Global trade transactions account for trillions upon trillions of dollars each year, and this number is expanding as we forge into the future. Additionally, it is becoming more complex to manage US and international regulations.

Yet, despite these factors, compliance departments remain woefully underfunded and understaffed. According to our export compliance research, 14.6% of compliance professionals believe that their company’s executive management is not aware of trade compliance.

How do you get executive level cooperation and sponsorship of your initiatives?

Join American Shipper and Management Dynamics for an upcoming educational webinar, “Bringing Compliance into the Boardroom.” This webinar, featuring a panel of global trade experts, will discuss how to get your voice heard when speaking to your c-level executives about enhancing your trade compliance operations.

In this trade compliance webinar, our expert panelists will discuss:

- Pain points of each member in the boardroom

- How these points relate to compliance issues

- Key messaging to use when speaking to each board member

- Tools to use in your presentation, such as quantifying compliance and its effect on the bottom line

- How automation can contribute to your efforts by adding value and saving money

Speakers:

	Virigina Thompson Director, Import/Export Operations & Global Trade Compliance Crate & Barrel
	Nathan Pieri SVP Marketing & Product Management Management Dynamics, Inc
	Beth Peterson President BPE

Register Today for “Bringing Compliance into the Boardroom!

- Beth Peterson, President of BPE
- Joe Burks, Director of Trade Compliance for Cooper Industries
- Nathan Pieri, VP of Product Development and Marketing for Management Dynamics

These experts will discuss best practices for developing your company’s Export Management and Compliance Programs, including:

- Strategic value of your EMCP
- The core elements of an effective EMCP
- The steps required to build an EMCP
- Sharing your strategy with your C-level superiors

Learn how your company can implement processes and systems that ensure compliance with the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).  Best of all – it’s FREE!  Sign up today.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, May 12, 2010 – Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with FTZ Corporation, a leading provider of Foreign-Trade Zone consulting services and developer of the SmartZone Premier application.  The partnership seeks to expand the use of foreign-trade zones integrated with core Global Trade Management (GTM) processes of import, export and trade agreement management.

Foreign-Trade Zones have been in use for nearly seventy six years with the passage of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act of 1934 to expedite and encourage foreign commerce.  Foreign-Trade Zones are now a key component of U.S. trade policy and offer companies several opportunities to reduce costs with:

- Exemption of duty payment upon re-export of goods

- Relief from inverted tariffs where raw materials with high duty rates can be transformed to an end product with a low duty rate

- Use of consolidated weekly entries to reduce merchandise processing fees (MPFs)

- Deferral of duty on any inventory stored within an FTZ

For many companies these benefits can justify the investment in a Foreign-Trade Zone in the first year of operation.

 “Foreign-trade zones are becoming an integral part of a company’s GTM strategy and their use is expanding given the strong value proposition and fast pay back,” said Craig Pool, President, FTZ Corporation.  “Our customers are looking to integrate foreign-trade zones across their GTM processes and we look forward to working with Management Dynamics to deliver this solution.”

FTZ Corporation has extensive experience, having implemented over two hundred and fifty Foreign-Trade Zone projects.  The company is also active in Washington D.C. with involvement in recent industry advancements including the passage of Weekly Entry legislation and opening up the benefits of Foreign-Trade Zones to new industries.  FTZ Corporation offers a complete set of implementation services including the application to the FTZ Board and activation of the zone with Customs and Border Protection.  Combined with the implementation of SmartZone Premier software, FTZ Corporation can cut the time to first benefit with a “turnkey” implementation.

“Implementing a foreign-trade zone program can generate millions in recurring savings and is a key initiative for companies as the global economy is rebuilding,” said Jim Preuninger, CEO, Management Dynamics.  “FTZ Corporation has a tremendous track record of success in this industry and we look forward to working together to expand the GTM market.”

About FTZ Corporation

The Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation is the only nationally recognized consulting firm with a practice focused on Foreign Trade-Zone consulting.  The firm provides a wide range of consulting work from Foreign-Trade Zones Board applications to activations with Customs and Border Protection, and administers nine foreign-trade zone projects. Its management of these projects is in keeping with the Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation’s philosophy that there is no substitute for hands-on-experience.

“Higher tariffs have never proven to be a wise solution for American economic growth,” said Stephanie Lester, RILA vice president for international trade. “RILA supports economic engagement with China and addressing our trade gap with China. We firmly oppose legislation that threatens to cut off access to the U.S. market and drive up prices for consumers.”

RILA has warned that higher tariffs would negatively effect U.S. businesses and its consumers.

To read more about RILA’s reaction, click here.

Link to register: http://ow.ly/1wDDg

 “There is almost limitless potential for growth in trade between our two countries, and that can contribute to economic recovery and job creation in the United States and continued economic growth in India,” Ron Kirk, U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement.  

