Proposal Title: Australian Distillers Exporting Whiskey into the USA Market.
Research Problem
The manufacturing and distilling of whiskey in Australia is a relatively new industry, even though the technology and processes have been available for many years (Australian Whiskies 2012). Currently the majority of Australian whiskey distillers export the majority of their manufactured products overseas to the overseas market including Europe and North America however, the amount of whiskey exported is only a small amount of global whiskey market and in comparison to the large multinationals companies (Australian Whiskies 2012). What has lead to the current market success of Australian whiskey distillers in the global markets has been to the high quality nature of the whiskeys that has been globally recognised winning prestigious awards in the industry (Australian Whiskey Guide 2012).
Liquor is a highly regulated industry across all developed economies, this is an especially the case when exporting to United States of America (USA) as the legislation require Australian distillers to take on a different approach as the regulations in the USA provide further restrictions than then what Australian distillers are use to in European and Australian markets (Customs United States of America 2009). To add further complexity to exporting into the USA market, not only do distributors of alcoholic beverages need to register and comply of federal regulations they are subjected to additional restrictions and regulations imposed from each USA state (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 2012). The key problem Australian distilleries face with entering the USA market is not only overcoming the legislative requirements with success, how are Australian distillers able to take advantage of their competitive advantage and economies of scale and scope to be successful in this market while satisfying demand effectively while maintain the brand image (Australian Whiskies 2012).
Research Objective and Question
The main objective of the research report is to better understand the specific issues, in terms of legislative requirements, Australian distillers face in entering the USA market. Therefore it will be necessary to identify specifically what has been successful for current exporters into the USA market and what have been some key challenges. In addition the global industry has specific characteristics, such as brand image, tastes, quality etc, that is required to maintained and differ in each country however while entering into the overseas market how are Australian distillers able to localise their products yet maintain these industry standards while complying to the USA regulation (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 2012).
Furthermore it is important to identify what has made other overseas distillers successful in entering the USA market and breach the gap for the Australian distillers’ have to be even more successful and obtain greater market share by further expanding their operations within the USA market and develop from a global multinational organisation into a transnational organisation (Bartlett, Ghoshal, & Beamish 2011). Other aspects and challenges that will be looked at is the operational functions of Australian distillers such as the supply chain and distribution (Boyer & Verma 2011) and marketing their products (Fletcher & Brown 2008) all with the legislative requirements imposed by the USA federal and state government. Therefore academic literature of global strategies will be addressed and analysed to identify what steps and strategies can be undertaken to address these key issues in terms for Australian distillers to truly globalising their products, taking into account industry requirements into the USA market.
Refer to Appendix 1: Problem Mapping for the outline of the problem and how the objective and question follow from concept to addressing the solutions.
Key Literature
As the Australian whiskey industry is a relatively new industry there is little or no academic literature specific to the industry in Australia. However the Australian wine industry has many characteristics that are similar to the whiskey industry, this is especially the case when is come to the exportation to of alcoholic beverages to the USA market (Fletcher & Brown 2008). Therefore direct research and information will be gathered from the USA federal and state governments on the regulations that govern the alcohol industry and impose these restrictions. Research into Australian and overseas whiskey distillers will be required to identify what has been successful and the current gap Australian distillers’ face. Additional research into the Australian winery industry will be gathered to draw on the similarity in the Australian operational approach in distributing alcoholic products to the USA (Customs United States of America 2009).
According to Bartlett (2011), it is essential to identify what has been specifically identified as best business practices both within the USA markets and globally for global companies to become a truly transnational organisation that transcends older structures of global organisations maximising the efficiencies, capabilities and competitive advantage. Furthermore the literature of Peng (2009) and Boyer (2011) to maximise the efficiencies in practice certain strategies will need to be in place which is subjective to industry and country specific needs.
Methodology
The study will focus its use on both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include interviews with Australian distillers that have been successful in exporting their whiskeys into the USA market. These include Bill Lark from Lark Distillers, Stewart Ferguson from Hellyers Road and Doug Van Tiernan the founder of the Australian Whiskey Association and introducing Whiskey Live to Australia. Further primary research will be conducted, with the assistance with Bill Lark, from the USA based alcoholic beverages distributors to obtain specific issues in the market.
Secondary sources include USA government department information, company research and documentation, journals articles, publications, case studies and industry reports. The main sources of secondary research will be obtained for the government departs such as the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the USA Customs department. Academic theories regarding international business operation will be uses in conjunction with the secondary sources to provide a strategic approach for the Australian distillers when entering and expending into the global market focusing on the USA.
Research Timeline
The research report has a deadline of on the 9th of November 2012, which is set out by the subject coordinator. Within this timeframe it is expected that all relevant research be conducted and the research report be completed in a clear and concise manner. There are fifteen weeks in which to complete the research project. Appendix 2: Timeline Schedule – Going Forward has a detailed outline of the steps that will be undertaken to complete the report however a more detailed explanation will be provided. It is important to make clear that a four week period has already past whereby the proposal was developed to illustrate the overall topic of the report this process involved identifying the research topic through discussion with industry leaders in Australia and academic research.
The following eleven weeks is the primary focus of the developing the report whereby in weeks five through to eight there will be an emphasis on data collection and refining the problems and solutions of the Australian distillers entering the USA market and looking at the legal aspect and the effects it has on the industry. This time period it will be crucial to segment the information into appropriate segments so the information in the report is well structured and does not need to be repeated.
In weeks nine to thirteen will consist of expending the segments and obtaining specific problem areas and addressing them with supported by research. Furthermore develop business strategies through to overcome these issues by looking at industry case studies and example, and enhance them through academic research and the learning obtained through throughout the International Business major.
Weeks fourteen and fifteen will focus of finalising the report and obtain recommendations from the lecture/tutor, peers and professionals in the field to make certain the information within the report in accurate, concise and at and above the standard that is required for the final research report. After which the research report will be complete and submitted for marking.

