If you're like many manufacturing and distribution executives, you recognize that exporting can play a compelling role in an organization's business strategy. There's a broad consensus among CEOs that exporting is a good idea and there's a fair amount of evidence that a successful export program enhances an organization's economic growth and sustainability.

Three factors hold great potential for American firms wishing to profit from the flow of hundreds of millions of Chinese investment dollars entering the American private sector annually through the Employment Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) Visa Program, also known as the Immigrant Investor Program. These factors include expertise in investment risk analysis, ROI calculation, and a willingness to operate inside China.

In our hyper-competitive world of international business, building, managing and sustaining a global supply chain is necessary. It also can be challenging and costly. Issues regularly affecting a supply chain must be addressed in innovative ways. The bottom line: companies can optimize their supply chains by properly controlling costs, updating infrastructure, pursuing cross-functional alignment, implementing green practices, and offering more intense employee training.

Combined, American exports of goods ($1.56 trillion) and services ($630 billion) reached nearly $2.2 trillion in 2012. This represents an increase of almost $93 billion or 4.4 percent over 2011. From 2011 through 2012, 35 states achieved merchandise export growth, 29 hit new records, and 20 of those states experienced growth of at least 5 percent or more, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.