LETTER TO ALL IUCAB ASSOCIATIONS

by IUCAB-President Mr. Wolfgang Hinderer:

Dear colleagues,

First, the good news. In historic terms, we are living in the best of all time and the best of all worlds. In addition, the Europeans are doing better than anyone else is. They are the ones who learned the most thoroughly from their bloody history and the atrocities they committed against one another. The USA, influenced predominantly by the heritage of European education, culture, and religion, has let itself be pushed into the role of International Police Corps and is surprised that Asia and Africa think in different dimensions, although the American way of life promises progress and prosperity in terms of politics and the economy.

In many Asian and African countries the European and American gunboat diplomacy of the 19th and 20th centuries is still too fresh in people's minds to allow anyone to hope that those parts of the world might view us without distrust. However, the picture has changed. The old powers of China and India, who were still suffering from the interference of the West fewer than 100 years ago, are currently on their way to becoming world powers. And we need these countries more and more for our industry and trade. However, the west is more than corruptible. We criticise the measureless brand counterfeiting of the Chinese and India and, when we travel, we buy the fake Rolexes and...

A European President recently visited the Arab countries including Iran like a salesman with atomic weapons under his arm. Presidents of other Western countries visit crisis areas carrying all kinds of weapons in their shopping trolleys. Instead of seeking short-lived benefits and contracts, the West should define the shift of economic power and consider how the new giants should be dealt with. The West must be credible and dependable. Only if there is trust can there be partnership. The economic development in the undeveloped countries will decrease the worldwide crisis potential and the influence of extremists. For us in the west this is more important than all our irritation about 'fake‘', new competitors or unfair competition.

Of course, it is bitter to have to say goodbye, over the course of the current decade, to the role of international economic power. Of course it is bitter to see that from now on the financial world will no longer be controlled by Wall Street only, because raw material-rich countries on the one hand and the highly populated countries such as China and India on the other are accumulating immeasurable currency reserves that permit them to do their shopping at the leading banks of the western world. Indeed, by way of their leaky financing policies these banks are making things easy for the new capital.

In this powerful concert of international trade and the extensive development, we agents or sales representatives are but a tiny wheel. However, nonetheless, some 450,000 companies in Europe and the USA earn their living as independent and autonomous sellers of goods and services and fulfil a significant function in terms of the national and international exchange of products. Admittedly, the number of these companies is decreasing. As is the case in every industry, the conditions and demands are changing. But this has always been so. The agent at the beginning of the 20th century had different problems and recipes for success than the agent of the 50's or 80s. Of course, globalisation and the speed of communication have changed conditions and possibilities quicker than lightning. Today we must ask ourselves the question of whether we are still needed. If so, for what?

The IUCAB must address this existential task. A Vision Group has been established that at present is occupied mainly with the question of whether there is room in the IUCAB for agencies and traders. What about the brokers who are part of the name of IUCAB? In many countries, the term 'brokers' refers only to traders on the Exchange.

There are organisations to which this question appears irrelevant. This is certainly also based on the fact that national groups are organised in different ways and accept members on various grounds. I believe that the most important task of the IUCAB, and if you wish the vision of the study group, is defining the reasons based on which agents and sales representatives are important and necessary partners in terms of the economy. This also includes continued education and qualification. Progress in this area is thus far insufficient. The national groups - all heading the MANA enterprise - exert themselves tremendously in order to offer their members quality continued training. Nevertheless, the resonance is relatively minimal. The excellent programme of the CPMR in Phoenix, Arizona in the USA attracts somewhat over 100 participants each year, this in the gigantic catchment area of the USA and Canada, where it is possible that over 50,000 sales representatives work. The motivation of agents to participate in continued training is one of the most important tasks of the IUCAB.

The organisations of the IUCAB have managed to obtain the loyalty of excellent legal experts who successfully champion the legal interests of the individual members. In the future, the IUCAB will emphatically impose its influence with expertise and tenacity upon the legislative bodies.

At our delegates’ meeting of 2008 in Berlin, to which we invite you at this time on behalf of the organising CDH, we will jointly choose a new president. This is indeed an important position, but the president need only influence the direction and the basic principles of group policy. The work and the success lies in the hands of all functionaries that are prepared to contribute their time and knowledge to our common goal.

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