Newsletter
TradeCard Quarterly Newsletter - Quarter 3, 2005
Financial Supply Chain Automation - The Hosted Way To Procure-To-Pay
Welcome to TradeCard's new quarterly e-mail newsletter.
If you think that a friend or colleague would like to receive this newsletter, ask them to sign up by visiting:
http://www.tradecard.com/resources/index.html.
NEWS: TRADECARD LAUNCHES FIRST AUTOMATED EARLY PAYMENT PROGRAM
FINANCIAL SUPPLY CHAIN KNOWLEDGE CENTER:
Recent articles on global trade and supply chain management:
- China Appeals to U.S. Buyers with 'Supply Chain Cities' - Apparel Magazine, August 2005
- Making it Right - Journal of Commerce, July 2005
- Aberdeen Group Survey on Global Trade Management
CUSTOMER SUCCESSES: TRADECARD CUSTOMER CASE STUDIES - SEWON COMPANY LTD
EVENTS: UPCOMING TRADESHOWS, CONFERENCES, WEB SEMINARS AND MORE
WHO IS TRADECARD?
NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS * NEWS *
TRADECARD LAUNCHES FIRST AUTOMATED EARLY PAYMENT PROGRAM
TradeCard recently launched its automated Early Payment Program. After piloting the program with a number of customers over the past six months, it is now available to any eligible supplier on the TradeCard system. Buyers can either fund an early payment program with their own cash or TradeCard's partner financial institutions finance the early payment in lieu of traditional factoring or financing agreements.
With the new program, suppliers can get paid as early as two days after the buyer submits an electronic payment approval document. The world's number one snowboard company and one of the world's largest outerwear brands have already adopted the TradeCard Early Payment Program with their suppliers. To find out more, go to http://www.tradecard.com/news/pressreleases/epp.html.
FINANCIAL SUPPLY CHAIN KNOWLEDGE CENTER * FINANCIAL SUPPLY CHAIN KNOWLEDGE CENTER
Every quarter we will bring you vital business intelligence that will give you insights into important strategic issues related to global trade and supply chain management. This quarter we will bring you recent articles from "Apparel Magazine", "Journal of Commerce" and "Frontline Solutions".
We'd also like to invite you in the name of the Aberdeen Group to participate in a survey for Chief Financial Officers on their Global Trade Management Practices. Every participant will get a FREE copy of the report, so we encourage you to fill the survey in.
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Apparel Magazine article on sourcing in China
China Appeals to U.S. Buyers with 'Supply Chain Cities'
By Staci Kusterbeck, Contributing Author
August 01, 2005
Despite safeguards that promise to create confusion around Chinese apparel sourcing for at least the next few years, China remains the most-desired sourcing locale for many U.S. firms that value its low labor costs and integrated supply chain.
Is it a good idea to outsource your product development to China? Will China's labor costs continue to rise? How will safeguard quotas on China's goods affect imports in the coming years? These are some of the unanswered questions on the horizon for major apparel brands and retailers sourcing in China. To read on, please click through to http://www.apparelmag.com/articles/aug/aug05_3.shtml.
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Journal of Commerce article on charge backs
Making it right
By Alan M. Field
July 18, 2005
A large U.S. retailer orders 100 boxes of a hot-selling new garment product, but cringes when only 90 cases arrive in the right colors. A big-brand manufacturer orders 50 boxes of portable telephones, but 10 of the boxes are damaged by water en route. A specialty retailer receives all the right products in all the right colors, but the shipment arrives a week late for a critical Christmas promotion.
Whenever costly mistakes happen in the sourcing supply chain, buyers have to decide if they want to "charge back" the financial damage to the vendors who are responsible. They may want to negotiate a settlement to avoid permanently damaging ties with a vendor who's usually reliable.
Traditionally, this back-and-forth process has been paper-based, time-consuming, highly inefficient and marked by uncertainty and finger-pointing. A recent study by Aberdeen Group found that 64 percent of all companies still use paper and spreadsheet processes to manage their international sourcing. These companies still rely on phone, fax and "snail mail" to manage the process. They still must match up the paper documents to figure out how much they should charge back to their vendors, said Beth Enslow, vice president of enterprise research at Aberdeen Group. To read the rest of the article, please click here http://www.tradecard.com/languages/EN/news/articles/JournalOfCommerce_071805.pdf.
