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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 quarterly e-mail newsletter. If a friend or colleague would like to receive this newsletter, ask them to sign up by visiting: http://www.tradecard.com/resources. | ||
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| Kurt's Corner | ||
Two major stories have filled media headlines in the past three months: recalls on defective products from Asia and the global credit crisis. Both issues have had a direct impact on sourcing and global trade. I'd like to share a few thoughts on these topics. * Recent product recalls have highlighted a long-standing sourcing issue that was not always recognized: full control of the manufacturing and movement of goods is required to prevent risk, maintain control and preserve margins. Full control means having a full view into sourcing processes, understanding supply chain finance and obtaining complete logistics data to proactively address and correct defects. Tight collaboration and integration with inspection and liaison offices can prevent products with incorrect paint or unsafe ingredients from reaching the shelf by catching them before they reach the boat. Supply chain risk and issues with sourcing from China and other low cost regions show how the sourcing game is changing and evolving. Sourcing used to be all about improving margins and getting the cheapest labor and raw materials overseas. Today, we're working with clients to see the big picture including the potential risks and costs involved when sourcing. Some of the latest TradeCard Platform product enhancements released in August enable this level of integration by providing transparency across the extended supply chain, from raw material through shipment. As the next generation of supply chain execution services unfold, expect to see a major focus on automating and integrating processes for sourcing, supply chain finance and logistics to eliminate risk, ensure tracking and enhance sourcing efficiency. * The current credit crunch and liquidity crisis has a direct impact on our world. The world's financial network is experiencing a shortage of cash that impacts the ability for global trade and sourcing to occur smoothly. For those of us on the TradeCard network, there's been a cushion or alternative that injects cash into the supply chain and enables execution. Suppliers on the TradeCard network have access to online financial services to avoid cash bottlenecks. It's times such as these that prove the value of online financial services available on the TradeCard Platform. In recent months, as the credit crunch hit closer to home, we've seen a significant increase in post-export financing on the TradeCard network. Financial services such as export financing and invoice discounting are available on the platform when you need them. Many of you will find they're not just a good security blanket during tight times, but a great tool for removing capital costs from the supply chain during any economic market condition. Both of these issues are top-of-mind throughout the TradeCard network and we're constantly working with our clients and network partners to ease some of the pains in today's sourcing environment. I encourage all of you throughout our network to contact your relationship manager or account executive to find out what TradeCard can do to help you handle the credit crunch and eliminate supply chain risk. Regards, Kurt Cavano | ||
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| They Said It | ||
Notable Quotes From the Past Quarter Removal of paper and manual processes in our transactions is a catalyst to better visibility and control in our supply chain. TradeCard allows us to improve collaboration with vendors and keep a scorecard to ensure we're making the right decisions with our strategic suppliers overseas. This is an important initiative within our broad strategy to become more agile and operate a smarter global supply chain. -- Joe Dixon, Senior Vice President of Sourcing, Production and Technical Services at Brooks Brothers ----------------------- TradeCard will allow us to remove paper from our finance and sourcing operations and automate processes to extend control of products as they move from factories to the store shelf. The TradeCard Platform and SourceView suite will standardize our domestic and international sourcing operation and allow us to make strategic sourcing decisions based on accurate supply chain performance data. -- Mike Relich, CIO at Guess ----------------------- It is no longer good enough to monitor your supply chain - it needs to be actively managed. To do this well, companies must simultaneously address and integrate sourcing, logistics and supply chain finance. TradeCard's enhancements for logistics, supplier enablement and work in progress visibility integrate physical, financial and logistical aspects of the supply chain. This provides trading partners an in-depth view of transactions throughout the handoffs that occur across multiple parties between order and settlement. These tools allow clients to better align demand with supply by enabling programs such as postponement and direct shipment to deliver the right goods at the right time. -- Kurt Cavano, CEO of TradeCard, Inc. | ||
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| TradeCard News | ||
Latest Announcements from This Quarter TRADECARD SELECTED AMONG TOP INNOVATIVE SUPPLY AND DEMAND CHAIN VENDORS TradeCard was selected to the 2007 Supply & Demand Chain 100 listing of top supply chain solution providers. The listing, published by Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine in July 2007, identifies leading providers of supply chain services and technologies at the forefront of innovation. Read the full press release: http://www.tradecard.com/news/pressreleases/2007supplyDemandChainVendors.html ----------------------- BROOKS BROTHERS MOVES WORLDWIDE SUPPLIER TRANSACTIONS ONTO TRADECARD Brooks Brothers, a division of Retail Brand Alliance Inc., (RBA) extended its TradeCard membership to fully automate transactions with its global suppliers from purchase order through payment. Moving supplier transactions onto the TradeCard Platform is part of a global strategic initiative at Brooks Brothers to generate supply chain efficiency and support business growth. TradeCard's on-demand platform enables Brooks Brothers to improve infrastructure and grow as a global organization without adding new offices, IT or staff. Read the full press release: http://www.tradecard.com/news/pressreleases/brooks.html ----------------------- GUESS SELECTS THE TRADECARD PLATFORM AND SOURCEVIEW SUITE TO OPTIMIZE GLOBAL TRADE Leading global brand and retailer Guess has signed with TradeCard to implement the TradeCard Platform and SourceView visibility suite for deductions management, goods receipt and supply chain scorecarding. TradeCard will help Guess optimize global sourcing and improve margins by automating processes from purchase order through payment. SourceView will enable Guess to extend supply chain visibility and standardize goods receipt and deductions management processes. Read the full press release: http://www.tradecard.com/news/pressreleases/guess.html ----------------------- TRADECARD ANNOUNCES NEW PRODUCT ENHANCEMENTS TradeCard released new enhancements to the TradeCard Platform in August. The enhancements for freight logistics and work in progress address visibility blind spots that often exist in today's extended supply chain. The enhancements help customers automate sourcing, logistics and supply chain finance processes to better control the movement of goods across multiple supply chain partners, from raw materials through shipment and logistics. The enhancements include:
