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!

 EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, August 10, 2010 — Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced the release of Trade Planner 3.0, a scenario-based planning tool that helps supply chain teams quickly and accurately evaluate alternative sourcing and distribution strategies to optimize total landed cost while assessing the impact of trade regulations.

 According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, companies import nearly $2 trillion worth of products annually from over 150 countries, a number that is expected to triple by 2015. With the increasing pressure to cut costs, accommodate new trade regulations, and take advantage of new preferential trade agreements, businesses need planning tools to improve the design of their global supply chains.

“Companies today are moving beyond sourcing decisions based on the lowest product invoice and are evaluating multiple dimensions including transportation costs, duties and taxes, regulatory compliance, and other country risk factors,” said Janet Suleski, Research Director, Gartner.  “Scenario-based planning solutions provide key players across sourcing, logistics and compliance with the ability to make faster, more accurate sourcing and distribution decisions.”

 With Management Dynamics’ Trade Planner solution, users can quickly and easily compare the costs of sourcing and distributing one or multiple products from multiple locations to identify the optimal decision.  Trade Planner allows users to import product descriptions, classify products and store classifications by country in a product repository.  Trade Planner is fully integrated with Management Dynamics’ Global Trade Content and supports classification by the Harmonized Schedules and Export Control Numbers for over 122 countries, and identifies all applicable embargoes, prohibitions, license requirements, and other product specific barriers to importing and exporting. 

“Businesses are increasingly global in scope and need new planning tools to continually monitor total landed cost, model the cost reduction opportunities of shifting a supply base, evaluate new preferential trade agreements and assess the impact of new trade regulations,” said Nathan Pieri, SVP Marketing & Product Management, Management Dynamics, Inc.  “Today, some of the world’s largest companies in retail, food service, electronics, and apparel, are utilizing Trade Planner 3.0 across the enterprise to collaborate and make better sourcing and distribution strategies by considering both cost and associated risks.”

 Trade Planner 3.0 is an on-demand application that can be quickly and cost-effectively deployed – typically in a few days. 

For Additional information:
Make better-informed sourcing and distribution decisions. Maintain import and export compliance with on-demand access to the most comprehensive source of global trade content in the industry. Learn more at ManagementDynamics.com/TradePlanner.

About Management Dynamics, Inc.
Management Dynamics is a leading provider of global trade management solutions that improve the performance of global supply chains for importers, exporters, logistics service providers, and carriers. The company’s solutions synchronize the flow of information among trading partners, optimize supply chain execution decisions, and streamline import and export processes to ensure regulatory compliance and minimize cost and risk involved in cross-border transactions. Management Dynamics’ time-proven solutions are used by more than 14,000 global users at some of the world’s most successful 3PLs, carriers, manufacturers, retailers, and high technology companies. 

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.

U.S. importers face significant increases in the cost of doing business and potentially higher penalty fines for non-compliance. Yet, according to recent Gartner research, few importers have systems or processes that can capture and disseminate the required information for 10+2 compliance.

Management Dynamics offers a whitepaper, “Automating the Import Supply Chain,” detailing best practices in international compliance, your business will soon move goods across borders in a cost – efficient, centralized manner with complete readiness to support 10+2

Find out more information on Management Dynamics’ solution, Customs 10+2.

Register to received this complimentary Management Dynamics’ whitepaper.

Management Dynamics, a leading provider of Global Trade Management solutions, today announced the release of End-Use Manager, an on-demand solution that generates end-use surveys for parties involved in any cross-border transaction. The new solution allows a trade compliance team to comprehensively survey and collect end-use statements from customers, suppliers and employees, establishing a standardized process for managing and ensuring compliance with international trade regulations.

“Companies that manufacture and export licensable goods must ensure that their customer and the intended end-use are approved and in compliance with export regulations. However, today this is largely a manual process that is difficult to administer, especially across a global enterprise,” said Adrienne Braumiller, Partner, Braumiller Schulz LLP.  “Management Dynamics’ End-Use Manager provides companies with the tools necessary to ensure that their shipments are delivered to the approved trade party and destined for friendly end-use.”

 End-Use Manager can be flexibly deployed as a Web-based portal across any global enterprise and configured to meet the specific requirements of different business units. Surveys can be developed by business unit, transaction type, origin country and destination country, and populated with a pre-configured list of questions.  In addition, all parties to the transaction are screened against the major sanctioned party lists. 

