There are many vendors claiming to enhance supply chain visibility, but not all products will advance an organization’s goals. This expert e-book from TechTarget & Management Dynamics defines the supply chain visibility challenge and provides an overview of the different types SCM technologies and solutions available.
Gain a full overview of the many kinds of SCM technology available today
Solve the supply chain visibility challenge
Justify and make the case for SCM technology investments
Understand how compliance is driving the need for greater supply chain visibility
Download our complimentary eBook today, and gain a better foundation for managing your supply chain and improving visibility with suppliers as well as within your organization.
The Wall Street Journal has a great article about the green sustainable global supply chain - specifically within the apparel industry – describing a new tool for consumers to determine how green their products are.
“How Green Is My Sneaker” describes a new software tool, developed by 100 retailers and apparel manufacturers, can determine the “Eco-Index” of their products. The tool calculates the score from a series of questions answered by the company and its suppliers:
The Eco Index, which is basically a software tool any apparel maker can use, poses a series of questions to companies on their environmental and labor practices—some of which require answers from the companies’ suppliers. It then assigns a score representing a percentage of a perfect score.
The questions cover every step in the life of a product, from raw-material production to manufacturing, shipping, and even disposal. For instance, Levi’s gets points for having a recycling program that lets consumers drop off their old jeans at Goodwill, and Timberland earns points for using leather tanneries that have wastewater-purifying systems. Points are lost for using bulky packing material or transporting goods long distances. The Eco Index also includes estimates of how consumers will wash and eventually dispose of their clothes.
Image Courtesy Wall Street Journal, Levi's. Click to view interactive version.
The tool and scoring have been in development for over three years, but roll out to the public is not expected in the immediate future – even though retailers are announcing the Eco-Index at next month’s Outdoor Retailer trade show.
Levi’s vice president of social and environmental sustainability, Michael Kobori, says the tool will be available “as soon as we can get everybody to agree” on how to publish and communicate it.
Nike is one of the sportswear and apparel makers using the Eco Index to measure its products’ environmental impact. This sounds about as easy as herding cats, given the numerous brands involved. It’s one thing, many companies say, to use the data internally, but quite another to trumpet it to the world. They want to be sure everyone communicates the data in the same way. For instance, they don’t agree on whether the index should be communicated as a single number on a hang tag or in a more detailed manner that might involve directing customers to data on the Web.
Personally, I found the interactive graphic to be a great addition to the article. It shows how 1 pair of Levi’s jeans travels throughout the US and Caribbean – and even after purchase, how that one product continues to affect the environment.For example, the majority of CO2 emissions over the life-cycle of a pair of jeans come from the consumer’s washing machine & dryer. Switching to cold water and line-drying cuts the CO2 emissions to a fraction compared to washing with hot water washing and machine-drying.
Levi’s also looks to be making a lot of progress in sustainability based on their research into the greenness of their products:
As part of its participation in the Eco Index, Levi’s did a separate internal study of its own practices. As a result, Levi’s changed its transportation routes last year to make them more efficient and reduced carbon emissions by 700 metric tons. In addition to the Goodwill agreement, Levi’s also cut back on packaging, allowing only three pieces of labeling with the jeans—a back-pocket tag, a size sticker, and a price tag.
In my opinion, sustainability and trade compliance are linked policies. Companies must have a plan in place for both- or else pay fines, waste money, lose time, and give up competitiveness in the marketplace.
Have you signed up for Management Dynamics’ FREE weekly GTM Newsletter yet?
As an industry professional, you know that factors influencing transportation costs are constantly changing. Accessorial charges may fluctuate based on the economic climate; carriers may change their service schedules; and as we all know, environmental conditions such as ash clouds or oil spills may affect carrier routes and stall your supply chain.
The GTM Newsletter summarizes changes such as these on a weekly basis, featuring the latest trade content and industry sources from over 120 countries, including:
Weekly News Headlines on Global Trade
Contract Accessorials
Carrier Service Schedules
Government Regulations including Tariffs, Duties, and Taxes
It’s been six months since the Importer Security Filing (aka Customs 10+2) regulations took effect, but some companies are still struggling to achieve 100% timely and accurate filings as required by these new regulations.
With fines of $5,000 per infraction and broker fees averaging $30 per filling, importers are very aware of the expenses associated with complying with the program, but struggling to understand where their responsibilities lay, and how to best comply while staying inside their budget.
Check out this new eBook by Management Dynamics, and learn twelve vital facts about the ISF regulations including answers to frequently asked questions such as:
What are the basic elements of an ISF filing?
