AberdeenGroup has released a brand new report, Strategies for Mastering Trade Compliance and Supply Chain Complexity, which reveals the findings of a survey they did with 136 importers and exporters in August and September of this year. According to the survey, trade compliance teams are actively revamping their Global Trade Management (GTM) programs, specifically their trade compliance systems, to stay current with supply and demand fluctuations, growing global operations, increasing operational complexity and risk, and trade lane changes.
This report provides an in-depth and comprehensive look into process, procedure, methodologies, and technologies with best practice identification and actionable recommendations. A few notable statistics from the survey are that:
58% of respondents indicate that internal stakeholders outside of the compliance department do not understand the risks of non-compliance
42% indicate that manual processes are becoming too cumbersome
28% claim they are mostly manual and spreadsheet driven, while 64% claim manual or spreadsheet on some components
34% cite total landed costs among the top three ranked improvement areas for compliance in 2010
There is no silver bullet for a successful GTM/GTC program – it is a combination of excellence in the areas of access, enablement internally and externally, process/technology, and proactive planning and execution. When these things are aligned, in proper combination, they yield superior results.
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.
As globalization mores forward, it is becoming so that international sourcing is no longer considered a competitive advantage, but a necessity for companies. People are realizing this, and more and more companies are expanding operations to a global level. Since there are major differences between global and domestic supply chain strategies, this can be a little overwhelming. World Trade Magazine has published an article with helpful advice for companies who are in this situation.
Here are a few good tips from the article:
Rule Number One: Take Your Time!- The top mistake executives make in going global is being unrealistic about their timelines.
Know Your Terms – Negotiating an international sales contract? “Both parties need to pay as much attention to the terms of sale as to the sales price,” reminds the International Business Institute.
Global Sourcing 101 for Retailers – Global and domestic retail supply chains share the need for speed, agility and flexibility regardless of length of chain. However, domestic supply is simply not as complex or risky. Global supply brings an increased risk for errors, delays, regulatory and customs challenges and a need for greater, broader visibility to manage the flow of product and information.
Want to learn more about managing your supply chain? Take a look at one of our Supply Chain Visibility GTM Success Kits- a zip file emailed to you containing white papers, case studies, and information on how you can ensure visibility, communicate efficiently with carriers and suppliers, and make accurate decisions relating to diverting inventory or resolving bottlenecks.
AberdeenGroup has released a brand new report, Strategies for Mastering Trade Compliance and Supply Chain Complexity, which reveals the findings of a survey they did with 136 importers and exporters in August and September of this year. According to the survey, trade compliance teams are actively revamping their Global Trade Management (GTM) programs, specifically their trade compliance systems, to stay current with supply and demand fluctuations, growing global operations, increasing operational complexity and risk, and trade lane changes.![[Facebook]](http://www.supplychainvisibility.org/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
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