Global trade and the associated supply chain are subject to ever-increasing international regulations and legislation. Global Trade Management reduces the risk of liability, fines and delays at international borders, and conducting a sourcing and distribution analysis presents possibilities for companies to minimize import duties, taxes and surcharges.

Companies of all sizes are struggling to deal with the effects that globalization is having on their supply chains. Changing virtually every inbound-to-outbound process as a result of global expansion is causing quite a few headaches. Where do you even start? Which changes will produce the highest ROI?

The term “global trade management” used to mean one thing: compliance. Not anymore. Ty Bordner, VP of Product Management & Solutions Consulting at Amber Road, describes how GTM today embraces the whole experience of moving goods across borders: regulation, duty management, logistics, and, most of all, global supply-chain visibility.

Supply & Demand Chain Executive presented its annual Pros to Know award to three Amber Road executives this year: Jim Preuninger, CEO; Stephanie Miles, Senior Vice President of Commercial Services; and Ty Bordner, Vice President of Product Management and Solutions Consulting. This is the tenth year in a row an Amber Road visionary has been recognized by the publication for his or her commitment to helping customers transform their global supply chain.

For Some Companies, it Might be the Natural Outcome of Centralizing Supply Chain Operations and Data into a Control Tower

As more organizations are moving toward heightened supply chain visibility, many are coming to realize that what they’re also doing is becoming their own fourth-party logistics (4PL) provider. What’s a 4PL? The term was coined by Accenture (when it was Andersen Consulting) and is defined as “an integrator that assembles the resources, capabilities, and technology of its own organization and other organizations to design, build and run comprehensive supply chain solutions.”

The concept of a supply chain control tower has been gaining momentum over the past year. A control tower is a single command center for visibility, decision-making and action, based on real-time data. According to Capgemini Consulting “A supply chain control tower is a central hub with the required technology, organization and processes to capture and use supply chain data to provide enhanced visibility for short and long term decision making that is aligned with strategic objectives.” (Capgemini Consulting, “Global Supply Chain Control Towers” May 2011)

GTM Solutions Should Allow the Configuration of Specific Execution Rules for Each Distinct Supply Chain

Particularly among retailers with tens of thousands of SKUs and many hundreds of stores, there is a need for differentiated replenishment and logistics treatments across complex supply chains. For example, an organization may need supply chain processes that are specialized to goods with unpredictable demand, such as the latest fashion. The same organization may also provide goods with more predictable demand that require steady replenishment. Similarly, other goods may have higher import and export compliance requirements that must be carefully managed.