Shippers everywhere are feeling the pressure to increase their products' speed to market. In a world where consumers have become used to expedited shipping and new items on store shelves every week a higher speed to market can be a great competitive advantage. 

That competitive advantage begins with having greater efficiency within the supply chain, but if you're like most of the shippers polled by Sourcing Journal in the report Digital Aspirations, Blind Spots & the Transparency Divide then you may not be sure where to start.

Supply chain technology and automation – these are the gifts that keeps on giving this holiday season -- and beyond. And there is something under the tree for every link of the chain from sourcing to shipping. Here’s a recap of published articles from industry publications authored by Amber Road’s subject matter experts who provide some transformative best practices across the supply chain.

A great supply chain partner is one who knows exactly what ingredients a company needs to make their operations successful — and those that can be skipped. As a software provider, it’s critical that the functionality and tools support the marketplace, across all industries and company size. To highlight companies that possess these important characteristics, SupplyChainBrain has announced the 100 Great Supply Chain Partners of 2018 and Amber Road has emerged as one of those highly-valued companies.

Autumn is here, which means the holiday shopping season is just around the corner. The store shelves are already stocked with some Christmas holiday goods, which signals that the products are already sitting in the local DCs and stores. Companies aren’t wasting time to get the holiday shopping season underway, and better inventory management will give them some extra advantages this season. It’s also important to understand why product testing matters in today’s complex safety and compliance world, and how to keep from being blindsided by custom laws and regulations. Amber Road’s subject matter experts provide best practices across the supply chain in a range of published articles from industry publications. 

As global supply chains become more and more complex - and as international shipping costs continue to rise - you know that digitizing the data and collaboration tools in your supply chain is more crucial than ever. The companies that are truly thriving these days have something significant in common: a digitized supply chain. Leveraging structured data can help ease external pressures while also providing high levels of visibility, improved efficiency and minimized risk. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has long been an advocate of transparency and risk reduction in global supply chains through the Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a voluntary cargo security program for global transactions. Since its inception in 2002, C-TPAT has been the basis of how the government manages and monitors cargo security. 

The security threats the nation faced in 2002 are vastly different from today’s security and terrorism concerns. Each day brings a new cargo security concern based on more complex supply chains, and greater risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks. Changing players in company supply chains can also impact cargo security and put companies at risk.

To address today’s risk, CBP has released a more comprehensive cargo security program, with the support of the trade, to mirror the threats now prevalent in global supply chains. The newly released Minimum-Security Criteria (MSC) replace the previous Minimum-Security Guidelines (MSG), changing the landscape of the program for current members, and future volunteers to the program.

Imagine you're planning a potluck. Each friend is assigned to bring their specialty - a tasty homemade dish, the centerpiece honeybaked ham, their secret-recipe apple pie - and you, the host, need to coordinate it all. Thing is, one of your friends is in Vietnam. The other is on a cargo ship in the North Pacific. And the only tools you have at your disposal are a fax machine and an Excel spreadsheet that no one else can see. How is your potluck going to be a success?

Of course, that's not how anyone plans a party these days. Individuals can easily communicate and collaborate across borders to share plans and ideas instantly. But creating a digital model for your company's global supply chain is a lot more complex than simply downloading Venmo. You'll need to transform your entire ecosystem and technology stack - no simple task.

Who should be included in your new digital model of your supply chain, what will they contribute and how will that be shared and consumed? What are the benefits?

It's just like a potluck, only a lot bigger. And more complex. 

Join ARC Advisory Group and Amber Road for a webinar to discover how you can begin to build a truly digital supply chain.

Webinar: Building a Digital Supply Chain is Like Hosting a Potluck:  What You Need to Know

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 at 2PM EDT

The search for supply chain excellence is on in August. From keeping an eye on activities inside China’s borders to the quest for eternal supply chain knowledge, or how to face the challenges and opportunities of free trade and compliance. Amber Road’s subject matter experts provide solutions across the supply chain in a range of published articles from industry publications.

China has Another Trade War Going on Behind the Wall in Supply Chain Dive:

It certainly was hot in July – heat waves across the US and Europe, and everyone’s focus on global trade. Amber Road is all over the news talking about digital best practices and solutions including where to find the value and business benefits of going digital with your supply chain, real benefits of US reshoring for manufacturers, and the answers to ethical and social compliance across the supply chain.

Most business decisions are determined by money, whether its revenue generated or potential savings. Due to increasing globalization in today’s markets, coupled with an unstable regulatory environment, global supply chains are becoming more complex than ever before. This has increased the difficulty of simple day-to-day operations, let alone optimizing costs. The current influx of multiple transportation routes and carriers, updated government regulations, and several other factors will continue to bring hardship unless a strong value chain is obtained.