We are excited to announce that three of our executives received Supply & Demand Chain Executive's "Pros to Know" Award for 2014! This is the eleventh year in a row an Amber Road visionary has been recognized by the publication for his or her commitment to helping customers transform their global supply chain.

In the first of our exclusive vendor interviews from last month’s NRF show in New York City, our Editor talks with Gary Barraco of ecVision about supply chain transparency, sustainability, and the future of collaborative materials management.

Ben Hanson: Firstly, how has the show been for you, and do you think the trends you see here are indicative of trade shows in general?

Gary Barraco (pictured far right):

I like to tell everyone that these kinds of shows really mirror the industry as a whole. So here on the expo floor, we’re a supply chain solution provider, and the focus is not really on us. The focus for the attendees this year is on retailing, and all of the aspects of customer experience, including how to deliver the right products into the hands of the consumer.

Our role, instead, lies in getting those products from design to receipt into the warehouse and the store. So although we do play an important role in the process of getting things to retail, we haven’t seen the traffic for supply chain buyers like we did last year.

How do you watch over and communicate with your global suppliers? Are you prepared for the known (shipping delays, missed deadlines, seasonal swings), as well as the unknown (weather, political unrest, events like the apparel facility collapse in Bangladesh)? Who is responsible? Who is accountable? What are the lessons to be learned and how can you apply them? What about regulatory issues and such things as conflict minerals?

TAX TIME AGAIN! The yearly headache that you fear is coming on as you scramble to gather the documentation to avoid the massive inconvenience of an IRS tax audit. Getting together all of those receipts and looking for copies of checks in order to get a break from the government on business-related expenses and non-profit tax donations. You need the paper trail just in case but either way you want to avoid the consequences that you may face otherwise – in this case spending a few years in the white collar crime section.

As the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to play an increasing role in regulating trade, 2014 will bring about big changes at the agency, which will directly impact importers and exporters. Attorney Peter Quinter, who chairs the Customs & International Trade Law Group of GrayRobinson, P.A., has compiled a list of 10 predictions about where CBP is headed:

We know that keeping up with Export Control Reform (ECR) changes can be tough, so we’re breaking down the latest updates for you right here!

Get Caught Up: To date, 13 of the 21 categories on the U.S. Munitions list have been modified. These items include aircraft, explosives, gas turbine engines, missiles and military vehicles, which combined account for approximately 90 percent of all export licenses.