Media Coverage
TradeBeam inks contract with CIECC to help simplify global trade processes
Jeff Berman, Senior Editor
Logistics Management
April 13, 2007
SAN MATEO, CA—Global trade management software provider TradeBeam announced earlier this week that it inked a 10-year strategic partnership with the China International Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. (CIECC), to bring its Global Trade Management (GTM) platform to the Chinese market.
The CIECC is an executive technical support entity for the information technology infrastructure construction for China’s Ministry of Commerce, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM).
TradeBeam said that the partnership will be named TradeBeam (Beijing) Technology Ltd., with TradeBeam being the majority shareholder. The company added that prior to this deal TradeBeam had been focused on launching commercial activities within the region, building partnerships with key customs and government organizations and extending product functionality.
TradeBeam president and CEO Graham R.F. Napier told Logistics Management that under the terms of the contract MOFCOM will market and sell TradeBeam’s on-demand software platform to more then 1,000,000 businesses in China.
“During Phase 1, TradeBeam is targeting the small to medium enterprise (SME) market in China,” said Napier. “Larger enterprises, including China’s largest companies, will be targeted during the next phase. CIECC is our channel to sell the platform to manufacturers, distributors and freight forwarders—any business that can apply for an import or export license. Approximately 2,000 pilots began testing the solution during [the second half of] last year.”
Napier said that TradeBeam’s GTM platform will offer Chinese businesses with “smoother and more rapid” trade efficiencies, which can serve as a competitive differentiator.
“If a Chinese supplier can shrink the supply chain cycle two-to-three days with smoother trade, that gives the supplier a clear advantage because of the operational improvements generated for the buyer,” said Napier. “We’re taking what is done manually and modernizing it. Sub-functionalities are on import and export compliance, customs filing and document management. Customs filing is meant to ensure proper financial settlement.”
In regards to how this deal will help simplify transactions and enable new opportunities for companies across the globe to do business with Chinese enterprises, Napier noted that GTM will be very helpful in this area.
“There is a tremendous amount of documentation required for global trade, and all transactions are now handled manually with paper and fax and other highly inefficient processes,” said Napier. “[GTM] simplifies transactions through electronic communication, document management, and a one-stop-shop for necessary trade content, to streamline the import and export process. Bringing Chinese suppliers onto an advanced trade platform will lead to more options for companies sourcing from China and make Chinese suppliers even more attractive through smoother trade processes and reduced supply chain cycle times.”
