Managing a global supply chain isn't confined to simple logistics - trade regulations, Customs entry requirements, and shifting tariff rules can have a weighty impact on your landed cost and speed to market.

That's why, at Rider University's Global Supply Chain Symposium, supply chain leaders spoke on a panel titled Global Trade and Its Impact on Your Supply Chain. Suzanne Richer, Director of Amber Road's Trade Advisory Practice, joined executives from Subaru and Firmenich at the symposium which welcomed supply chain and logistics professionals for a full day of presentations and panels from industry leaders.

Last Friday was the date set for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. What might ultimately have happened on this day has been salivated over by some and agonized over by others ever since the UK voted nearly three years ago to withdraw, an event quickly dubbed “Brexit”—Britain Exiting the EU.  After the Brexit referendum, British Prime Minister Theresa May had over two years to negotiate an exit strategy that would gain Parliament's support. This proved more difficult than most anticipated, and the deadline was pushed back to April 12, 2019. But with the next deadline looming and nothing concrete in the works, the PM Theresa May and EU leaders agreed to extend this date for another six months; so, for now, the UK remains in the EU. But those not living in the UK may be wondering, why all the angst? Why can’t the UK just withdraw? The short answer is, they could. The long answer is much, much more complicated.

Amber Road has expanded its support for customs filing in Europe in conjunction with the launch of a new multi-country customs warehousing platform. These solutions address the need for companies to rapidly configure their supply chain given changes in trade regulations or business strategy and to fully digitize trade processes with direct self-filing to customs agencies.

The Amber Road GTM solution integrates Global Knowledge® trade content from over 170 countries with order-to-cash processes to ensure compliant cross-border trade.  The new multi-country customs warehousing solution delivers a single platform from which to take advantage of the cost savings and supply chain efficiencies when moving bonded and non-bonded inventory in and out of Europe.   

As global trade continues to grow in complexity, the demands on supply chains are only becoming greater. With the emergence of new transportation technologies in tandem with regulatory and geopolitical shifts, developing a comprehensive global supply chain strategy becomes increasingly more difficult. In the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is critical for organizations to stay ahead of the global trade challenges stacked against them.

Global trade today is making the world a smaller place and enabling more markets and regions to link together with less cost and risk. It’s also driving technology development by creating standards and removing economic barriers that inhibit the movement of goods, information, and people. Amber Road’s subject-matter experts provide some thought-provoking insights in a range of industry publications to help companies continue to streamline their global supply chains.

Is Technology the Solution to Supply Chain Complexity? in Inbound Logistics

Conducting international trade can be chaotic. Fluctuating tariffs, duties, and free trade agreements, expanding multi-tier supply sources, new international trade rules, and much more, constantly trigger heavy ripple effects along the entire retail supply chain. The advancement of technology, specifically supply chain digitization, allows full visibility into your design, global sourcing, manufacturing, trade compliance and shipping functions, all united in one central location: The Control Tower. But many organizations are still needlessly hesitant to adopt these rewarding advancements.

As technology evolves and disrupts our industry, it is important to take a step back and get a “reality check” on the usefulness of these technologies, especially as leaders are looking for new innovative technologies to give their companies a competitive advantage in the market. It can be difficult to separate out the hype surrounding these new technologies from the reality. This industry report, Reality Check: Supply Chain Technology Innovation Benchmark Study, works to help you do just that.

American Shipper’s Ben Meyer surveyed 296 supply chain stakeholders to more closely examine the trends around investment in both current and futuristic supply chain technologies. By doing this, he hopes to determine not only how the industry feels about new technologies, but how serious they are about implementing them in their own company.

Some key statistics that you can find in the report include:

New supply chain technology, changing trade regulations, and increased competition is driving the trade world at record-breaking speed. The pace means forward-thinking companies must take thoughtful steps to harness the power of the latest solutions to streamline global supply chains. In a range of industry publications, Amber Road’s subject matter experts provide thought leadership to help companies win the race.

Navigating Challenging Global Trade Currents in Supply Chain Brain

There was a time when the world was flat. The world had not yet been explored and global trade only accounted for a small portion of supply to most regions. Goods were mainly produced locally, or within a reasonable distance for them to be transported, at least before the 18^th century. This was especially true for perishable goods.  Supply chains linked consumers and suppliers to what they needed—as long as it was close, or they had the resources to bring it from far away. And it used to be that this link was just physical—moving a product from source to consumption.

After a long day of work, the last thing anybody wants to hear is they need to go back and fix a mistake. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Customs filing process, errors are more common than anybody would like, and once an error is noticed importers have an obligation to go back and correct it. For large shippers who could potentially have 15,000 entries with 150,000 lines in a year, this makes post-entry adjustment a burdensome task to execute. At last, there is hope for importers after all.