SupplyChain Magazine August 2020 | Page 51

Five key advantages of global trade management

1 . Streamlined screening of export orders Firms without a global trade management software system must manually screen every sales order from an international customer to ensure that the customer and associated parties aren ’ t on the sanctioned party list published by various government agencies . Delays such as this can add days to an organisation ’ s order-to-cash cycle time , affect cash flow and impact revenue . Through a global trade management system , as soon as a sales order comes through , it instantly clears the sales order for shipment or flags it for export compliance issues .
2 . Elimination of order processing delays Once the export order is ready to be shipped , the organisation must ensure that all export documentation is completed and that any filing , like Shipper ’ s Export Declaration , is done correctly . A global trade management system allows all activities to be done correctly , so all shipments can be delivered on time .
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3 . Visibility into landed costs Without a global trade management system , landed costs must be inputted manually . This means that actual costs , such as product pricing , rebates and discounts don ’ t always get factored into decision-making . Without that visibility , companies could be losing money on a product they think is profitable .
4 . Reduction of inbound delays An import shipment that lacks accurate paperwork can be significantly delayed at customs . If a company experiences such delays frequently , it is forced to either carry excess inventory or incur more stock-outs . Delays in inbound shipments are particularly expensive for companies in industries where product life cycles are short .
5 . Streamlining financial trade Letters of credit are vital to conducting business with an international customer . Delays from collecting cash from international shipments due to incorrect documentation can be expensive . Through a global trade management system , this streamlines the process for collecting and filing the documentation and ensuring the paperwork is correct . www . supplychaindigital . com