It’s great to have customers all around the world. But as companies expand internationally, they often run into economic policies, political instability and/or regulatory issues in countries that function by different rules than their own. Even something as routine as getting paid can become unexpectedly complex. What happens then?
South America is one of the largest growing agricultural markets globally thanks to its large expanses of land, resources and qualified workers. Expanding into South America was a natural fit for Agronomix since our software is optimized for Spanish and we have great customer service in that language. We have spent a lot of time and effort providing South American companies with software to help ensure the success of their plant breeding programs, but we sometimes face uncertainty when it comes time to retrieve payment.
These issues rarely stem from the companies themselves. They are the result of a complex situation and reflect the broader economic or political landscape—and they demand flexibility, patience, and creative solutions. For example, Argentina requires companies to obtain authorization before converting Argentinian pesos to American or Canadian dollars. That can take more than a month, and rampant inflation — which the current president is trying to fix — doesn’t help matters.
These kinds of challenges aren’t unique to any one country. For businesses with a global footprint, navigating payment logistics is just one part of working across borders. The economic and political realities in Latin America countries can be complicated and you often find yourself caught between your client’s reality and the quality of the information you are able to access. Is your client being hamstrung by a regulation you’re not aware of? Is your information about doing business in their country valid?
As a company, we had to ask ourselves, are all these complications worth it?
Recently, I have been asking companies in Mexico, Argentina and the United States how they handle these kinds of issues, and I’ve been impressed by how many people are willing to share the approaches that have worked for them. As a result, we are on a much better track now.
One thing that’s been made clear to me through all of this is that foreign companies need to show flexibility with their Latin America clients, reevaluating the normal rules of business on a country-by-country and company-by-company basis for the benefit of all.
