Over the past few years, I have written about different benefits of global trade platforms in the JOC Annual Review and Outlook.
In 2010, I wrote about the increased focus on visibility and consistency in the management of trade compliance globally. In 2011, I emphasized the importance of ensuring that key global regulatory information was available for decision-making.
In my conversations with industry leaders, it has become clear that having a platform to manage trade globally is not only key, but also rapidly becoming the expectation.
Five to 10 years ago, companies were happy gaining visibility. Then visibility was enhanced with connectivity and global regulations. These attributes now are complemented with collaboration across the supply chain.
As companies have realized the benefits of visibility within their organization, they now are expanding that visibility across their supply chains. With enhanced security models and the ability to manage supply chain relationships within trade platforms, importers can share data and associated documents. Some of these documents originate from supply chain partners while others originate from the importer or exporter.
Through collaborative platforms, companies can control what is being reported on their behalf. This is imperative, because they have ultimate responsibility for accuracy.
The days of different document versions existing across the supply chain is becoming a thing of the past. Companies now have the tools to ensure all parties are working from the same version of the truth.
In a world where various industries are adopting specialized platforms, global trade leaders are realizing the applicability of these concepts in trade. The need for detailed document retention, combined with the benefits of data sharing in trade compliance, makes it the perfect industry to leverage these concepts. This realization is fueling the adoption of global trade platforms by leading multinational companies.