The California-based Manufacturers' Agents National Association (MANA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping develop mutually profitable relationships and ethical standards of behavior among multi-line professional sales representatives, the manufacturers they represent and their joint customers. They do this, primarily through a major emphasis on education, by providing a number of resources that are very helpful to both agents and manufacturers, such as seminar programs, contract guidelines, periodicals, business counseling and many others. They also help manufacturers find agents through an on-line directory of their 4,000 member agencies or through a classified ad program in Agency Sales magazine or on their website at www.manaonline.org.

While originally an American association, it now has members from all over the globe. About 60% of their manufacturers' agent members represent at least one foreign principal. International trade is very much a part of MANA's current strategic plan.

Outsourcing the sales function to a professional sales company is an alternative to having direct salespeople on the payroll and offers a number of advantages. By representing multiple, complementary product lines that do not compete, professional sales companies can offer multiple solutions to customers' problems, thus becoming more valuable to the customer who deals with a single trusted source for many of their needs. These outsourced sales companies are paid a commission on the orders they bring in to the companies they represent and cover all their own business expenses. Although they are independent businesses, they are very much an interdependent part of the sales process.

Education is a major part of MANA's mission because working with a professional sales company is very different than working with direct sales people. Without the proper knowledge, the business relationship does not develop as expected, resulting in lost opportunity costs for both parties and an incorrect belief about the validity of the outsourced sales process. When done correctly in a 'Partners in Profits' mode, the results will far exceed expectations.

MANA's management is made up of former manufacturers' agents and manufacturing executives. Joe Miller, CEO/President is a former general manager of a Fortune 500 division and professional sales company owner, Helen Degli-Angeli, Vice-President is a Certified Professional Manufacturers' Representative (CPMR), Jay Ownby, Manager of Strategic Alliances and Jerry Leth, Manager of Membership both also owned their own professional sales companies. George Hayward of United Sales Agents, a MANA member is the volunteer Manager of International Relations.

MBITA welcomes its strategic partner Colbell International, Inc. as new member. Headquartered in the Silicon Valley, Colbell International is an US based offshore outsourcing company, with Offshore Development Centers and Labs in Asia. Colbell International was founded by a group of elite IT and networking professionals previously working in the Silicon Valley and East Coast of the United States and with Asian origin.

For Colbell, offshore outsourcing is a strategic business partnership.It is about offshore outsourcing strategy, business process improvement, good planning, quality software development, customer satisfaction and ongoing partnership.

Therefore, Colbell International is more than just an offshore outsourcing services provider. We want to help you improve your business processes and meet your critical business objectives. With our unique US-managed Global Delivery Model, strong technical expertise and domain knowledge, world-class software professional teams, and strategic alliances with industry experts, we are well positioned to exceptionally focus on our customers to meet their growth and strategic business objectives.

MBITA and TradePort will participate in the ‘Building Competitive Advantage In the Global Market - U.S.A. and Spain’ conference at Harvard University.

May 14-17, 2006

Cambridge, Boston, MA

Companies looking to expand in the American and Spanish market will have a unique opportunity to network with others companies which in turn will encourage and promote unique cross-cultural business relationships. Participants will be a step ahead of the competition. They will discover areas of difference in concepts and practices for communicating effectively in both markets and they will be enabled to outperform for their organizations through superior problem-solving, decision-making and leadership skills.

This Executive Program will provide a framework for effective conflict resolution between the American and Spanish market.