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Highlights In This Issue
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Kurt's Corner
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They Said It
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TradeCard News |
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The Buzz From Media and Analysts |
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Customer Success |
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Upcoming Events
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| Newsletter Archive |
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Welcome to TradeCard's new quarterly e-mail newsletter. If you think that a friend or colleague would like to receive this e-mail newsletter, ask them to sign up by visiting: http://www.tradecard.com/resources. | ||
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| Highlights In This Issue | ||
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| Kurt's Corner | ||
COGS: a significant opportunity for savings Reducing cost of goods sold represents a major opportunity for companies that source. The practice of extracting costs from the supply chain, opposed to passing expenses down the chain, has proven to be a winning strategy that benefits all parties involved in transactions. In recent years we've seen best practices from such names as Wolverine, Burton Snowboards, TAL Apparel and Under Armour that highlight the innovation and benefits made possible through a holistic approach to cost reduction based on tight collaboration and partnerships. Global sourcing has changed the way we all conduct business and made managing the production process more complex. There are often 15 to 20 parties involved in a single transaction. Inputs are not only greater in number but also more interrelated. For example, strategic initiatives such as duty optimization can be approached from two perspectives: how my component value is documented; and how my use of non-dutiable cost factors, such as finance and discount elements, are extracted. Many in the TradeCard community have found that when looking for a response to lower pricing from a competitor, the answer is not lower raw material or labor costs but better execution of processes, such as duty optimization. A great example of the cascading impact of reducing COGS is a project that one of our major apparel clients is kicking off shortly. Using early payment discounts a TradeCard buyer member will assist its suppliers in obtaining capital needed to finance orders at a better interest rate, lowering cost of capital for suppliers. Capital costs are an expense in the supplier's balance sheet that are factored into the cost, just as any other expense. Lowering finance costs will result in lower COGS and improved margins for the TradeCard buyer in the end. At the same time, this apparel company will also reduce duty costs incurred by lowering invoice amounts through an early payment discount. Innovative companies such as these, that leave no stone unturned and consistently develop creative strategies for removing cost from the supply chain, are inspirational to all of us. Companies that constantly strive to get better recognize the value of holistic financial supply chain initiatives that reduce COGS. Their innovation and vision keep them ahead of the curve and allow them to achieve better margins and business growth. It's insights such as these that TradeCard customers find invaluable. The sharing of best practices and learning that takes place among our members is unique. Each year during Customer Conversations, our members showcase their success in lowering COGS through pre- and post- export financing, invoice discounting, assignment of proceeds and payment protection. Customer Conversations is a special opportunity for all of us to learn and improve. I encourage all of you to join us in Park City, Utah May 3 and 4 to hear and share success stories with your colleagues. After all, none of us can afford to leave any stone unturned when it comes to generating savings in the supply chain. I hope to see you all in May. Kurt | ||
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| They Said It | ||
Notable Quotes From the Past Quarter TradeCard's holistic approach to supply chain management has been embraced and continues to gain momentum. Companies today are finding that all the elements of global trade - cash, product and data flow - need to be addressed as one whole picture rather than point by point. --Kurt Cavano, CEO of TradeCard ----------------------- TradeCard will support our business growth plans by automating the order to payment settlement process in a way that improves communication with our suppliers while providing online access to collaborative finance tools. TradeCard gives us a single point of visibility into the total supply chain. The global trade platform will help us handle higher business volumes while lowering costs and improving cash flow. --David Peek, CFO of Goody's ----------------------- In the last twelve months, there has been a surge of interest from retailers and manufacturers on how to create a cost advantage supply chain. We're really seeing that the interception of trade finance with today's internet-based technology is enabling a whole new way of thinking about both supplier management and payment processes. And we're finding that, for many companies, this can be a multi-million dollar opportunity. --Beth Enslow, SVP Enterprise Research for Aberdeen ----------------------- TradeCard has successfully helped leading companies in apparel, footwear, retail and furniture to synchronize the flow of cash and product to control the supply chain. The next strategic evolutionary step is to automate freight and logistics processes and to integrate them into sourcing strategy. Coordination between chief financial, supply chain, and logistics officers will be the next wave in maintaining control of transactions and keeping a handle on costs. Look for TradeCard to release a new product in the first quarter of 2007 that brings this functionality to the TradeCard Platform. --Marshall Gordon, SVP of TradeCard | ||
