Questions worth bringing to the board.
Evidence-led writing on export readiness, market selection, entry decisions, foreign-market risk and the work that follows.
Recent notes on foreign-market decisions.
The Signal Note is our newsletter and archive of short decision notes for leaders weighing market entry, market risk and international growth.
When a higher-priced backup supplier protects overseas orders
Compare buffer stock and backup suppliers by usable delivery cover, additional cost and cash needed before you commit.
When a first overseas distributor enquiry deserves a market test.
Cost the first order and distributor terms, then choose a bounded sale, learning test or country investigation from the evidence.
Canada equipment bids need a specific CPTPP advantage.
Compare CPTPP with the existing Canada route, then test goods, staff activities and local delivery before approving a direct or partner bid.
Protect the CRA reporting window from the moment of awareness.
Separate first signal, awareness and submission so the CRA reporting window stays visible while evidence and filing preparation proceed together.
US LLDPE imports need a cash exposure file while the duty is unresolved.
Build an LLDPE declaration population, test hypothetical duty rates and identify the cash action required after verified recovery timing.
Boom-lift imports need an order-level guarantee decision.
Calculate boom-lift security per order, allocate the available facility once and record the action needed for held orders.
Choose a Digital Product Passport pilot that improves the wider range.
Compare EU exposure, shared evidence dependencies and effort to choose a Digital Product Passport pilot that can benefit the wider range.
The PET safeguard investigation: calculate your margin and cash exposure
Calculate the potential PET cost left in margin and the cash required before supplier credit or customer recovery arrives.
A licence is not proof: the £6.4 million export-control lesson
HMRC's £6.4 million Airbus settlement shows why boards need a retrievable evidence chain for every controlled-technology transfer.
EU deforestation rules are a product-evidence ownership test
EUDR applies from 30 December 2026, turning product, supplier and route evidence into an ownership test for UK exporters.
EU packaging rules are a market-access evidence test
PPWR applies generally from 12 August 2026, turning packaging evidence into a market-access control question for UK exporters.
Sanctions end-use controls are a route-to-market exposure test
GOV.UK's April 2026 sanctions end-use-control guidance turns route evidence into a board-level control question for UK exporters.
Rare-earth controls are a supplier-exposure ownership test
A UK manufacturer may never buy controlled rare-earth material directly and still carry the commercial exposure.
Digital product records are turning product data into board evidence
The first useful question is who owns the proof before GB, NI and EU product-data rules split further.
UK-India CETA: the origin claim is the first margin test
Tariff preference only protects margin when the product, declaration, importer handoff and evidence file all work.
Steel risk is now a margin stack
Why downstream manufacturers should model steel quota, tariff, carbon and contract exposure together.
Mexico's nearshoring case needs an origin test
Why Mexico's nearshoring case should be tested through origin, control, distance and US-market access.
AI Act readiness is a market-access decision
How UK industrial and technology suppliers should decide where EU AI Act readiness protects revenue.
Start a conversation.
Bring us a market question the leadership team cannot yet answer. We will tell you whether it fits a defined product, what evidence it needs, and what the fixed fee would be. If it does not fit, we will say so.