The acceleration of global sourcing and selling activity and the increasing need to monitor multiple tiers of the supply chain to remain agile and cost competitive is challenging companies to rethink their business models and automation strategies. The Aberdeen Group published a report to download.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now requires that all trucks electronically submit manifests that provide data on both the cargo and carrier prior to arriving at the border. The mandated procedure seeks to shorten crossing times for the 21,000 trucks that move across the southern border each day.

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Figures published this week on the growth in the Chinese economy and the related US trade deficit are worth pondering for their implications on the logistics sector worldwide.

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The developments in the Customs and Indirect Tax areas are moving rapidly. Especially within the European Union (EU) there are a lot of developments in the Customs area which are poised to harmonize customs handling processes across the whole EU region.

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SAP AG introduced new software in its portfolio of SAP solutions for governance, risk and compliance (GRC) to help companies comply with electronic customs procedures in Europe. The new software facilitates electronic communication with modernized customs systems being implemented in all European Union member states, as mandated under the European Commission’s eCustoms Initiative.

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Plans to increase ports and shipping security which would have involved the scanning of every sea container consigned to the US have been defeated after concerted lobbying from American business. An amendment to the Improving America’s Security Act currently being considered by the Senate was defeated 58-38 due to opposition from Republicans and a number of Democrats. Nevertheless the Senator proposed at March 6 a new amendment.

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Dubai Customs recorded a 21.6 percent increase in the number of Customs transactions and bills processed last year compared to 2005, reflecting the steady growth of Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade.

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The past couple of months has seen a dramatic fall in the dollar particularly against the Euro, although as yet the effect has been less marked against the Japanese Yen or the Chinese Yuan (which shadows the dollar). This trend is likely to be part of a long anticipated re-alignment of the world’s economy.

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The advent of globalization has enabled companies to take their production facilities and distribute them in countries around the world. The rate at which this distributed production model has been adopted by businesses is staggering.

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In his most recent trip to China in early June, European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson was awed at the huge volume of goods headed for Europe that “still aren’t even slightly matched by trade flowing in the other direction.”

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