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| TradeCard News | ||
Latest Announcements from This Quarter GOODY'S SIGNS ON WITH TRADECARD TO OPTIMIZE SOURCING OPERATIONS AND IMPROVE WORKING CAPITAL Goody's Family Clothing has selected the TradeCard Platform to optimize sourcing operations and drive business growth by automating transactions and improving working capital. Vendor financing capabilities provided by TradeCard will help Goody's improve working capital and lower its vendors' costs. TradeCard will support Goody's overall strategy to increase margins, improve communications with suppliers and streamline sourcing and procurement processes. To read full press release, go to: http://tradecard.com/news/pressreleases/goodys.html ----------------------- TRADECARD POSTS 48 PERCENT REVENUE GROWTH IN 2006 In 2006, TradeCard achieved its fourth consecutive year of major growth based on a 48 percent increase in revenue, 24 new customer deals and more than 750 new supplier-customers added to the TradeCard Platform in 2006. TradeCard's growth was driven by new product innovation including the SourceView™ visibility suite, which was rapidly embraced by consumer goods and retail companies and resulted in 8 new contracts for the product since its launch in May of 2006. New customers that signed on with TradeCard this year ranged in size from small gear bag designer OGIO to large retail and brand names Stride Rite and Perry Ellis. Other new customers include: Alarmex, American Sporting Goods, Bassett Furniture, Carhartt, and Walls Industries. To read full press release, go to: http://tradecard.com/news/pressreleases/2006results.html ----------------------- TRADECARD LAUNCHES NEW RELEASE TradeCard's new release will include:
Key Features of the Q1 2007 Release: Inbound Logistics Tracking Enhanced Supplier Scorecards Supply Chain Dashboards Supplier Enablement | ||
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| The Buzz From Media and Analysts | ||
A look at what's new in the financial supply chain management space This quarter we present: Manufacturing Business Technology on the benefits of automating financial supply chain processes; Apparel Magazine on Stride Rite's selection of TradeCard's SourceView; Textile World Magazine on financial services that help textile and apparel businesses grow and evolve; Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine on Goody's implementation of TradeCard to optimize sourcing; and IndustryWeek Magazine on comparing overseas manufacturing hotspots. Manufacturing Business Technology: TRADE PLATFORM CUTS THE PAPER-BASED TASKS OF FINANCIAL PROCESSES DOWN TO SIZE A logical step after establishing a global supply chain is eliminating manual business processes. Manually intensive financial processes can be particularly vexing in a global business model. That's why Walls Industries-a Dallas-based manufacturer of workwear and other apparel-is automating the financial aspects of its sourcing operations. Central to its efforts is TradeCard's global trade platform. Says William Aisenberg, VP of finance for Walls, "TradeCard streamlines our global trade transactions and eliminates time-consuming data keying and paper-based tasks from our financial processes. Our sourcing operations extend to the Far East, and collaboration with suppliers is vital. Automation of processes from procurement to payment optimizes cash flow, lowers transaction costs, and ensures our suppliers get paid on time." Using the TradeCard platform, Walls is automating document reconciliation, discrepancy approval, payment authorization, receipt reconciliation, and chargeback management. "Walls Industries is taking a strategic approach to its supply chain by synchronizing the movement of cash and goods," says Kurt Cavano, CEO of TradeCard. "The TradeCard Platform allows implementing collaborative financing programs to help vendors access capital and reduce overall costs. The result is that Walls is creating margin growth for itself by partnering with-and assisting-suppliers." To read full article, go to: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/rms/mbth-1-19940410/index.php ----------------------- Apparel Magazine: STRIDE RITE SELECTS TRADECARD'S SOURCEVIEW Stride Rite, a leading children's shoe brand and retailer, has signed on to implement the TradeCard Platform and SourceView visibility suite. The software will be used to streamline global trade and reduce costs caused by stockouts, excess inventory, late shipments, missed deliveries and retailer chargebacks, TradeCard reported, noting that it also will eliminate manual processes and extend control of Stride Rite's physical and financial supply chain. Jim Luks, vice president of finance and corporate controller at Stride Rite, said the technology would allow the firm to increase its business capacity without adding staff or additional resources overseas. "Process automation and extended visibility into our suppliers will help us ensure that shipments arrive at the right place at the right time," he said. "By eliminating unexpected surprises in the supply chain, the TradeCard Platform and SourceView will enable us to reduce costs, optimize cash and drive growth overseas." ----------------------- Textile World Magazine: KEEP THE CASH FLOWING Textile and apparel manufacturing have long depended on an array of financial services to adapt to often volatile business conditions. As part of a complex supply chain, each member faces the challenge of maintaining operations while enduring the ebb and flow of cash demands. Factoring: The concept of factoring - the sale of a company's accounts receivable to a factoring firm at a discount in order to benefit from reduced collection risk and a quick cash infusion - has evolved to meet the needs of globalization, adding additional financial services, and in many cases, shedding the bad-boy image some factors had in earlier days. In some cases, other assets can be considered - incorporating another form of asset-based lending - which