References
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (2012), International Trade: Importing Beverages Alcohol Products into the United States, viewed 13th August 2012, http://www.ttb.gov/itd/impreq.shtml
Australian Whiskies (2012), Australian Whisky Distilleries, viewed 12th August 2012, http://www.australianwhiskies.com/whisky-distilleries.html
Australian Whiskey Guide (2012), A Guide to Australian Whisky, viewed 12 August 2012, http://www.nicks.com.au/admin/upload/file/file_200910317372525527.pdf
Bartlett, C., Ghoshal, S., & Beamish, P. (2011), Transnational Management, 6th Edition. McGraw -Hill Irwin.
Boyer, K., & Verma R. (2011), Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century, 1st Edition. Cengage Learning.
Customs United States of America (2009), Alcohol Import links and Shipping Wine Collections, viewed 12th August 2012, http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/opm/state.htm
Fletcher & Brown (2008), International Marketing – An Asia-Pacific Perspective, 4th edition
Peng, M.W. (2009). Global Strategy. Thomson/South-Western South Western.

Appendix 1: Problem Mapping: Australian Distillers Exporting Whiskey into the USA Market. Problem | Research Purpose | Research Questions | Data Required | Data Collection | The whiskey industry’s in developed economies are highly regulated and create complexities in many areas of the supply chain from marketing to distribution. This is especially the case with Australian distillers entering the USA market as the legal requirements are not only different but can change within each USA State. | Explore and identify steps Australian distillers have taken to enter in the USA market and the success and issues that they have confronted.Explore and identify industry characteristics that make overseas distillers successful in disturbing their whiskey’s USA Market | What specific issues do Australian distillers currently face with exporting their branded whiskey into the USA Market? | Understanding the current issues within the industry. | Primary research:Interviews conducted with Australian distillers who are operating in the USA.Secondary research: Case studies and academic literature. | | | | Identifying the gaps in the knowledge and practice with Australian distillers. | | | | What steps and lessons can be learnt from local (USA) and/or overseas whiskey distillers or other industries that face similar issues, namely the wine industry. | Understand what has made overseas distillers successful in disturbing their whiskeys to the USA. | Secondary research:Case studies, academic literature, industry reports and USA government legislative information regarding the liquor industry. | | | | Identify strategies within academic literature that Australian distillers should consider going forward. | |

Appendix 2: Timeline Schedule – Going Forward: Australian Distillers Exporting Whiskey into the USA Market. DateWeek ending | Week 530th August 2012 | Week 66th September 2012 | Week 713th September 2012 | Week 820th September 2012 | Task to be Completed | Refine research topic from feedback from the proposal. | Scope the project through academic research and confirm issues with Australian distillers. Start detailed analyses and interpretation of the issues. | Scope the project through academic research and confirm issues with Australian distillers. Further analyse and interpretation of the issues. | Structure the report illustrating key points and issues within each part. Conduct further academic research to support arguments |

DateWeek ending | Week 927th September 2012 | Week 104th October 2012 | Week 1111th October 2012 | Week 1218th October 2012 | Task to be Completed | Expand segments of the report providing more scope and details of the issues and solutions. Conduct research where required. | Expand segments of the report providing more scope and details of the issues and solutions. Conduct research where required. | Expand segments of the report providing more scope and details of the issues and solutions. Conduct research where required. | Expand segments of the report providing more scope and details of the issues and solutions. Conduct research where required. |

DateWeek ending | Week 1325th October 2012 | Week 141st November 2012 | Week 159th November 2012 | Task to be Completed | Expand segments of the report providing more scope and details of the issues and solutions. Conduct research where required. | Begin finalising the report; obtain recommendations from lecture/tutor on final structure, missing information, referencing and overall report. | Finalise the report and prepare the report for final submission on or before the due date. |