value-added counseling by looking at the bottom line -- the number of export sales generated, which we call export actions. Focusing on export actions helps us concentrate our resources on the clients that benefit most from our services. I am proud to announce a 40 percent growth in export actions from 1994 to 1995. We project an additional 30 percent growth in export actions this year.

Last year, the Small Business Administration processed 215 Export Working Capital Program loan guarantees through the EAC network, with $77 million in total value of loan-supported guarantees. This translated into approximately $231 million in export sales. The U.S. Export-Import Bank authorized guarantees valued at $752.7 million through the EACs in which it has personnel, which supported $994.7 million in export sales. Domestic Operations documented a 92 percent client satisfaction rate in 1995 resulting from the convenience of joint partner visits, successful referrals among partners, and increases in Ex-Im Bank and SBA lending.

Over the past two years, ODO has proven that it can do more with less. The remarkable results that the domestic field achieved from 1994 to the present were accomplished with almost 30 percent fewer trade professionals. In the first quarter of fiscal year 1996, the domestic field registered 1,460 export actions despite the six-week government shutdown! In the first quarter of 1996, clients who disclosed the value of their export actions registered over $ 150 million in sales. In the second quarter, our Mid-Western region alone recorded about $160 million in export action sales. Clearly, these number underestimate the true aggregate value of export actions that the domestic field facilitated.

RECOGNIZING ACCOMPLISHMENTS. . .

We continue to honor and recognize our outstanding exporters with presentation of the President's "E" Award. Presentation ceremonies for 32 "E" Awards were arranged throughout the country last year with the late Secretary Ron Brown, Senators, Representatives, U.S. Trade Representative (and now Commerce Secretary) Mickey Kantor, and high-ranking Executive Branch officials, among others.

Domestic Operations has received the Vice-President's Hammer Award. We were further honored as the 1995 national winner of the Public Service Excellence Award, in the intergovernmental category, for the creation, implementation and success of the Export Assistance Centers. Sponsored by the Public Employees Roundtable, the largest public employees organization in the nation, and the President's Council on Management Improvement, the award recognizes innovation and excellence in the public service.

Recently, the domestic field played a major role in the Team Initiative, for which the Commercial Service won the Commerce Department's 1995 Silver Medal Award.

In addition, this spring, ODO achieved finalist status in the "1996 Innovations in American Government Award," an awards program of the Ford Foundation and Harvard University. ODO was one of 25 finalists, selected out of 1,560 public and private-sector candidates, and will receive a $20,000 prize this fall. Among the 25 finalists, 10 to 15 will be awarded $100,000.

George Herrera, Director, International Sales for Taylor, Mich.'s Masco Corporation, agrees, saying, "Most medium-and small-sized American companies would find it difficult to do business in foreign countries without the help of the U.S. Department of Commerce. I've been in international business for 30 years. Overall, I'd give the U.S. Department of Commerce an A-, and I'm a tough critic."

COPYRIGHT 1996 U.S. Government Printing Office
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