New Name Marks Continued Growth and Evolution for Global Trade Management Leader
Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced that it has changed its name to Amber Road. The name change comes during a year of rapid expansion, marked by a 40% growth in employees, a 325% increase in European bookings, and the opening of a flagship office in Tysons Corner, Virginia. This breakout year is anchored by a 33% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in overall revenue for the past decade.
“Today, our SaaS-based solutions span fourteen software products that include global transportation management, import/export compliance, supplier management, supply chain visibility and a content knowledgebase covering trade regulations and tariffs for more than 120 countries, “ said Jim Preuninger, CEO.
American Shipper will be hosting a webinar that will address the findings from the recent Import Operations & Compliance Benchmark Study: Risky Business, published by American Shipper and BPE.
According to a recent supply chain survey conducted by Capgemini Consulting, demand volatility was the top business driver for supply chain managers (40% of survey respondents ranked it as number one). This is because although the economy seems to be improving, market demand is still uncertain, making it more difficult to operate a reliable supply chain. In order to counter this challenge, survey respondents are determined to improve the visibility of their supply chains (this ranked as top initiative for 45%).
Supply chain visibility is something that can be easily achieved by implementing an enterprise-wide automated technology solution. A software solution such as Management Dynamics’ allows users precisely monitor the inbound and outbound movement of goods at the shipment, order and SKU level, using over 350 reference points. This level of visibility enables suppliers, manufacturers, retailers and transportation companies to improve customer service and minimize expediting costs by managing inventory in-transit. So no matter how volatile the market is, companies can have complete visibility and control of their inventory levels.
To learn more about how a software solution can improve supply chain visibility, please check out Supply Chain Visibility Excellence: Fostering Security, Resiliency and Efficiency. This new report from Aberdeen Group focuses on gaining visibility into critical elements across the end-to-end logistics network for improving cost and service. Additionally, it takes a look at how Best-in-Class companies are streamlining their supply chains.
Key findings include:
Best-in-Class companies experienced a 3% decrease in supply chain execution cost as a percent of revenue (inbound /outbound transportation, pipeline and staged inventory and SC management costs)
Best-in-Class companies experienced a 3% decrease in total landed costs per unit handled
Best-in-Class companies are between 19% and 42% more likely to respond to non-catastrophic supply chain disruptions within hours.
Are you looking for quality employees to staff your supply chain department? You may have better luck if you can offer summer hours, according to a survey conducted by LifeWork Search, a search and recruitment organization that specializes in supply chain planning and procurement.
A summary of the survey findings appear in Material Handling & Logistics’ article, Supply Chain in the Summertime. The article reports that 46% of survey respondents cited summer hours as the most important non-monetary benefit for employees, followed by an extra day off, a company outing, and a casual dress code.
“We’re starting to see a lot of companies put wellness and associated programs in place to help employees balance the challenges of work and life,” says Jason Breault, managing director of LifeWork Search. “More companies are coming to the realization that healthy-minded employees are more productive employees. We are constantly being asked by hiring managers what they should put in place to make their environment friendlier.”
Management Dynamics’ CEO, Jim Preuninger, was featured as an IT Thought Leader in last month’s issue of Inbound Logistics. In the feature, Mr. Preuninger discusses trending topics such as the role of technology in the optimization of global supply chains, and steps to simplify the import or export process.
These [global trade management software] tools provide an immediate and visible return on investment, enabling companies to reduce costs, improve operations, shrink manual data entry errors, facilitate cross-border movements, and improve customer service. In addition, reducing cycle times, eliminating bottlenecks, improving distribution networks, lowering out-of-stocks, and determining the best way to ship freight can also lower emissions, an ecological goal for many companies.
He also offers some sound advise for companies who may be looking to take the next step toward globalization:
Companies no longer have to take on all facets of international trading at once. And with the advent of cloud computing, otherwise known as Software as a Service (SaaS), companies can collaborate with trading partners around the globe with minimal start-up costs and headaches using a pay-as-you-go model.
The increased complexity of global supply chains has led to longer lead times, more pipeline inventory, and the need to control downstream and upstream logistics. In the Aberdeen Group’s most recent supply chain visibility survey, the growing supply chain complexity was the top business pressure (44%). This, in turn, has contributed to increased supply chain management costs. It is not surprising that in the situation of global economic turmoil that visibility is taking center stage.
Aberdeen’s brand new report, Supply Chain Visibility Excellence: Fostering Security, Resiliency and Efficiency focuses on gaining visibility into critical elements across the end-to-end logistics network for improving cost and service. Before a company can reduce inventory or landed cost, it needs visibility into them. Only then can it apply tools to agilely adapt to the information it collects.
A few key takeaways from the report are:
Best-in-Class companies experienced a 3% decrease in supply chain execution cost as a percent of revenue (inbound /outbound transportation, pipeline and staged inventory and SC management costs).
Best-in-Class companies experienced a 3% decrease in total landed costs per unit handled.
Best-in-Class companies are between 19% and 42% more likely to respond to non-catastrophic supply chain disruptions within hours.
The retail industry is challenged with fluctuating customer demand, ever-changing styles and seasonality, and the need to boost top-line growth through store expansion. A streamlined and efficiently run supply chain is a crucial piece of the puzzle when it comes to keeping overall costs down. As pointed out in World Trade Magazine’s article, Timely Ocean Transit for Retailers, inconsistent transit times can drive up total supply chain costs.
[Supply chain inconsistencies can force retailers to] either retain higher safety stock levels, which increases their inventory carrying costs; resort to airfreight to recover from delays, which balloons transportation costs; or use a combination of the two.
