It’s often said that the most complicated part of delivery is the last mile. But when you add to that the addition of fighting through customs regulations and logistics across the globe, it certainly doesn’t get any easier.
Just take one example affecting the automotive industry – the rules of origin regulations from the EU, where in order to qualify for preferential tariffs or a free trade agreement, a certain percentage of the product must come from the partner country or the EU, with this varying from country to country. It’s quick to see how navigating all the rules, box-ticking, form filling and so on could become a minefield, causing delays and extra costs at borders when businesses get it wrong.
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In a survey by Deloitte and AEB back in 2020, it was suggested that 75 percent of companies use customs services providers to varying degrees as an intermediary to help them work with customs officials. The main reasons for this were cited as a lack of internal resource and know-how, and to be faster and more efficient to get through the rigmoral. But as digitization advances, and companies and customs alike look to reduce transactional costs and complexity, actors in this space are increasingly turning to technological solutions, bringing this capability in-house.
A global manufacturer of trucks, buses and construction equipment was facing this very challenge when managing its import and export compliance and logistics processes across its Swedish, Belgian, and Mexican customs operations. The company needed to enhance its connectivity with customs authorities by leveraging standardized global interfaces and managing its exports and imports more efficiently.
Moreover, the project had another layer of complexity – any new system implementation would need to align with other IT projects underway, without needing to rely on bespoke integrations.
Making the most of a pre-existing Oracle partnership, the manufacturer sought to integrate its current Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) software with an Oracle Global Trade Management (GTM) system.
Seeking out a specialized consultancy for the task, the manufacturer landed on system integrator Accelalpha. With the help of the SI, it began a threefold approach: integrating Oracle GMT with OTM to link its compliance and logistics systems, developing standardized global interfaces within for smoother customs communication, and implementing the Accelalpha Customs Filing Audit solution to improve the firm’s customs declaration audits and manage its broker performance.
Built-in compliance, smoother global trade
Establishing a scalable Oracle GTM solution, the manufacturer has now announced it can effectively address the capability gaps that were slowing its operations with compliance.
Accelalpha helped to replace manual processes with automated customs declarations for Swedish imports, significantly reducing the time to clear customs.
Enabling an integration with Descartes Systems Group’s Global Logistics Network (GLN), the Canadian logistics cloud software provider, introduced efficient and standardized data transformation to customs and third parties for Belgium, Sweden and Mexico. This included every touch point from carriers and shippers to government authorities, regulators and associations, and finally intermediaries like customs and freight brokers, alongside third-party logistics firms.
Ensuring a centralized control point of trade compliance, customs filing and document tracking for the manufacturer, Oracle GTM replaced the automotive manufacturer’s legacy business processes in Europe and Central America, leading to more coherent and measured trade operations. Greater financial visibility was also gained across its extended supply chain including transportation and handling fees, insurance, duties, and taxes. Moreover, the manufacturer can analyze its bills of materials to help it qualify shipments for any free trade agreements around the globe.
Meanwhile, an Oracle GTM Trade Packet integration created standardization for the manufacturer’s filing formats, ensuring consistency and reliability of compliance documentation. This, along with the ability to screen business transactions for restricted parties, sanctions and embargos has reduced the risk of fines and penalties.
With this solution, the manufacturer in question was able to yield significant improvements across the board in its trade compliance and logistics operations – enabling a strong foundation for its future expansion, safe in the knowledge that it can tick the right boxes for global trade compliance success.
