As a result of the West Coast Port Congestion and concern of disruptions to the supply chain, Abercrombie embarked to deploy a Transloading model to help keep inventory in motion once it arrived to US ports.

Join us for a complimentary Supply & Demand Chain Executive webinar entitled Transloading at Abercrombie: The Business Drivers, Lessons Learned, and Realized Rewards, broadcasting on Thursday, September 8 at 2:00pm EDT.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) selling is not a new concept. Lured by the promise of bigger sales and better access to consumers — and driven by ultimate survival — wholesale brands are increasingly looking to circumvent traditional retailers to reach their customers directly.

It’s no secret that a well-executed, fully integrated enterprise trading platform model can be the key to operational excellence. When that platform leverages a single ERP to standardize key business processes and govern relationships between source locations and customers, best-in-class companies see some impressive results.

Ingersoll Rand, a global industrial company, uses Amber Road’s Trade Automation platform to streamline its import and export processes, and enjoys increased visibility and agility, reduced logistics and operational costs, shortened lead times, and assurance in their global trade compliance initiatives. Ingersoll Rand has also seen dramatic improvements in how customers are served while facilitating and enabling accelerated growth. The company’s trading platform has added incalculable business value and competitive advantage.

This week, Amber Road’s Global Trade Academy broadcasted a webinar on Comparing Cargo Security Programs Around the World. Our presenter, Suzanne Richer from Amber Road, received several questions throughout the webinar and unfortunately did not have time to address them all during the live broadcast. We have compiled her answers into a Q&A document - here is a preview:

Across the world, sourcing, supply chain, and global trade executives are under intense pressure to streamline their processes in order to stay ahead of the competition and keep their companies in the black. But let’s face it — it’s not easy in this environment: light-speed business, stringent compliance regulations, and consumer demand for more agility than a squirrel on a bird feeder.

Studies show the top organizations that have successfully aligned with their key suppliers have reduced risk factors and improved innovation, quality, reliability, and costs/price reductions. Both sides of the business can achieve greater value, which is difficult to achieve if operating independently.

Amber Road customer Dick’s Sporting Goods has adopted new technology to automate and simplify the SRM process, making it easy for sourcing executives to make quick, informed decisions about their suppliers.

Across the world, sourcing, supply chain, and global trade executives are under intense pressure to streamline their processes in order to stay ahead of the competition and keep their companies in the black. But let’s face it — it’s not easy in this environment: light-speed business, stringent compliance regulations, and consumer demand for more agility.

Global Cargo Security Programs offer key advantages to the savvy international trade professional. From C-TPAT to AEO, J-AEO, C-AEO, PIP and NEEC, companies are challenged with aligning these programs, especially when requirements differ from one country to the next.

What are your supply chain partners doing right now? What will they be up to six months from now? On the other hand, do your partners know what you’re doing right now?

Today’s global supply chains face pressures on all fronts: numerous trading partners add to the existing challenges of longer lead times, fluctuating trade regulations, and international logistics.

That makes internal communication, collaboration, and centralized data absolutely critical.

Global supply chains are growing in complexity, yet remain vulnerable to myriad dangers damaging to both people and businesses. Supply chain disruptions, delays and loss of goods are costly global problems. The supply chain must be protected against those disruptions by establishing processes like counter-terrorism evaluations, identifying the most critical elements of the supply chain system, and bolstering resilience so the supply chain can recover quickly from any disruptions. 

As globalization continues to cause the world to "shrink" and eCommerce rapidly spreads into every retail category, the requirements to source and manage a global supply chain also increase. Whether as part of its strategic direction or in order to keep up with the competition, there are few companies that do not have some type of eCommerce presence.