Driven by the promise of low costs and the desire to penetrate emerging markets, many consumer products companies have been testing the potential of offshore supply. However, the transition to global sourcing and production has not been easy.

Global sourcing processes introduce long-distance supply lines, extended lead times and increased risk. Distance, time zone, cultural and language barriers reduce visibility into offshore operations which combine to create these challenges:

• Higher Levels of Inventory – Lack of visibility on inbound or "on-the-dock" shipments creates a tendency to maintain buffer stock.
• Slow, Error-Prone Receiving Processes – Docks may delay receiving for unanticipated shipments while paperwork, resources or warehouse space are found.
• Poor Supplier Shipment Performance – Paper-based documentation makes tracking inbound shipments impossible, resulting in under- and over-shipments, and an overall poor on-time shipment percentage.
• Poor Data Quality – Logistics providers focus on data structure, validity and timeliness for their own systems only. Consequently, companies track shipment status by piecing together information from multiple carriers.
• Security – As agencies of the U.S. and other countries take a more active role in supply chain security, higher levels of tracking and notification will be required to reduce security threats and enable regulatory compliance.

Gain Visibility with GXS

GXS supply chain visibility solutions deliver the right foundation for centrally managing all sourcing-related activities, allowing for easy, timely and systematic sharing of information. You can:

• Evaluate new geographies based on bottom line potential. Our established network gives you immediate access to trading partners in 65+ countries.
• Improve internal productivity through the elimination of manual transactions.
• Reduce inventory carrying costs through improved inventory management, improved receiving processes and reduced delivery uncertainty.

• Improve customer satisfaction by providing customer service reps with instant access to accurate order status and ETA information.
• Lay the foundation for Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that can ensure compliance with security mandates and help avoid fines and penalties.
• Avoid capital IT expenses by using a hosted central service.

Key Features

• Forecasts and Orders: Share forecasts, orders, order acknowledgements and order changes quickly with all your suppliers.
• Freight Booking: Automate requests, acknowledgements and cancellations for ocean, air, truck and rail.
• Shipment and Inventory Tracking: Track your shipment in real-time throughout its chain of custody at the case, item and SKU level.
• Invoicing and Settlement: Establish electronic invoicing, self-service invoice status inquiry, and payment visibility for all your suppliers and carriers.
• Connection Flexibility: Connect to any level of communication technology through web forms, secure FTP, SMTP/MIME, VAN interconnect, legacy systems, spreadsheets and JAEE.
• Messaging Formats: Supported formats include XML, EDI and flat file.
• Preconfigured Message Types: A wide range of message types for logistics processes of transportation booking, order visibility, shipment visibility and freight settlement.
• Systems Connectivity: Established connections with major OMS, WMS and ERP systems including SAP, Oracle, Optum, JDA, E3, Retek and 15 legacy systems.
• Connect to an Established Trading Network: GXS can connect you to the world’s largest network of certified trading partners representing 80 percent of the world’s freight movements. What’s more, we can get you connected in as little as 30 days to over 600+ in-network trading partners. This includes:
  • 85 percent of top air cargo carriers
  • 87 percent of top 15 ocean carriers
  • 75 percent of worlds top 20 logistics and transportation groups
  • 65 percent of top 100 LTL carriers
  • 50 percent of the top 3PLs
• Data Quality Management: GXS addresses the data quality challenge with a blend of rules, tools, dedicated people and processes all focused on delivering unsurpassed levels of clean and actionable logistics information. Our data management services staff improves data quality more than 90% through constant monitoring, measuring, communicating and reporting.
• Performance Metrics: Robust reporting tools allow you to compare the performance of suppliers and carriers against key business metrics such as order acknowledgement deadlines, late shipments, quantity completeness, broker clearance timeliness and data transmission accuracy.

A Complete Solution: GXS Community Link^SM
Participation of your supplier community is fundamental to the success of your supply chain visibility. Using GXS Community Link methodology, we can on-board 100% of your suppliers regardless of size, technology sophistication or geographical location.