Recent research by Aberdeen reveals that the top priorities for global trade management (GTM) in 2007 are improving trade compliance and global supply chain visibility in an attempt to more effectively manage growing global operations and distribution networks. This was the general consensus of the 200 survey respondents.

"This study shows that the top strategic action companies plan to take to meet these challenges is to increase their global supply chain agility," says Viktoriya Sadlovska, research analyst and the report author, "Companies are prioritizing visibility technology enhancements and trade compliance initiatives to help them achieve this goal."

Companies that have been most successful in reducing total landed costs and maintaining customer service levels are more likely to have instituted centralized supply chain process and knowledge management, formalized risk and lead time management programs, as well as adopted superior technology enablers that provide enhanced visibility and control over global trade transactions. Some of the research snapshots are:
1. Best-in-class performers are 2.7X more likely than their peers to be currently using a global supply chain visibility platform.
2. Best-in-class together with Average companies are twice more likely than Laggards to be currently using an export or import compliance automation module as part of their GTM technology platform.
3. Laggards are twice more likely than Average and almost 3 times more likely than Best-in-Class to report that GTM at their companies is still manual/spreadsheet-driven.
Underwriters of this report are: Tradebeam, Amber Road, Integration Point, Supply Chain Consulting, and Century Distribution Systems. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, follow the link:
http://www.aberdeen.com