The Panama Canal Expansion Project Nears Halfway Completion Point

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Colleen Bush

The $5.25 billion Panama Canal expansion project has made substantial progress as it is nearing the halfway completion point. The initiative will double the capacity of the canal by building new locks to accommodate post-Panamax ships. These ships span the length of three football fields and are too long, heavy, and wide to fit through the existing locks.

The expansion project was driven by a loss of business to the Suez Canal, which is able to accommodate post-Panamax vessels. Maersk Line rerouted shipments traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast through the Suez Canal because the use of post-Panamax ships is more cost-effective. Panama hopes that the new locks will increase business, as the country relies on revenues of nearly $1 billion a year from the canal.

The canal expansion will have a huge impact on shipping patterns. Post-Panamax ships will be able to carry up to 13,000 containers, nearly three times more than ships currently using the canal. In order to maintain efficiencies, post-Panamax ships will call at fewer ports and unload more cargo, putting pressure on transportation and distribution links.

Ports up and down the East Coast are preparing to accommodate these large ships. Norfolk, VA and Baltimore, MD are currently the only East Coast ports deep enough to handle fully loaded post-Panamax vessels. PortMiami is expected to award a $200 million dredging contract this year, while The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey hopes to start work to raise the Bayonne Bridge, which post-Panamax ships cannot fit under.

For more information on the expansion project, please read this article from The Miami Herald.

Brown-Forman Grows its Spirited Exports Program with Amber Road

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Kelsey Price

It may be hard to believe that one of the world’s largest producers of wines and spirits once lacked visibility of its ocean shipments and carrier performance levels. But back in 2004, Brown-Forman had to rely on the tracking systems of individual carriers to keep tabs on product in transit, with no single platform to monitor the movement of popular brands like Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, and Korbel.

Brown-Forman began looking for a software suite that could provide a central repository while navigating the highly regulated alcoholic beverage industry, where strict records are essential. The company picked Amber Road (then Management Dynamics).

Brown-Forman quickly gained some unsettling insights into its supply chain. For example, the company had thought its distributors were taking between three and five days to clear their goods and get them unloaded. However, it sometimes took up to 10 days. With Amber Road’s solution, the company was able to determine when its containers were being released to customers.

“It has helped us to secure our supply chain, giving us visibility from beginning to end,” says Sherree Hockensmith, International Transportation Manager at Brown-Forman. “We now have tools to slice and dice our data anyway we need to.”

The company now knows great deal about the actual services levels it receives from its carriers, and can track its containers from production facilities in Kentucky and Virginia all the way to destination.

To find out more about Brown-Forman’s success with Amber Road, please read this SupplyChainBrain feature.

Take Advantage of Free Trade Agreement Benefits

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Kelsey Price

Manufacturers can spend almost 50 percent of revenue on purchasing parts alone, which places low-cost sourcing at the top of any business strategy. To maximize your company’s savings, look no further than free trade agreements (FTAs).

FTAs allow your company to source from countries that have agreed to reduce their export duties with whatever country you are trading from, in turn reducing your landed costs.

Navigating these agreements can be tricky, however. You’ll often need a certificate of origin, as well as a Trade Program certificate, to prove a claim. You may also want the ability to compare your potential savings from several vendors as part of a multi-sourcing strategy. Lost already? Check out these 5 tips for using FTAs in your supply network, from Amber Road’s VP of Global Trade Content Anthony Hardenburgh.

“Armed with the right process and supporting technology, your company can achieve the next level of low cost country sourcing in your global operation,” Hardenburgh notes. Indeed, automating the FTA process can reward your company with significant savings and save you more than a few documentation headaches.

Has your organization taken advantage of an FTA to reduce your landed cost?

Flextronics Selects Amber Road’s RPS On-Demand Solution

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Colleen Bush

Amber Road, a leading provider of global trade management solutions, announced today that Flextronics, a leading electronics manufacturing services provider, selected its Restricted Party Screening (RPS) On-Demand solution to automate the screening of partners, customers and vendors. Flextronics’ objective is to maintain a low export risk profile while expediting screening.

With a global network consisting of more than 30 countries on four continents, Flextronics needed an improved solution for global denied party and embargo screening, global export license determination, and ECCN (Export Control Classification Number) validation in order to preserve a high compliance rate.

“Amber Road’s RPS On-Demand was the solution that best fit our needs,” said Tim Seitz, senior vice president, global tax and trade at Flextronics. “Because of the solution’s high-speed processing times, accuracy rates, user configuration features, robust reporting, and audit capabilities, we feel confident that Amber Road is the right choice.”

Click here to read the entire press release.

The Current State of US Import Policy

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Colleen Bush

International trade is a critical component of the US economy, with US imports alone amounting to $2.2 trillion in 2011. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the primary agent charged with ensuring the smooth flow of trade. A recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyzed the US import process and uncovered complex challenges CBP faces in creating import policy.

CRS found that tension underlies many aspects of import policy making because of CBP’s three competing goals:

Facilitate the smooth flow of trade
Enforce trade and customs laws
Enforce import security laws

While trade facilitation involves promoting faster and more efficient trade flows, trade enforcement and import security involve identifying and preventing illegal flows – tasks that often involve slower cargo flows and reduced efficiency.

In order to overcome this tension, CBP’s current import strategy uses a risk management approach. This strategy segments importers into risk pools and focuses trade enforcement and import security procedures on higher-risk imports, while expediting lower-risk flows. In order to determine risk level, CBP requires importers to submit advance electronic cargo information, which is sent to the Automated Targeting System (ATS). ATS reviews this information and assigns a risk-based score to every incoming shipment. Businesses can also enroll in CBP’s “trusted trader” programs to receive low-risk trader status and become eligible for expedited processing.

CBP has also adopted a “multi-layered” approach to import policy. This means that security screening and enforcement occur at multiple points in the import process, beginning before goods are loaded at foreign ports (pre-entry) and continuing after goods have been admitted into the US (post-entry). Importers are subject to security measures such as radiation detection scanning, non-intrusive inspections (NII), trade enforcement examinations, and post-entry audits.

For more information on current CBP import policies, please read U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Trade Facilitation, Enforcement, and Security.