Media Coverage
Sourcing and Logistics In Brief
TradeBeam Inks Major Deal with China
TradeBeam, a provider of global trade management (GTM) software, has signed a 10-year strategic partnership with the China International Electronic Commerce Co. Ltd. (CIECC).
TradeBeam’s goal is to implement its GTM solution, in partnership with the CIECC, at 50,000 Chinese companies by the end of 2009. The CIECC, sponsored by China’s Ministry of Commerce, is a nationwide technology infrastructure and service organization for the implementation of e-government and e-commerce systems for Chinese organizations. It has more than 1 million members that include medium- and small-sized enterprises across China.
Graham Napier, CEO of TradeBeam, said his company and the CIECC will work together to help small- and medium-sized Chinese businesses implement TradeBeam’s technology, which in turn will help those companies be more efficient in their import/export activities.
“We are very committed to the Chinese market in an effort to capitalize on the tremendous market need for solutions that automate and enhance the rapidly expanding Chinese trade economy,” Napier said.
Many Chinese factories could not afford this technology on their own, and so the Chinese government is helping with the investment. “We selected TradeBeam after a very careful review and strict selection process,” said Junsheng Liu, general director, CEO and board chairman of the CIECC. “As leading software and service providers in our respective countries, this strategic collaboration will propel both China and TradeBeam ahead of those around the world.”
TradeBeam, which delivers its technology via a software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery model, is targeting several key industries in China including the retail sector, which encompasses the apparel trade. In the garment industry, single-factory Chinese apparel businesses are the core target for TradeBeam and the CIECC.
U.S. apparel retailers and importers do not have to use TradeBeam to reap the benefits of their Chinese vendors using the technology, he said. Vendors using GTM can handle more electronic, paperless communications with their U.S. customers and thus be stronger supply partners, he noted.
The Chinese government is investing “many, many, many millions” in this initiative, Napier said, and TradeBeam is investing $6 million in the partnership in the next few years. A big part of the expenditure involves ramping up TradeBeam’s operations in China, where it employs 45 in Beijing. These employees are helping to train the CIECC’s staff of 750 across 127 offices in China on how to roll out the technology. TradeBeam is in talks with governments of other countries about forging similar deals with them, Napier said.
