UPCOMING WEBINAR: Financial Returns in Global Trade: ROI of Compliance

webinar_25459276-250px (2)Company executives may often perceive the compliance team as a cost center, but the opposite is actually true – compliance can yield a significant return on investment (ROI) and a competitive advantage.

Join Amber Road and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc. for a complimentary webinar broadcasting live on Wednesday, June 5 at 2pm EDT on Financial Returns in Global Trade: ROI of Compliance. Presenters will discuss the following topics:

  • The duty refund mechanism of duty drawback
  • Automating trade compliance for financial returns
  • Qualifying and quantifying projected business savings

Presenters will include:

  • Dawn Olesky, Director, Drawback Operations, Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services
  • Hung Lee, Senior Product Manager, Amber Road

Join us to learn how to identify ROI drivers in your trade compliance program. Register today!

Kahala Posts Group (KPG) Awards Global Trade Management Contract to Amber Road

Amber Road, a leading provider of global trade management (GTM) solutions, today announced it has been selected by the Kahala Posts Group (KPG), an alliance of 10 postal administrations around the world, to increase their competitiveness in the international delivery market. KPG member organizations include the Australian Postal Corporation, China Post Group, Correos y Telegrafos SAE, Groupe La Poste, Hongkong Post, Japan Post Co., Ltd., Korea Post, Royal Mail Group, Ltd, Singapore Post Limited and the U.S. Postal Service.

In the agreement signed with the International Post Corporation (IPC) Group acting on behalf of KPG, Amber Road’s GTM solutions will help KPG members by enabling them to offer additional international trade tools and services to their customers.

Click here to read the entire press release.

GTM Industry Leaders Discuss Using First Sale and Duty Drawbacks to Increase Financial Returns

At a recent retail seminar held in New York on Financial Returns in Global Trade, speakers reported that retailers engaging in global trade best practices can expect to see substantial financial benefits, improved operations and lower compliance risks. This event, hosted by Amber Road and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc., focused on how retailers can automate trade compliance for increased financial returns.

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Hung Lee, Senior Product Manager and Vin Ramundo, Solutions Consultant, both of Amber Road, spoke extensively on this subject and discussed methods for increasing financial returns such as utilizing First Sale and duty drawbacks. Ramundo noted that typical reductions include a five to eight percent reduction in transportation costs, ten to fifteen percent reduction in cycle stock inventory, and four to seven days’ compression in order cycle times.

“Typically, First Sale savings within the first five years are ten to twenty percent on duty,” commented Laura Siegel Rabinowitz, Of Counsel, Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg. First Sale bases the duty rate on what the manufacturer paid for the goods, rather than after a middleman’s markup, which is what Customs duties are typically assessed on.

Dawn Olesky, Director, Drawback Operations, Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc., noted that, “Duty drawback can offer as much as a 99 percent refund of import duties, taxes or fees.”

“With duty drawback, you have the ability to lower costs to customers and, therefore, should increase sales,” Olesky added.

Interested in learning more about how you can leverage compliance to increase financial returns? Join Amber Road and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc. for a free webinar, Financial Returns in Global Trade: ROI of Compliance, on Wednesday, June 5th, at 2:00 pm.

UPCOMING WEBINAR: Minimizing Exposure, Liability, and Risk in Trade Compliance

webinar_image_250x250 (2)Join Amber Road on Tuesday, May 21 at 2pm EDT for a complimentary webinar focusing on how trade compliance professionals can minimize personal risk. During Minimizing Exposure, Liability, and Risk in Trade Compliance, presenters will discuss the following topics:

  • Common challenges Empowered Officials, senior management, and compliance professionals face on a daily basis
  • What criteria should be considered when selecting a compliance manager
  • Real world strategies for minimizing exposure, liability, and risk in trade compliance

Presenters will include:

  • Brianna Woodsby, International Trade Manager, AFL
  • Phil Rhoads, Trade Attorney, Rhoads & Reed PLLC
  • John Priecko, President and Managing Partner, Trade Compliance Solutions

Join us to learn how to be better prepared to deal with the challenges that accompany such a demanding and dynamic career field. Register today!

Flextronics Selects Amber Road’s RPS On-Demand Solution

Amber Road, a leading provider of global trade management solutions, announced today that  Flextronics, a leading electronics manufacturing services provider, selected its Restricted Party Screening (RPS) On-Demand  solution to automate the screening of partners, customers and vendors. Flextronics’ objective is to maintain a low export  risk profile while expediting screening.

With a global network consisting of more than 30  countries on four continents, Flextronics needed an improved solution for global denied party and embargo screening, global export  license determination, and ECCN (Export Control Classification Number) validation in order to  preserve a high compliance rate.

“Amber Road’s RPS On-Demand was the solution that best  fit our needs,” said Tim Seitz, senior vice president, global tax and trade at Flextronics. “Because of the solution’s high-speed  processing times, accuracy rates, user configuration features, robust reporting, and audit capabilities, we feel confident that  Amber Road is the right choice.”

Click here to read the entire press release.

The Current State of US Import Policy

International trade is a critical component of the US economy, with US imports alone amounting to $2.2 trillion in 2011. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the primary agent charged with ensuring the smooth flow of trade. A recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyzed the US import process and uncovered complex challenges CBP faces in creating import policy.