What are the penalties of non-compliance and for unintentional errors?
How does my company minimize the costs and risks of compliance?
What resources are available for more information on ISF?
AMR Research has released their annual Supply Chain Top 25 list, and several of Management Dynamics’ customers appear near the top. The companies on this list all exemplify what AMR refers to as “demand-driven excellence.” In other words, their supply, demand, and product management processes are able to work together so that the business may respond quickly to opportunities arising from market or customer demand. Congratulations to all!
In today’s business environment, one of the trends we’ve been seeing lately is an increase in mergers and acquisitions. If you’ve experienced this at your organization, then you already know that when two companies combine, major changes are in store as new business practices are integrated, some existing practices are dropped, and the supply chain is no exception. Tompkins Associates has released a new white paper, Integrating Supply Chains from Business Combinations: Principles and Best Practices of Mergers and Acquisitions, that discusses challenges and best practices for supply chain teams faced with M&A activity.
The white paper discusses the importance of having supply chain strategy on the primary integration agenda, as it can be a fundamental value driver for a company. Additionally, when companies combine, the supply chain itself will have to adapt to potentially different suppliers, operating procedures, warehouse locations, etc.
The authors make several key points about how to overcome supply chain challenges when dealing with a merger:
The imperatives for true and lasting success with supply chain integrations are few; yet their achievement is challenging. The real keys to success in integrating supply chains in M&A are:
Assign strong and experienced team leaders;
Focus on enabling the business and operations strategies;
Decide on the new organization and processes with the right criteria;
Apply sound principles and best practices to all the work; and
Establish a performance-based culture and a self-assessing DNA.
Management Dynamics will be exhibiting at ICPA’s First Annual European Conference, in Amsterdam June 13 – 15. If you have not registered yet, it’s not too late. (We’d love to see you there!)
Conference sessions will include:
Compliance Implications of Simplified EU Law
Confronted with an Audit: The Do’s and Don’ts
Customs Classification –The Latest Developments in EU Law
The Impact of the AEO Legislation: Lessons Learned from the Pilot Project & Implementations in Other Member States
Compliance with EU Sanctions
Export Control Fundamentals for Compliance Managers
Introduction to Customs Valuation and Transfer Pricing
VAT Implications of Transfer Pricing & Customs Adjustments
Centralized Clearing
Rules of Origin
IT Challenges in Effective Export Control Compliance
Conducting Effective Internal Audits: Best Practices
Alliance will Integrate and Expand the Use of Foreign Trade Zones in Global Trade Management
Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with FTZ Corporation, a leading provider of Foreign-Trade Zone consulting services and developer of the SmartZone Premier application. The partnership seeks to expand the use of foreign-trade zones integrated with core Global Trade Management (GTM) processes of import, export and trade agreement management.
Foreign-Trade Zones have been in use for nearly seventy six years with the passage of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act of 1934 to expedite and encourage foreign commerce. Foreign-Trade Zones are now a key component of U.S. trade policy and offer companies several opportunities to reduce costs with:
Exemption of duty payment upon re-export of goods
Relief from inverted tariffs where raw materials with high duty rates can be transformed to an end product with a low duty rate
Use of consolidated weekly entries to reduce merchandise processing fees (MPFs)
Deferral of duty on any inventory stored within an FTZ
For many companies these benefits can justify the investment in a Foreign-Trade Zone in the first year of operation.
“Foreign-trade zones are becoming an integral part of a company’s GTM strategy and their use is expanding given the strong value proposition and fast pay back,” said Craig Pool, President, FTZ Corporation. “Our customers are looking to integrate foreign-trade zones across their GTM processes and we look forward to working with Management Dynamics to deliver this solution.”
FTZ Corporation has extensive experience, having implemented over two hundred and fifty Foreign-Trade Zone projects. The company is also active in Washington D.C. with involvement in recent industry advancements including the passage of Weekly Entry legislation and opening up the benefits of Foreign-Trade Zones to new industries. FTZ Corporation offers a complete set of implementation services including the application to the FTZ Board and activation of the zone with Customs and Border Protection. Combined with the implementation of SmartZone Premier software, FTZ Corporation can cut the time to first benefit with a “turnkey” implementation.
“Implementing a foreign-trade zone program can generate millions in recurring savings and is a key initiative for companies as the global economy is rebuilding,” said Jim Preuninger, CEO, Management Dynamics. “FTZ Corporation has a tremendous track record of success in this industry and we look forward to working together to expand the GTM market.”