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Frontline Solutions article on 20 years of supply chain advance
Then, Now and Next - Celebrating 20 Years of Supply Chain Advance
By Brian Albright, George Miller
June 1, 2005
When this magazine began publication two decades ago as Automatic I.D. News, automatic identification was just one of several islands of technology cobbled together within the supply chain, and the gulf between trading partners often seemed as wide as the one separating the United States and the Soviet Union.
In 1985, amid the glasnost warm-up to the historic Reagan-Gorbachev summit on world superpower arms control, the bar code revolution was just beginning to pick up steam. After 10 years of slow growth, the cost of scanners dropped and national retail chains such as Kmart made bar codes a standard part of doing business. At the same time, any company with a global supply chain had to contend with regional instability in Latin America and Asia, unreliable communications networks, and the realities of the Cold War.
The next two decades brought a technology-driven revolution, headlined first by a fixation on quality in manufacturing, spurred by rivalries between America and Japan in the automotive market. Theory-of-Constraints gurus chased bottlenecks through the manufacturing plant, and later, out into the supply chain, forever changing the way companies move, store, and track goods.
Companies with an international presence today have to deal with the costs of managing and securing a global supply chain. Multiple industries hope that radio frequency identification (RFID) can bring even more speed and efficiency to their operations. In spite of the advances of the last 20 years, the supply chain still offers plenty of room for improvement.
To read the full article, please click here http://www.frontlinetoday.com/frontline/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=166682.
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Aberdeen Group Survey on Global Trade Management
TradeCard would like to invite you on behalf of the AberdeenGroup, the leading provider of fact-based research and advice for the global technology-driven value chain, to participate in this survey. Respondents who submit completed surveys will have access to the AberdeenGroup's complete CFO Agenda for Global Trade Management Report, which will result from this study.
The Survey
Managing the financial processes of global trade is vital to the success of companies that source or sell internationally. AberdeenGroup is researching the financially oriented global trade strategies used by companies like yours.
This study will identify the areas providing the highest benefits for companies and help you benchmark your performance against your peers. What is your company doing?
To complete the survey, please follow this link.
The AberdeenGroup greatly appreciates your participation in this research effort, and looks forward to sharing our findings with you. All data collected will be used in aggregate. Individual responses will be kept strictly confidential.
CUSTOMER SUCCESSES * CUSTOMER SUCCESSES * CUSTOMER SUCCESSES *
TradeCard currently has nearly 1,300 corporate members, a list that is growing fast. In the first six months of the year, TradeCard signed up over 300 members and is set to double that number by the end of the year.
Find out in our new customer case study series in how many different ways our customers benefit from TradeCard's financial supply chain management solution. This quarter, we are featuring Sewon Company Ltd. of Busan, South Korea. Sewon is one of the largest and longest-established contract manufacturers of sports footwear for a leading global brand name. Sewon exclusively produces over US$100 million worth of products annually for its buyer. To read the case study, please click here http://www.tradecard.com/languages/EN/documents/SewonCaseStudy.pdf.
EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS * EVENTS
In the coming months, TradeCard will participate in:
London, September 13 - Retail Week Supply Chain 2005 Conference
TradeCard is a sponsor and will be participating in the Roundtable discussion on "Increasing availability" chaired by Tim Edwards, Tesco. To register, please go to
http://www.retail-supplychain.co.uk.
TradeCard retail customers enjoy a special discount. If you are interested, please email mfaerber@tradecard.com.
Savannah, Georgia, September 14-16 - AAPN Annual Meeting
TradeCard executives will attend this annual gathering of executives from the American Apparel Producers' Network (AAPN) members. For more information, go to
http://www.aapnetwork.net/Content/74.htm.
Shanghai, September 19-22 - Apparel China Symposium and Sourcing Fair
This event organized by Apparel Magazine will consist of two parts: The Symposium will provide high level, in-depth market information presented by leading experts, and the Sourcing Fair will provide the opportunity to meet with over 600 China-based suppliers. TradeCard is a sponsor of this event and TradeCard executives will attend this event. TradeCard will also have an exhibition booth. Please visit us at booth No. 1B06. For more information or to register, click on http://www.apparelmag.com/conferences/China/CS05.shtml.
