[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.

For more information on the benefits automation can bring retailers, I recommend this new eBook: Direct Import Strategies for Retailers.

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Boasting shorter implementation times than “purchase and install” options, and less upfront investment, SaaS solutions are particularly useful for shippers that are in the process of “upgrading existing solutions, or in need of new solutions.”

…According to Gonzalez, SaaS appeals to companies of all sizes, and across most industries. He also discussed pricing options, noting that they range from upfront license fees to payments-per-transaction. Most common, he says, is a one-year to three-year subscription model with monthly payments.

In the article, Gonzalez names Transportation Management Systems (TMS) and Global Trade Management (GTM) systemsas the two software packages that are most applicable for SaaS. Using a Transportation Management solution can help shippers manage global airfreight and sea freight contracts, optimize booking decisions by finding the best combination of cost and service, and automate the freight audit process to identify and eliminate invoice overcharges. Logistics providers can see benefits as well – TMS can help them manage buy-side costs, automate quote and proposal generation, comply with tariff filing requirements, and improve sales effectiveness.

Some other GTM solutions, such as Supply Chain Visibility and Trade Portals, address the challenge managing multiple trading partners, all with different information systems and data definitions, and information that can flow at unpredictable times.

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