While this blog is devoted to discussing supply chain management best practices, Management Dynamics has other solutions that will help you streamline all facets of global trade:
Import Automation- automate, streamline and manage the entire import function within your organization, from pre-Customs through Customs clearance and even post-entry activities.
Export Compliance – automate the international sales order management process including restricted party screening (RPS), export license determination and tracking, shipping document generation and government reporting.
Trade Agreement Management – automate the management, utilization, and qualification processes necessary for global businesses to participate in preferential trade agreements.
Supply Chain Visibility – connects importers and exporters with their overseas suppliers, logistics providers, brokers and carriers to communicate critical purchase order, shipment and inventory information and to support collaborative logistics processes.
Transportation Management – allows importers, exporters and logistics providers to manage the spiraling costs associated with shipping by sea and airfreight.
Trade Research Tools – classify products, screen for restricted parties, research regulatory controls and determine documents instantly with our web-based information services.
I have added an Events Calendar page, where I will be posting upcoming industry conferences, seminars and webinars. If you are organizing an event you’d like me to include, just leave a comment on the page!
Trade Planner 3.0 scenario-based planning solution optimizes sourcing and distribution decisions based on total landed costs and trade regulation risk
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, August 10, 2010 — Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced the release of Trade Planner 3.0, a scenario-based planning tool that helps supply chain teams quickly and accurately evaluate alternative sourcing and distribution strategies to optimize total landed cost while assessing the impact of trade regulations.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, companies import nearly $2 trillion worth of products annually from over 150 countries, a number that is expected to triple by 2015. With the increasing pressure to cut costs, accommodate new trade regulations, and take advantage of new preferential trade agreements, businesses need planning tools to improve the design of their global supply chains.
“Companies today are moving beyond sourcing decisions based on the lowest product invoice and are evaluating multiple dimensions including transportation costs, duties and taxes, regulatory compliance, and other country risk factors,” said Janet Suleski, Research Director, Gartner. “Scenario-based planning solutions provide key players across sourcing, logistics and compliance with the ability to make faster, more accurate sourcing and distribution decisions.”
With Management Dynamics’ Trade Planner solution, users can quickly and easily compare the costs of sourcing and distributing one or multiple products from multiple locations to identify the optimal decision. Trade Planner allows users to import product descriptions, classify products and store classifications by country in a product repository. Trade Planner is fully integrated with Management Dynamics’ Global Trade Content and supports classification by the Harmonized Schedules and Export Control Numbers for over 122 countries, and identifies all applicable embargoes, prohibitions, license requirements, and other product specific barriers to importing and exporting.
“Businesses are increasingly global in scope and need new planning tools to continually monitor total landed cost, model the cost reduction opportunities of shifting a supply base, evaluate new preferential trade agreements and assess the impact of new trade regulations,” said Nathan Pieri, SVP Marketing & Product Management, Management Dynamics, Inc. “Today, some of the world’s largest companies in retail, food service, electronics, and apparel, are utilizing Trade Planner 3.0 across the enterprise to collaborate and make better sourcing and distribution strategies by considering both cost and associated risks.”
Trade Planner 3.0 is an on-demand application that can be quickly and cost-effectively deployed – typically in a few days.
For Additional information:
Make better-informed sourcing and distribution decisions. Maintain import and export compliance with on-demand access to the most comprehensive source of global trade content in the industry. Learn more at ManagementDynamics.com/TradePlanner.
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.Â
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.  Â
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. Â
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:Â
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. Â
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’Â 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
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.
Management Dynamics will be exhibiting at the ICPA Conference next week in Orlando. Please be sure to stop by booth number 23 and say hello to us. Also, Thursday morning we’ll be presenting along with Adrienne Braumiller of Braumiller Schulz LLP in the Compliance Software Workshop. Our time slot is 9:50 – 10:20am, so come check us out!
We’ve uploaded some great videos on various aspects of Global Trade Management, including this interview on Strategic Opportunities that 10+2 Presents:
Supply Chain Visibility Best Practices reports on current issues, news and events associated with supply chain management. The authors of this blog are not trade attorneys and in no way should any posting be construed as compliance advice; furthermore, the authors are not responsible for any comments posted by others.
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