can enhance the total amount of available funding. According to the New York City-based Commercial Finance Association's most recent Annual Asset-Based Lending and Factoring Survey, factoring volume for US factors grew to $112.8 billion in 2005 - a 9.3-percent increase over 2004 volume and the strongest year-to-year growth since 2000. The top client industry continues to be textiles and apparel, representing almost 60 percent of the factored volume in 2005. Eighty percent of all the factoring in 2005 was on a non-recourse basis; and 85 percent was performed on a notification basis, meaning the client must notify its customers to remit directly to the factor. Another statistic of note was that 72 percent of the factoring in 2005 involved clients selling goods to retailers. In addition, the survey states that global factoring now exceeds $1 trillion in annual volume. TradeCard: Based in New York City, TradeCard Inc. managed $5 billion worth of transactions settled on the TradeCard Platform in 2006. With 115 employees, TradeCard offers a unique mix of on-demand technology, financial services, in-country support in 40 countries and a global network of more than 2,000 active trading partners. "Many textile companies are leaving money on the table," said Marshall Gordon, TradeCard's senior vice president. "Excess costs, such as high capital costs, are often factored into the total cost of the finished product. By leveraging existing financial services and merging the physical and financial supply chain, buyers and suppliers can collaborate on finance programs such as invoice discounting, export financing, e-factoring and electronic AR [accounts receivable] financing. Low cost countries tend to have higher costs of capital, which can quickly erode sourcing savings. Online financial services can eliminate capital costs and help preserve savings in low cost regions," Gordon said. To read full article, go to: http://www.textileworld.com/News.htm?CD=3638&ID=12306 ----------------------- Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine: GOODY'S SIGNS ON WITH TRADECARD TO OPTIMIZE SOURCING OPERATIONS Retailer Goody's Family Clothing has selected a global trade management solution from TradeCard to automate its financial supply chain, optimize its sourcing operations and drive business growth by improving working capital. Goody's, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, operates 385 stores in 21 states throughout the southeast U.S. region. Goody's sources from a complement of U.S., Asian and Middle East suppliers. TradeCard said that its vendor financing capabilities will help Goody's improve working capital and lower its vendors' costs. TradeCard will support Goody's overall strategy to increase margins, improve communications with suppliers and streamline sourcing and procurement processes. "TradeCard will support our business growth plans by automating the order-to-payment settlement process in a way that improves communication with our suppliers while providing online access to collaborative finance tools," said David Peek, chief financial officer at Goody's. "TradeCard gives us a single point of visibility into the total supply chain. The global trade platform will help us handle higher business volumes while lowering costs and improving cash flow." "Trading on TradeCard will improve Goody's procurement-to-payment-settlement processes, helping them to be more efficient and maintain their costs as they grow," said Kurt Cavano, CEO of TradeCard. "Vendor financing through TradeCard will allow Goody's to assist vendors in lowering capital costs and this benefit will cascade down through the supply chain and result in savings for Goody's." To read full article, go to: http://www.sdcexec.com/online/article.jsp?id=9112&siteSection=27 ----------------------- IndustryWeek Magazine: BRIC CRUMBLING? For about five years, Russia has been one of the four so-called "BRIC" nations -- the others are Brazil, India and China -- that have attracted substantial interest, and sometimes substantial investment, from U.S.-based manufacturers. But with the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Vietnam, and, again, Mexico emerging as significant markets and places of production, is BRIC crumbling? Not really. Rather there seems to be less hype and more reality about BRIC's place in a world in which manufacturers are chasing lower costs of production and distribution and seeking new markets. Update, By Country Brazil. Has a history of high inflation, high interest rates and high import duties to protect domestic industry. But "the macroeconomic climate has been fairly stable... under [President Luiz In cia] Lula [da Silva]," notes Thomas Duesterberg, president and CEO of Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, an Arlington, Va.-based business and public policy research group with about 450 member companies. The ethanol industry is growing, and Brazil has a lot of iron ore, to which the Chinese increasingly are trying to get access, says Duesterberg. Nordson has had sales and service operations in Brazil for 15 years, but no manufacturing. Brazil is closer to the U.S. than China, meaning goods arrive faster, but the cost of labor is higher because of Brazil's currently booming economy, says Kurt Cavano, CEO of New York-based TradeCard Inc., a firm that offers technologies to automate trade transactions. Brazil is in the same time zones as the U.S., meaning "you don't have to be up all night or have an agent there," he adds. To read full article, go to: http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=13256&SectionID=1 | ||
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| Customer Success | ||
Webinar on Best Practices in Supply Chain Finance featuring TradeCard CEO Kurt Cavano and Aberdeen's SVP of Enterprise Research, Beth Enslow. Click here to view the webinar replay. Burton Case Study from Inbound Logistics Magazine | ||
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SAPPHIRE TradeCard's Customer Conversations Material World | ||
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