Teaneck, New Jersey, September 20-21, The Cure For Deductions: Retail/Vendor Synchronization
Co-sponsored by the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and Vendor Compliance Federation (VCF), this conference will bring together apparel, footwear and retail organizations to discuss collaboration on chargeback issues. TradeCard will participate on a panel to discuss technology's role in solving the problems. For more information, go to http://www.apparelandfootwear.org/data/events/AAFAVCFSEPT05.pdf.
Shanghai, September 20-23 - World Trade Centers Association Annual Meeting
The September 20-23, 2005 WTCA General Assembly in Shanghai, hosted by WTC Shanghai, will focus on commercial opportunities in China. Among the many important speakers at the event will be experts with extensive experience on how to build successful commercial relations with businesses in China. Kurt Cavano, TradeCard's Chairman and CEO will participate as one of the expert speakers. For more information, go to http://www.wtca-sh.org/en/programme.asp.
Dongguan, China, September 21-22 - Global Sourcing Dongguan, Footwear Materials and Components Expo
TradeCard will have a booth and cocktail event at this trade footwear fair that is co-organized by the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the American Chinese Apparel and Footwear Association (ACAFA). Please visit us at booth A4. To find out more, please go to http://www.apparelandfootwear.org/data/events/dongguan05hotelandvisitor.pdf.
Charlotte, North Carolina, September 27-28 - American Home Furnishings Alliance Financial Management Seminar
Kurt Cavano will speak about "Offshoring the Furniture Supply Chain".
Shanghai, September 28-29 - Trade Finance in China
Carl Wegner will give a presentation about "Streamlining the trade finance process through e-initatives" at this conference organized by Arkgroup.
New York, New York, September 28-30 - Material World
Material World features suppliers that support the production process from design through manufacturing and delivery. It is one of the premier global fabric and sourcing events. TradeCard will be in booth #845.
On September 29th, TradeCard will also participate on a panel discussion: New & Different Ways to Finance International Transactions.
For more information, go to http://www.material-world.com/Content/591.htm.
Chicago, Illinois, October 9-11 - RILA ALEx
ALEx (Annual Leaders Exchange) is a gathering of top executives from the retail industry's most innovative companies, sponsored by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). Kurt Cavano will facilitate a session on "Leveraging Your Credit Throughout the Supply Chain.".
Visit http://www.whoisalex.org/alex05/new/index1.aspx for more information.
Naples, Florida, October 9-11, Apparel Executive Forum
TradeCard has sponsored the Apparel Executive Forum, an exclusive networking event between influential apparel and retail executives and progressive industry suppliers. By invitation only, Apparel Magazine brings together leading CEOs, chairmen, presidents and other executive management for a weekend program tackling the industry's most critical issues.
New York, New York, November 2-4, WWD CEO Summit
TradeCard has sponsored the Women's Wear Daily CEO Summit, a invitation-only gathering of 150 CEOs from international retail and apparel companies.
New York, New York, November 10, Apparel Magazine Tech Conference and All-Star Awards Dinner
Apparel Magazine's Tech Conference features exhibits from technology vendors, as well as 25 educational seminars. Be sure to visit TradeCard's table.
Later that evening, Apparel Magazine will formally recognize its All-Star Award Winners. The All-Stars and all of the Tech Conference attendees will be invited to a gala reception immediately following the day's activities.
For more information, go to http://www.apparelmag.com/conferences/Tech/TC05.shtml.
Be sure to check our web site for updates on where we'll be next.
WHO IS TRADECARD? * WHO IS TRADECARD? * WHO IS TRADECARD? *
TradeCard, the leading provider of on-demand financial supply chain products, is revolutionizing global trade with a web-based platform that automates the financial processes in supply chains that have been plagued with decades-old paper-based solutions. By using TradeCard, buyers and sellers can manage their transactions with complete visibility to initial orders through final settlement. TradeCard's global network of partners provides additional automated services on the platform including supply chain financing, credit protection, money movement and inspection.
In addition to process improvements, customers realize immediate cost savings, optimized cash flow, reduced reliance on credit lines and improved supply chain relationships. Headquartered in New York City, TradeCard Inc. has offices in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Brussels, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo and Shenzhen. TradeCard is a registered trademark in the United States and elsewhere throughout the world. TradeCard is located online at www.tradecard.com
If you have any questions about TradeCard or the above, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@tradecard.com.
