Students

What is Global Trade?

You may be thinking about interning in a global trade program, but what exactly is global trade? 

Simply put, the world’s economy is increasingly global. Studying international business will provide you with the ability to navigate the global marketplace with an understanding of doing business in other countries and knowledge of the global economy. 

Learning some key skills will set you up for success whether you’re working for a business or starting your own.

Global marketing is managing global sales and researching the international market a business wants to target. This includes looking for trends, a solid customer base, and any competition surrounding the company’s product or service. 

Global marketing is, in its simplest form, the management of sales on a global scale and the research that goes into the marketing strategies being used. This process is what has helped even the smallest businesses sell their products on a global scale when only a few
generations ago the idea of easy international selling was a dream.

The development of a global marketing plan includes conducting market research to identify potential markets, along with the associated marketing opportunities and threats.Marketing specialists also consider any environmental factors that may inhibit a seamless sale, so both the company and its customers benefit in the long run. 

Marketing specialists manage and evaluate key indicators so prices and products can be adjusted according to competition and economic changes within the foreign market, making the business as profitable as possible.

Global ecommerce involves finding cost-effective ways to market a brand into a foreign market and selecting payment options that are convenient for customers and safe for the business. Knowledge of trade financing will help ensure that transactions run smoothly and often include the involvement of a third party in the transaction process.

Global ecommerce is the online sales and marketing of goods to consumers in non-native markets. This business strategy has become widely popular in the past few years and has the potential to be an amazing opportunity to grow a company.

Developing a marketing and product distribution strategy is critical in order to enter international markets. Businesses need to identify which products will be viable in the global markets they are targeting and how they will market their brand. A business must also know the laws and regulations involved in shipping internationally. Setting shipping fees, return policies, and evaluating fulfillment companies and carriers are all important aspects of the planning process.

Businesses also need to understand the payment options their customers prefer and how to minimize payment risk. Taking the time to identify points of friction, learn how to manage multiple currencies and evaluate setup options for global order processing will contribute to a company’s success in the global marketplace.

Managing the supply chain involves connecting the business, suppliers, distributors and final buyers. It is the process that enables goods and services to get from their source to the consumer. Knowledge of global business management is also critical to success in the global marketplace. This involves understanding cultural and ethical issues that come up when doing business with suppliers and customers around the world. 

The process of planning, implementing, and controlling procedures for the efficient and effective transportation and storage of goods, from the point of product manufacturing to the point of customer purchase.

Simply put, logistics is the process that enables goods and services to get from its source to the consumer. Every business – from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies – need logistics to operate smoothly.

Take, for example, the scenario of a teenager who wants to start a babysitting service. Think about everything that is involved in operating that business. He or she will need to get the necessary training and certification, market the business, which may involve buying business cards, and then manage transportation to and from babysitting gigs. Combined, this is the babysitter’s supply chain – the system that moves services from a supplier (the babysitter) to the customer (parents of children) – and logistics ensures that system moves forward efficiently.

Global Trade Career Guide

global trade career guide
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Jobs & Internships

Search SBCC Career Center internship information below to learn more about time-sensitive opportunities in your area.

Extracurricular Activities

Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge

Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge is a virtual exchange initiative that supports workforce development in the U.S., Iraq, and Jordan.

Community college students from the U.S. and university students from Iraq and Jordan team up to solve global challenges facing the business sector across industries. The program improves global citizenship, strengthens problem-solving skills, and develops enduring connections, while enhancing students’ job skills through online collaboration.

Student Success Stories & Testimonials

Oxnard College Student Finds Success in Global Trade

Raul Figueroa is pursuing a degree in business management at Oxnard College while working full-time as a Logistics Manager for Mission Produce, a position that allows him to travel the world. It’s a lot to balance, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Figueroa’s career with Mission Produce started when he took a position as a forklift driver after graduating from high school. He quickly progressed through the organization because of his proficiency with technology.