 Management Dynamics’ End-Use Manager offers the following key capabilities for companies to simplify trade compliance around product use and related professional services:

• Enterprise Deployment – Implement an end-use process by geography, business unit, or product family with a flexible multi-organization deployment model and manage users with role-based security.
• Survey Configuration – Develop a comprehensive repository of questions and manage assignment rules to dynamically assemble a complete survey for end-use statements by customers, vendors and employees. 
• Restricted Party & Critical Country Screening – Automatically screen each party to the transaction against a comprehensive list of restricted parties and  embargoed countries.
• Generate & Distribute End Use Statements – Dynamically generate end-use statements based on all associated questions as well as the results of Critical Country and Restricted Party Screening in a PDF format for easy distribution via email.
• Review Audit Trail – Audit each transaction with complete visibility to the user and all survey questions and answers.

“Today many companies rely on an inconsistent and, often inaccurate, manual process to administer end-use surveys to determine if the intended use of their shipped goods is in compliance with export controls,” said Nathan Pieri, SVP Marketing & Product Management, Management Dynamics, Inc. “Our new End-Use Manager product makes it possible to manage the process centrally and distribute via a simple web-based solution for employees that must interact with customers, suppliers and contractors.”

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, January 13, 2010 — Management Dynamics, a leading provider of global trade management solutions, today announced that Fiesta Gas Grills, one of the largest North American grill manufacturers, has implemented its Supply Chain Visibility solution to support its expanded global procurement operations.  Integrating its sourcing which is primarily from China to its operations in the United States and Canada, the global multi-mode solution has enabled Fiesta to improve customer service, reduce cycle times, better manage suppliers and proactively identify in-transit delivery issues.

“We needed a solution that provided visibility into our manufacturing and distribution process at the supplier level, the ability to generate commercial documents and a platform on which to coordinate all of our global operations. We found the ideal solution with Management Dynamics,” said Peter Perley, COO, Fiesta Gas Grills.  “The Supply Chain Visibility solution could help us to double our business this year without having to add additional staff to our procurement organization.” 

Management Dynamics’ Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) solution connects Fiesta Gas Grills with its multiple overseas suppliers, logistics providers, brokers and carriers on a single global platform to communicate critical purchase order, shipment and inventory information and to support collaborative logistics processes.  With real-time shipment visibility, Fiesta can offer its national retail customers, order tracking with visibility into nine stages of the manufacturing process for better inventory management with less frequency of stock-outs.  In addition, armed with essential information on each shipment from its suppliers, Fiesta’s procurement operations can make accurate decisions relating to diverting inventory or resolving bottlenecks.

“Global supply chain teams need real-time visibility to their supply network, yet the realities of today’s global supply chain – multiple trading partners with varying information systems and data definitions – can create major operational challenges for companies,” said Nathan Pieri, SVP Marketing and Product Management for Management Dynamics.  “By moving from a largely manual manufacturing and logistics process to one that is automated infrastructure with Supply Chain Visibility, Fiesta Gas Grills has the control and decision support tools they need to reduce lead times, enhance customer service and increase sales in this difficult economy.”

About Fiesta Gas Grills LLC
Through quality craftsmanship and innovative designs Fiesta has become one of the largest North American grill manufacturers. Fiesta grills are cooking great outdoor meals in over 30 countries around the world.. Whether its our award winning Blue Ember brand, our Fiesta brand or our Grillrite brand our dedication to quality permeates our company. From the design teams through the manufacturing team to the in-house customer service representatives, every member of the Fiesta family is committed to providing each owner of a Fiesta grill “the best grill under the sun” and the ultimate in outdoor cooking experience.

About Management Dynamics, Inc.
Management Dynamics is a leading provider of global trade management solutions that improve the performance of global supply chains for importers, exporters, logistics service providers, and carriers. The company’s solutions synchronize the flow of information among trading partners, optimize supply chain execution decisions, and streamline import and export processes to ensure regulatory compliance and minimize cost and risk involved in cross-border transactions. Management Dynamics’ time-proven solutions are used by more than 14,000 global users at some of the world’s most successful 3PLs, carriers, manufacturers, retailers, and high technology companies. For more information, please visit www.ManagementDynamics.com