How I think about trade data in real strategy work
- Delanie West, MBA
- Jan 29
- 1 min read
I used Panjiva whenever I was pitching into a new planogram, studying a competitor’s new product launch, or sourcing a specific supply-chain partner. It allowed me to validate assumptions with real shipment data, not guesses.
When I needed to understand how a competitor was actually operating, not how they marketed themselves, I used Panjiva. It gave me visibility into suppliers, volumes, sourcing patterns, and operational scale, the kind of insight that directly informs product development, pricing, and go-to-market decisions.
I did not use it in isolation.
For early-stage research, market framing, and hypothesis testing, I also regularly leaned on free, public trade datasets, including:
UN Comtrade
World Integrated Trade Solution
WTO Data Portal
International Trade Centre (Trade Map)
Eurostat
USITC DataWeb
Those sources helped me pressure-test assumptions before moving into deeper, company-level intelligence. Good research is not about having every tool. It is about knowing which signal you need, when.
Stay ahead of the curve in the supply chain industry with Panjiva's monthly Supply Chain Essentials newsletter
Comments