In October 2009, Mr. Kirk and Anand Sharma, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry met at the Trade Policy Forum meeting to create the necessary framework to support small to mid-sized companies and encourage trade. This week the two representatives will met again to host an advisory meeting of American and Indian trade experts to enhance their efforts for this new program.

“We can realize that potential by working together toward the goals set forth in the framework agreement, such as developing and enforcing policies that encourage technological innovation; increasing agriculture, services, and industrial goods; and increasing investment flows,” Ron Kirk added.

To continue reading…

Imports rose a more than 44.7 percent from a year ago, the Chinese customs bureau reported on its Web site today. The surplus was $7.61 billion, and exports gained 45.7 percent.

“The sustained strength in China’s imports is a source of support for the global economy,” said David Cohen, an economist with Action Economics in Singapore.

On March 6th, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said that the trade surplus fell 50.2 percent in January and February from a year earlier, adding that domestic demand had boosted imports. He said it was too early to say if exports had recovered from the global financial crisis.

To continue reading, click here.

Ocean World Lines Sails Ahead with New Order Tracking Portal Powered by Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility Solution

Leading NVOCC Launches OWL360° to Offer Comprehensive Value-added Service to Customers
 

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, December 17, 2009 — Management Dynamics, a leading provider of global trade management solutions, today announced that Ocean World Lines (OWL), a leading non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC), has launched OWL360°, an order, shipment and inventory tracking portal powered by Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility solution. This robust and flexible web-based solution allows OWL to provide comprehensive and timely data on purchase orders and shipments across all modes and trade lanes, enabling customers to analyze and improve their supply chain efficiency.

“The highly flexible nature of the OWL360° system allows us to easily adapt to market conditions and our clients’ changing needs as we continue to differentiate, provide added value to our customers and stay ahead of our competitors,” said Alan Baer, President, Ocean World Lines. “We truly value our partnership with Management Dynamics as we work together to continuously create enhancements to the system and additional benefits to the user which has significantly improved our customer loyalty and retention.”

Prior to integrating Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility solution, OWL’s tracking system was a highly manual process whereas operations personnel input data received from carriers and performed manual queries. With EDI connectivity, automated alerts and reports, the new OWL360° portal automates this process and has significantly improved internal productivity. Today, over 200 customers have seamlessly integrated OWL360° within their supply chain operations. OWL uses analysis and reporting tools to help clients improve their supply chain performance with accurate and timely visibility into the status of their orders across all U.S. and international trade lanes.

“While many companies lack critical supply chain visibility due to highly manual processes or first generation visibility solutions that lack the sophistication to accurately manage inventory in-transit, best-in-class companies such as OWL are adopting advanced technologies that help streamline the supply chain,” said Nathan Pieri, SVP Marketing & Product Management, Management Dynamics. “OWL fully exploits the power of our Supply Chain Visibility solution and delivers a highly differentiated service to its customers.”

In addition to Supply Chain Visibility, OWL utilizes Management Dynamics’ Transportation Management solution to automate ocean pricing and manage service contracts as well as Management Dynamics’ on-demand trade compliance tools to help customers classify goods, calculate landed costs and screen for restricted parties.

About Ocean World Lines
Ocean World Lines is a leading global transportation company providing full-service ocean/air freight, NVOCC, customs brokerage, cargo management and supply chain visibility solutions, with 100,000+ TEUs shipped annually. Established in 1979, OWL’s long-standing relationships with leading ocean carriers enable the company to provide the most competitive pricing, daily sailing schedules and equipment availability for a diverse list of import and export clients. Ocean World Lines operates 12 offices throughout the U.S. and international offices in Germany, United Kingdom and Asia.

The General System of Preferences allows developing nations to export selected goods to the United States duty-free and the Andean Trade Preference Act gives similar benefits for exporters in Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru in exchange for cooperation in counter-narcotics efforts.

“As Congress and the administration increasingly shift their attention to job creation, we encourage them to remember the important role trade can play in boosting the U.S. economy through exports,” said Chuck Dittrich, vice president for regional trade initiatives.

Extending the programs for one more year will give the U.S. government opportunity to analyze all preference programs available.

To continue reading, click here.

What is on the table doesn’t deliver “meaningful market access in the part of the world that will be growing and driving GDP growth over the next few years,”  U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said, in a reference to countries like China, India and Brazil.

Not all countries are statisified with what is on the table so far. Some believe that the wealther countries will still profit more than the developing countries.

But, as Mr. Kirk puts it best:

The Doha Round “is like a cricket match. You don’t know the score and it takes a long time, but it does end, and there is a winner.”

To continue reading, click here.