CRS found that tension underlies many aspects of import policy making because of CBP’s three competing goals:

  • Facilitate the smooth flow of trade
  • Enforce trade and customs laws
  • Enforce import security laws

While trade facilitation involves promoting faster and more efficient trade flows, trade enforcement and import security involve identifying and preventing illegal flows – tasks that often involve slower cargo flows and reduced efficiency.

In order to overcome this tension, CBP’s current import strategy uses a risk management approach. This strategy segments importers into risk pools and focuses trade enforcement and import security procedures on higher-risk imports, while expediting lower-risk flows. In order to determine risk level, CBP requires importers to submit advance electronic cargo information, which is sent to the Automated Targeting System (ATS). ATS reviews this information and assigns a risk-based score to every incoming shipment. Businesses can also enroll in CBP’s “trusted trader” programs to receive low-risk trader status and become eligible for expedited processing.

CBP has also adopted a “multi-layered” approach to import policy. This means that security screening and enforcement occur at multiple points in the import process, beginning before goods are loaded at foreign ports (pre-entry) and continuing after goods have been admitted into the US (post-entry). Importers are subject to security measures such as radiation detection scanning, non-intrusive inspections (NII), trade enforcement examinations, and post-entry audits.

For more information on current CBP import policies, please read U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Trade Facilitation, Enforcement, and Security.

UPCOMING WEBINAR: Export Control Reform Update: Preparing for Transition

Join Amber Road and American Shipper on Tuesday, April 23 at 2pm EDT for a complimentary webinar focusing on the Obama Administration’s Export Control Reform (ECR) Initiative. During Export Control Reform Update: Preparing for Transition, presenters will discuss recent progress on ECR, what the industry can expect in the near term, and how to prepare for these and future changes.

Topics will include:

  • Benefits of the anticipated changes and how the government is preparing for implementation
  • The transition from proposed to final rules and the expected schedule for publication
  • Looking beyond reform to other potential improvements in the Export Administration Regulations
  • How exporters will need to adjust their business processes
  • The role GTM technology will play in supporting exporters’ compliance requirements

Speakers will include:

  • Eric Hirschhorn, Under Secretary, Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security
  • Beth Peterson, President, BPE Global
  • Kristine Bols, Director of Global Trade Content, Amber Road

Join us to learn what you should be doing to prepare for these ECR changes. Register today!

Don’t Miss Amber Road’s Retail Seminar: Financial Returns in Global Trade

Retail-Seminar-Box0Please join Amber Road and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc. for a free seminar specifically addressing retailers and Financial Returns in Global Trade. 

Learn how your peers have improved the efficiency of their import operations to respond to rapid shifts in consumer behavior and grow their business outside the U.S. Speakers will address strategies for delivering financial returns on your global retail supply chain.

Don’t miss out on this FREE seminar for retailers in NYC!

What: Retail Seminar: Financial Returns in Global Trade - Lunch is included, Networking Reception to Follow.
When: April 17, 2013, 10am – 7pm 
Where: Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC
420 Park Avenue South, Between 28th and 29th Streets (Conveniently located between Penn Station and Grand Central)
New York, NY 10016
      .
After a full day of sessions, attendees will enjoy a networking reception at this luxury urban resort in midtown Manhattan. Register to reserve your spot today!

New eBook: Meeting the Global Trade Challenges of the Oil and Gas Industry

With rising global energy demand, the oil and gas industry faces a wide range of logistics challenges. Energy companies also have significant risks related to compliance from both an increasing volume of regulations and the complexity of product classification.

Amber Road’s latest eBook, Meeting the Global Trade Challenges of the Oil and Gas Industry, examines the distinct challenges faced by today’s oil and gas companies, and takes a look at ways a global trade management solution can help them succeed.

Click here to download the eBook.

Crocs Inc. Facing $36 Million in Fines from U.S. and Mexico

Crocs Inc., a worldwide shoe manufacturer, disclosed in its 10-K filing last week that the company may owe up to $36.2 million in fines to U.S. and Mexico Customs and taxing authorities. This estimate is based on two separate audits by the U.S. Customs crocs& Border Protection agency and Mexico’s Federal Tax Authority.

On January 9th, Crocs received notice from Mexico’s Federal Tax Authority that they could be facing a fine of $22 million, based on the value of raw materials imported into the country. These fines were discovered during an audit of the company from January 2006 to July 2011. Crocs officials have claimed that the Mexican Federal Tax Authority found no major discrepancies during the audit’s first phase, which covered capital equipment and finished goods. The second phase, which covered raw materials, revealed the potential fines.

“We believe that the proposed penalty amount is unfounded and without merit,” Crocs noted in its 10-K. “We have retained local counsel to handle the matter and who will argue that the amount due in connection with the matter, if any, is substantially less than that proposed.”

In addition, a draft audit report by the U.S. Customs & Border Protection for the period of 2006 to 2010 cited unpaid duties of $14.3 million. The company, who is disputing this initial report, does not expect a final report and notice of formal claim from Customs until the middle of this year.

For more information, please read this article from the Denver Business Journal.