Optimise sourcing and distribution decisions based on total landed costs and trade regulation risk

Optimise sourcing and distribution decisions based on total landed costs and trade regulation risk

Global Trade Management solutions provider, Management Dynamics has announced the release of Trade Planner 3.0, a scenario-based planning tool that is designed to help supply chain teams quickly and accurately evaluate alternative sourcing and distribution strategies to optimise total landed cost, while assessing the impact of trade regulations.

According to US 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, the vendor said these factors highlight the fact that businesses need planning tools to improve the design of their global supply chains.

Multi-dimensional supply chain visibility

“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, Gartner research director. “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 the on-demand Trade Planner application, Management Dynamics said 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 integrated with Management Dynamics’ Global Trade Content and supports classification by the Harmonised 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, Management Dynamics senior vice president of marketing and product management. “Today, some of the world’s largest companies in retail, food service, electronics, and apparel, are utilising Trade Planner 3.0 across the enterprise to collaborate and make better sourcing and distribution strategies by considering both cost and associated risks.”