Newsletter
TradeCard News - June 2004
Financial Supply Chain Automation - The Hosted way to Procure-To-Pay
Welcome to TradeCard's monthly e-mail newsletter - a summary of the latest news from TradeCard.
To read this newsletter in other languages, please click here:
CHINESE
KOREAN
JAPANESE
News about the newsletter: To make this monthly newsletter more useful to you and your business, we
are making some changes. TradeCard's management team is always on the road, talking to our members and other industry
thought leaders. We use these interactions to build on what is already a deep knowledge base of global trade and
finance. Each month, a different member of our management team will share a recent experience with you in
TradeCard Insights: Notes from the Road.
Starting next month, we will also provide you with a tip on how to conduct better global trade in
the column "Principles of Better Trade". These tips are driven by the real-world experience of our members.
We would also love to hear from you. Send trade tips, suggested topics, or questions for our management
team to sales@tradecard.com.
This month we start with a note from Kurt Cavano, chairman and CEO of TradeCard, and a well-known
and passionate spokesperson on automating the financial processes that power global trade.
NOTES FROM THE ROAD: KURT CAVANO, CHAIRMAN AND CEO AT THE APEC E-COMMERCE FORUM in CHINA
NEWS: TRADECARD SELECTED AS ONE OF THE TOP VENDORS IN "2004 SUPPLY & DEMAND CHAIN EXECUTIVE 100" LISTING
HEADLINES: RECENT ARTICLES THAT HAVE FEATURED TRADECARD
EVENTS: UPCOMING TRADESHOWS, CONFERENCES, WEB SEMINARS AND MORE
NOTES FROM THE ROAD * NOTES FROM THE ROAD * NOTES FROM THE ROAD *
This month, Kurt Cavano, TradeCard's Chairman and CEO, covers the trend to intraregional paperless trade:
The first message from me reaches you from China, which, according to the New York Times from June 11, is now one of
the world's twin economic engines, alongside the United States, with trade flows to match. The reason for my visit to
China was the 1st APEC e-Commerce Business Alliance Forum. The Forum was a meeting of the member economies of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, with the purpose to discuss the progress made in introducing paperless trading
within the APEC region.
It took place in Yantai, a seaside resort tucked away on a peninsula reaching out into the Yellow Sea, south of
Beijing. As local legend has it, in 1398, in order to defend the place against pirates along the coast, a smoke
platform was built here to give its inhabitants a warning signal. This is how Yantai got its name (the characters of
"Yan" and "Tai" mean "smoke" and "platform" respectively in Chinese). At the APEC meeting, platforms of a different
kind - technology platforms - were discussed, those platforms that will help automate the tedious and paper-laden
processes in international trade. APEC has set itself the target to "reduce or eliminate the requirement for paper
documents needed for customs and other cross-border trade administration and other documents and messages relevant to
international sea, air and land transport" where possible, by 2005 for its developed and 2010 for its developing
member economies.
I was invited to discuss how TradeCard facilitates paperless trading alongside a prestigious group of other speakers
ranging from high-ranking government officials to respected professionals in the industry. It is good news to see so
many global efforts with the aim to eliminate paper from trade transactions. In China, for example, 80% of customs
declarations for China's exports are already processed electronically. The message that came out of this important
forum was loud and clear: World trade in goods and services is expected to exceed $14 trillion by 2005. Customs
authorities will be seriously challenged to cope with paper documents for that volume, and companies involved in
trading will have the same problem. Paperless trading is not just a vision of the future, but can be realized today.
With individual companies and even governments in all the major manufacturing and trading centers around the world
considering electronic trading, chances are that your trading partners are already seeking ways to be online
increasing the immediate efficiencies this brings to your business.
NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS *
TRADECARD SELECTED AS ONE OF THE TOP VENDORS IN "2004 SUPPLY & DEMAND CHAIN EXECUTIVE 100" LISTING
TradeCard has been selected as one of the top supply and demand chain vendors in the annual listing of the "Supply &
Demand Chain Executive 100" published by American Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine. Selection criteria
included the ability to demonstrate that the company will be around for the long-term, has relevant industry
knowledge and expertise, addresses specific pain points in the supply chain, is able to demonstrate a return on
investment and is continuing to drive innovation in its solutions and services offerings. Inclusion in the listing
recognizes TradeCard as one of the organizations that are leading the way in providing solutions and services for
enabling supply chain transformation. The article will be published in the June/July issue of the magazine. To find
out more about the Executive 100 listing, please click on: www.isourceonline.com/sdcexec100/
HEADLINES * HEADLINES * HEADLINES * HEADLINES * HEADLINES * HEADLINES
Recent TradeCard headlines with some article excerpts:
- Dump LC Headaches Overboard - June 2004, Treasury & Risk Management
The article explains that thanks to Web-based trade finance, treasurers may finally be able to reduce the
inefficiencies that make trade a cash management nightmare:
"No one hates letters of credit (LCs) more than treasurer Tom Durso of Burton Snowboards. The privately held company,
based in Burlington, VT, has had its share of them, since it sources and ships its chic clothing and avant-garde
snowboarding equipment throughout the world. It's not surprising then that he took steps earlier this year to
automate LCs out of his life - or at least, eliminate them as much as possible - through more efficient management of
Burton's financial supply chain. Durso's first step: move five of the company's key vendors onto TradeCard Inc., a
New York-based, one-stop, global trade finance shop. The treasurer of the world's leading maker of snowboards hopes
to have everyone onboard next year. Durso expects to reduce his costs by one-third to one-half this year alone."
To read the full article, please go to
www.tradecard.com/languages/EN/news/articles/TreasuryRiskManagement_062004.pdf
Other headlines:
- LCs are out of date - Trade Finance Internet Platforms are the Way to Go - June 6, 2004, Commercial Times (in
Chinese)
To read this article, please click on www.tradeard.com/languages/TW/news/articles/CommercialTimes_060604.pdf
- Outsourcing Customs Clearance Enhances Competitiveness - May 26, 2004, Economic Daily News (in Chinese)
EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS
In the coming months, TradeCard will be participating in:
HONG KONG, July 16. Financial Management Seminar, organized by the Hong Kong Article Numbering Association.
EL SALVADOR, July 18. Speed to Market 2004 - Textile and Apparel Summit, organized by the AAPN. Kurt Cavano will
participate in a panel discussion.
TAIPEI, September 14. Asia PKI-Forum - Carl Wegner from TradeCard
Taiwan will present a customer case study.
This newsletter can also be viewed at the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce website at
www.chamber.org.hk/hknewsletters/