While the article references careful carrier selection as a way to ensure timely deliveries, there are GTM solutions out there that can help retailers with all aspects of supply chain and transportation management. By automating the following elements of the global supply supply chain operations, retailers will be able to reduce cash-cash cycles and lower total delivered costs.
Trade Planning
Develop optimal sourcing and distribution strategies by assessing the total landed cost of alternative decisions including product invoice, transportation, duties, VAT, excise as well as evaluating applicable import and export regulatory controls. With a complete picture of cost and risk, shared decisions can be made across sourcing, compliance and logistics functions.
Import Automation
Establish a global import compliance function that integrates all procurement activities. Manage product classification and admissibility reviews to ensure compliant purchase orders are issued. Streamline the entry process to reduce brokerage costs and reconcile entries to resolve issues before they become a costly Customs audit.
Supplier PO Management
Deliver compliant purchase orders to suppliers in a portal that confirms orders, creates invoices, and manages a buyer workflow to build shipments and generate key documents like the commercial invoice and packing list. Efficiently manage supplier compliance and integrate with origin logistics partners.
Origin Management
Manage origin logistics with a portal that coordinates full container load shipments from a supplier and less than container or air shipments. Use a collaborative workflow process to confirm and book shipments as well as collect bill of lading details to facilitate inbound visibility. Enhance compliance with new advanced notification regulations like Customs 10+2 by collecting relevant information at origin.
Global Freight Management Negotiate seafreight and airfreight rates and implement a process for logistics providers and suppliers to book against your favorable rates. Use sophisticated rating tools to optimize carrier selection, pre-rate the booking and automate freight audit.
Supply Chain Visibility
Monitor global orders, shipments and in-transit inventory with a complete event management solution. Use milestone alerting to proactively resolve delivery issues and to trigger supply execution activities such as pickups or warehouse receipts. Use in-transit inventory information to enable postponement strategies and new, direct-to-store delivery strategies. Aggregate all operational data to establish scorecards and manage trade parties with a comprehensive set of key performance indicators.
Don’t miss Advances in Supply Chain Software and Technologypresented by Supply Chain Virtual Events, the free virtual conference taking place online this Thursday, February 24, 2011 (11:00am – 4:00pm ET).
And, while you’re at the virtual conference, please check out the GTM Webinar at 1:00pm EST: How Global Trade Management (GTM) is Meeting the Compliance Challenge. In this webinar, speakers Susan Waskow of The Global Trade Academy and Suzanne Richer of Customs & Trade Solutions Inc. will discuss the latest news on global Customs initiatives; how applying GTM has benefited global shippers; and new GTM functionality delivery and functionality enhancements.
Here’s something to think about this Black Friday while you’re waiting in line in the cold at 4am, outside of Walmart, Best Buy, or Target: thank goodness for automated supply chain management systems! It wasn’t too many years ago that employees were doing inventory counts by hand and sending them to suppliers, leaving plenty of room for error, which could lead to either a shortage or overstock of a certain product. (I’d be pretty annoyed if I had gotten up at 3am to go get that flatscreen tv, only to discover someone had written down a wrong number, and not enough flatscreens were shipped to the store to satisfy the estimated Black Friday demand!)
However I don’t have to worry about that because thanks to automation, Wal-Mart’s supply chain acts as if every day is Black Friday! SupplyChainDigital explains in this article how Walmart’s supply chain is one of the most efficient ones out there because of IT solutions:
The technology is ridiculous across all areas of the Wal-Mart supply chain. Individual distribution centers, for example, have benefited from the development of sortation systems, radio-frequency picking, automated cranes and miniload systems. Industry standards have also helped Wal-Mart’s efficiency in the collaboration with its suppliers and vendors. Standardization includes things like pallet size and truck dimensions. Wal-Mart gets real-time updates from when a customer buys a product, to how long it will be before it can replace that same product on the shelves.
So this Friday morning, while you’re waking up early, driving to the store, searching for a parking spot and battling crowds to get that good deal on a flatscreen, you can take comfort in knowing that at least Walmart’s supply chain is completely under control.
In this recent Consumer Goods Technology article, The State of Supply Chain Execution, industry thought leaders, including Management Dynamics CEO Jim Preuninger, give their opinions on today’s challenges and trends affecting supply chain execution.
A key discussion point in the article is how, though faced with tough economic times, companies are still investing in technologies that help streamline their supply chains operations.
Many companies, particularly manufacturers, including consumer goods manufacturers, have seen the value in using GTM software to lower costs, ensure regulatory compliance, improve customer service and automate many facets of a company’s supply chain operations. Two capabilities that consumer goods companies are using to weather the downturn are supply chain visibility and international trade compliance. These tools provide an immediate and visible return on investment, enabling companies to reduce costs, improve operations, shrink manual data entry errors, facilitate cross border movements and improve customer service.
In addition to cutting costs, GTM software can also be used to address sustainability concerns. According to Mr. Preuninger:
In the case of GTM software, sustainability efforts can be addressed on a few fronts. Reducing cycle times, eliminating bottlenecks, improving distribution networks, lowering out-ofstocks and determining the best way to ship freight can also lower emissions, an ecological goal for many companies.
To read the full article, please follow this link.
Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced that it has changed its name to Amber Road. The name change comes during a year of rapid expansion, marked by a 40% growth in employees, a 325% increase in European bookings, and the opening of a flagship office in Tysons Corner, Virginia. This breakout year is anchored by a 33% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in overall revenue for the past decade. ![[Facebook]](http://www.supplychainvisibility.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
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