Getting serious about global trade management (GTM): Trends that should lead to adoption of real solutions

Last year we examined the need for automated global trade management solutions and how an organization might select the right Global Trade Management (GTM) Solution for Microsoft Dynamics AX. At the time, William McNeill, senior research analyst at Gartner., said an increasing number of companies were taking an interest in GTMs and using either integrated or standalone offerings to ensure a smooth export and/or import process for goods.

"Because the brand owner/manufacturer is ultimately responsible when something goes wrong during the import or export process," McNeill stated, "companies must put processes in place to handle and mitigate that risk."

In the meantime, new reports have made the case that GTM technology is still underused by many businesses. And as international operations continue to expand, more manual processes are likely to be stressed by unstructured trading processes.

Pen, Paper, and Phone

Defined as solutions that streamline and automate processes related to customs and regulatory compliance, global logistics, and trade financing, GTM helps manage the flow of information, money, and goods across global supply chains - including buyers, sellers, and intermediaries (customs agencies, banks, and freight forwarders).

As the middlemen who effectively deliver products and services to end users on behalf of global manufacturers, distributors can be particularly prone to global trade risk and the complexities of importing and/or exporting products. Working in an increasingly global business environment - often with the constrained resource levels - distribution firms face an increasingly complex web of rules, regulations, and compliance issues.

But rather than adding a GTM onto an existing ERP - or opting for a standalone GTM solution - companies are largely ...