Read the full press release: http://www.tradecard.com/about/produpdate.html | ||
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| The Buzz From Media and Analysts | ||
Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies Magazine: SNAKE EYES!!! THE FAILURE TO MANAGE RISK IN SUPPLY CHAIN CAN BE CATASTROPHIC Excerpt from Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies on the importance of risk management Risk management isn't just a side issue to supply chain management-it's the whole issue. Companies must identify the risks with the greatest potential for disruption, then act to mitigate or prevent them. In a global supply chain, there are any number of things that can go wrong. And eventually, they do. Getting the big picture is essential, says Kurt Cavano, chief executive officer of TradeCard Inc. Based in New York City, his company makes software that manages procurement. "You need to think about your supply chain holistically," Cavano says. "You should look at vendors as partners in the whole process." Again, the key lies in achieving visibility across multiple partners - "giving them complete transparency into what's happening," in Cavano's words. Companies can go a long way toward unifying their supply chain partners by eliminating paper communications and putting everyone on a common software platform, he adds. When it comes to sourcing, Cavano urges a "portfolio approach"-one that defines a set of trusted vendors without relying on a single provider or region of the world. Some sources might be placed closer to the customer, which is a more expensive option on paper but could end up saving money in the event of a supply chain disruption. Creative distribution strategies might also be called for. Cavano cites the example of Burton Snowboards, which receives some imported product at Vancouver, B.C., then ships it by train to Montreal and over the U.S.-Canada border to its distribution center in Vermont. The company can't afford to be without sufficient inventory when the snow season hits, he says. To read full article, click here. ----------------------- Business Finance: HOW FINANCE IS GETTING PHYSICAL Excerpts from Business Finance Magazine on how Under Armour uses TradeCard to synchronize its physical and financial supply chains UnderArmour, Inc., the producer of higher-end athletic apparel, has grown over the past several years like an athlete prepping for a championship game. Sales jumped nearly tenfold between 2002 and 2006, from $50 to $431 million. At the same time, the company expanded the number of countries from which it sourced materials, from about eight to 16, says Brad Dickerson, vice president of accounting and finance. "The sourcing base was changing significantly." These twin shifts created several challenges. First, there was no central tool through which Dickerson and his colleagues could communicate with suppliers. So, if an invoice was held up due to a discrepancy between its total and the numbers on the packing slip, the employees in the supply chain functions might know about this, but not accounting. In addition, because UnderArmour was transacting business with partners spread across multiple countries and time zones, and speaking different languages, it was difficult to get purchase orders to suppliers and pay the invoices on a timely basis. "It was a dysfunctional process," combining email, faxes, and phone calls, Dickerson says. So, Dickerson and his colleagues in UnderArmour's sourcing group began working to better align their business processes with their suppliers, recognizing that their suppliers' financial stability benefited UnderArmour as well. The key, says Dickerson, was sharing information and gaining visibility into the supply chain. He decided to start with the procure-to-pay process. The company began working with TradeCard, a provider of solutions to integrate sourcing, finance, and logistics. In May 2005, UnderArmour moved its first supplier onto the TradeCard portal; five months later, the suppliers that accounted for 90 percent of UnderArmour's supply chain volume were on the system. To read full article, go to: http://www.bfmag.com/magazine/archives/article.html?articleID=14845 ----------------------- Consumer Goods Technology Magazine: VISIONARIES 2007 Excerpt from Consumer Goods Technology Magazine's article listing top visionaries of 2007. The list includes TradeCard client Columbia Sportswear's John Bailey for his vision and leadership in automating transactions and generating efficiency in the supply chain. In January 2004, Columbia Sportswear Company implemented an on-demand trade platform from TradeCard to automate transactions and help deal with customs regulations more efficiently. Led by John Bailey, the company leverages online financial services available on the platform to offer suppliers collaborative finance programs and ensure they have access to capital needed to order raw materials on time and prevent delays. To read full article go to: http://209.196.57.19/Media/PublicationsArticle/23-28_CG_0607.pdf | ||
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| Customer Success | ||
Brooks Brothers Case Study Replay: Join Brooks Brothers, TradeCard and Women's Wear Daily for a sourcing webcast on best practices in optimizing the extended supply chain. Hear a case study on Brooks Brothers' long history of strategic global sourcing - and learn how TradeCard eliminated costs and improved visibility in the supply chain. https://tradecardevents.webex.com/tradecardevents/onstage/g.php?AT=VR&RecordingID=277737303 | ||
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| Upcoming Events | ||
October October 3-5: Supply Chain Solutions 2007, Toronto, ON October 7-9: Apparel Executive Forum, Key Biscayne, FL October 25-26: The Pursuit of Excellence in Global Sourcing and IPO Management Summit, Shanghai, CN ----------------------- November November 4-7: VCF Annual Fall Conference, Indian Wells, CA November 7-8: Effizienztag Mode & Modehandeslkongress, Duesseldorf, Germany November 13: NCWTA Global Trade Conference, Greensboro, NC Be sure to check back for updates on where we'll be next. | ||
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