About FTZ Corporation The Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation is the only nationally recognized consulting firm with a practice focused on Foreign Trade-Zone consulting. The firm provides a wide range of consulting work from Foreign-Trade Zones Board applications to activations with Customs and Border Protection, and administers nine foreign-trade zone projects. Its management of these projects is in keeping with the Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation’s philosophy that there is no substitute for hands-on-experience.
Earlier this year Walmart announced projected cost savings of 5 – 15% by product category with an expanded direct import program. While retailers, consumer goods companies and most global manufacturers have been importing for years, there is renewed interest in understanding all of the elements of a direct import program and the opportunity areas that can drive new supply chain efficiencies and boost product profitability.
This webinar, presented by Management Dynamics and World Trade Magazine, will take a look at the foundation technologies for a direct import program, explore the implementation options by working with a global logistics provider, and discuss a number of successful case studies.
The webinar will be Tuesday, May 25 at 2pm EST. Please register today by following this link.
Leading Apparel Retailer Implements Supply Chain Visibility Solution to Improve Vendor Collaboration and Proactively Manage In-Transit Delivery Issues
Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), a specialty retailer of casual apparel for men, women, and kids, implemented its Supply Chain Visibility solution to provide real-time visibility into the status of orders, shipments and in-transit inventory. The global, multimode visibility solution will allow its logistics team to streamline its supply chain process from vendor to distribution center and collaborate with merchants and service providers to reduce costs, shipment delays and improve customer service.
Abercrombie & Fitch selected Management Dynamics for its industry experience in delivering supply chain visibility solutions as well as its advanced data quality management capabilities. With 30 trading partners and multiple international business units, Abercrombie & Fitch’s logistics team needed a single, detailed level view of shipments and orders in-transit to track, manage exceptions, proactively pinpoint in-transit delays and respond to any potential logistics crisis. Integrating with its Oracle Retail Merchandising System, Management Dynamics’ Supply Chin Visibility solution allows merchants to monitor the delivery status of key orders and for the logistics team to proactively manage inbound shipments by milestones. And, with accurate shipment information earlier in the supply chain, Abercrombie & Fitch is able to improve store-level inventory allocations to reduce cycle time and achieve higher levels of availability.
“We needed to create reliability in our global supply chain with the ability respond to actual and potential issues and tightly collaborate with our merchants, distribution centers and service providers,” said Lois Davis, Vice President Global Trade & Transportation, Abercrombie & Fitch. “We chose Management Dynamics for their supply chain experience, ability to ensure data quality and problem resolution focused approach. Their hosted solution saves valuable time and effort, provides meaningful cost reductions, optimizes our shipping options, and improves our customer service.”
Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility solution supports the key requirements of the logistics operations at Abercrombie & Fitch including:
One central location for tracking critical shipment information across multiple sources, providing visibility to inventory in-transit and speeding the flow of goods from distribution to merchants.
Advance notice of shipment information to improve cross-border logistics decisions.
Proprietary Data Quality Management (DQM) technologies and business methodologies to ensure best-in-class information accuracy, completeness and timeliness for all messages exchanged between trading partners.
Event alerting capabilities that anticipate potential inventory receipt and fulfillment issues and prompt rapid resolution before they impact availability.
Robust functionality for measuring, analyzing and improving the performance of suppliers, carriers and service providers with user-defined reports, scorecards and KPIs based on frontline data.
“In high fashion with ever-changing seasons and consumer tastes by region, it is critical for specialty retailers to tightly manage the inbound supply chain from vendor to distribution center and ultimately to improve store-level fulfillment metrics,” said Jim Preuninger, CEO of Management Dynamics. “Abercrombie & Fitch understands the importance of building a strong infrastructure to support collaborative logistics processes and selected our Supply Chain Visibility solution based on a track record of delivery in this area. We look forward to helping this leading apparel retailer to establish transparency across its global supply chain and realize their operational objectives.”
About Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch Co., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of casual sportswear apparel for men, women, and kids. The company’s stores offer knit and woven shirts, graphic t-shirts, fleece, jeans and woven pants, shorts, sweaters, and outerwear, as well as personal care products and accessories under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie, and Hollister. It also offers bras, underwear, personal care products, sleepwear, and at-home products for women under the Gilly Hicks brand. As of December 16, 2009, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operated over 1,100 stores in the United States, Canada, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. It also sells its products through Web-based stores, as well as through a catalogue. The company was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in New Albany, Ohio
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