1. When you travel to a foreign country, it is wise to hire a guide if you don’t know the ins and outs of the place.
2. American businesses often hire host country nationals to help them do business in foreign countries because the host country nationals know the ins and outs of doing business with their own countrymen.

Compare to: know the ropes. Know the ropes is more frequently used to describe knowing the procedures to follow in a situation (knowing how to do something), whereas know the ins and outs more often describes the complex and hidden details of a situation.