LBCC Interns Help MagnetPal Increase Online Visibility

A group of students from the California International Trade Center at Long Beach City College helped a Southern California business expand its digital marketing efforts using social media. This win-win partnership allowed the students to learn real-world skills while helping the business expand its online footprint and create engaging content to reach a new audience.

What VIP Interns are Saying

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Danielle Jackson

Santa Barbara City College
Danielle Jackson was part of a team that designed a marketing plan for Tenikle, a company that makes nautically-themed phone holders. She and her teammates drew on their own experience to help the small team expand the scope of its social media audience and content strategy.

“Virtual is the way to go in the future. It brings people such flexibility when it comes to jobs. I could pick when I wanted to work on my projects, which gave me the room to study and perform my internship in the best way possible. I would highly recommend the VIP program not only because having an internship is a great way to explore a field of work but also because it has been a wonderful opportunity to learn more about global trade.​”

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Troy White

Moorpark College
Troy White’s VIP experience required him to make lemonade out of lemons as he worked on new social media marketing strategies for Limoneira, a citrus wholesaler in Ventura County. The company is looking to expand its direct-to-consumer business and the interns helped identify target markets and strategies for reaching those audiences.

“A lot of different cultures use lemons for different reasons, so we tried to tailor our posts to that to reach different audiences and get their brand out there. They have wellness benefits and you can use them in recipes … we just tried to think of everything you could do with a lemon and how people could attach themselves to the lifestyle of consuming lemons.”

The Global Virtual Internship Program

Helping Connect Community College Students to the Global Workforce.

The Global Virtual Internship Program (VIP) is a completely virtual instruction that provides students with supervised experience in conducting client-orientated research and business strategy execution. During the internship, students will work collectively to scope the problem and identify gaps for their client, analyze consumer trends and behaviors, and develop ideas to address the client’s needs. Students will produce interim reports throughout the internship to track progress and receive instructor feedback to develop their skill set throughout the program.

Learning Objectives: This internship requires students to apply technical skills they have acquired in class to analyze consumer trends, evaluate assigned client’s objectives and needs to develop strategic research and ideas for their client. The specific objectives ar

Our colleges are perfectly suited to connect talented students to businesses in need. Our Global Virtual Internship Program program brings companies a team of virtual interns. Qualified students work in groups under the direction of our eCommerce expert, working on customized solutions to business problems, at low costs with high results.

global trade program

Core Activities

Within their internships, students will gain industry experience through …

Implementing culturally appropriate Social Media Marketing campaigns to drive brand awareness globally.
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Social Media Marketing

Analyzing global consumer trends in a target overseas market to guide Marketing campaign and address gaps.
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Global Marketing Analysis

Using proven advertising strategies to target consumers globally and increase visibility and reach.
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Global Advertising

Leveraging Analytics to make informed strategic decisions in an ever changing global marketplace.
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Data Analysis

Digital Badges

As part of the VIP application process, students earn digital badges in a variety of topics. Students work at their own pace to complete the badges as part of the VIP application. All digital badges include online videos with accompanying quizzes, allowing students to work independently or as part of a classroom assignment. The badges provide industry-recognized knowledge and employable skills attainment.
A resume is asked for by employers, schools, and other organizations throughout your entire career. In this badge, we will show you how to quickly build a professional resume using Google docs templates.

Google: Start Your Resume

Managing data is critical to the operation of companies in nearly all industries, and spreadsheets are a universally accepted tool to quickly organize data for a variety of uses.

Google Sheets

We want you to be successful and show your level of excellence and commitment to your future professor, boss, and co-workers. We will review these skills and more.

Work and Internship Success

Supply Chain Management Software provides a hub for sourcing products for a number of companies across a variety of industries ranging from hospitality, technology, financial services and many more.

Supply Chain Software

Digital Marketing is the primary focus of this internship and this badge will help you gain the necessary framework needed to be successful in our program. Learn about key digital marketing concepts and test your knowledge with questions developed by industry leading experts.

Digital Strategy

Are you an active community college student?

Apply today for the vip internship program