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Supply Chain: Product Review Invoicing and auditing solutions Invoicing and auditing have come a long way in the last decade. With Web-based options available below, it’s not only a greener way to go — using less paper — companies can benefit from increased visibility and flexibility, faster transactions, as well as better integration and management. Company: GT Nexus Product: The GT Nexus trade and logistics portal. Capabilities include visibility, global transportation management, supply chain finance, order management and freight audit. Platform: 100 percent Web-based, single multi-tenant network and applications. What sets it apart: GT Nexus is focused on intercontinental transportation and trade. It provides a single on-demand platform that is shared by all customers. GT Nexus connects the physical and financial supply chains. This allows buyers, sellers, banks and logistics providers to work over a common platform with a core set of information that supports multiple trade and logistics functions. Customers: Over 40,000 users from 15,000 organizations are on GT Nexus today. Major customers include The Home Depot, Liz Claiborne, LyondellBasell, APL, Sears, HP, DuPont, P&G, CEVA, Caterpillar, K-Line, Del Monte and DHL. Web site: www.gtnexus.com Company: Oracle Product: Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Applications Platform: Web based What Sets it Apart: The application is being touted as the industry’s “first comprehensive” approach to managing Enterprise Application Documents, and a solution designed to expedite financial settlement and billing. “When your employees can’t see critical enterprise documents like invoices, customer agreements and product specifications while they’re working in their CRM and ERP applications, they can feel like they are flying blind,” said Andy MacMillan, Oracle’s vice president, product management. “We realized that we needed to take a comprehensive approach to managing Enterprise Application Documents that would work both in the context of CRM applications that require flexible, ad hoc access to customer and product documents, and with ERP applications that have high-volume, transactional requirements. Customers: Worldwide Web site: www.oracle.com Company: Container Shipping Technologies, Ltd. Product: RightRate Container Shipping Freight Audit Platform: Web-based, on-demand, available 24/7 What sets it apart: From the shipper perspective, RightRate is the only real-time, pre-audit tool for the container shipping industry that permits the user to identify and correct pre-invoice stage rating errors, said a representative from the company. Expense avoidance and correction of the invoice insures the shipper that they will pay the contractually agreed-upon rate for each shipment. RightRate pre-audit eliminates the shipper’s need for post-audit or post-payment refund services. From the 3PL perspective, they are able to achieve cost avoidance with their VOCC carrier partners — by correcting the pre-invoice billing prior to the 3PL paying the VOCC the incorrect rate — as well as ensure that the 3PL is invoicing their end user/beneficial cargo owner, with the correct rate. This prevents over-billing to their preferred clients while at the same time ensuring that there is no under billing, resulting in potentially lost revenue. The VOCC gains a strategic edge by ensuring that their own top 50/100 clients in each trade route are being correctly billed, eliminating overcharges, and immediately re-billing for any undercharged revenue in real time, as opposed to attempting to collect or issue supplemental bills well after the shipper has already closed their file on the shipment. Comments: The company offers a post-audit using Ocean Freight Refunds (www.oceanaudits.com) and provides for a historic three-year post audit. Depending on client TEU/FEU size, refunds from the company post-audit can not only subsidize, but in many cases provide its clients with a free real time pre-audit for up to one full year. Customers: Global top 1000 importers/exporters, top 100 3PL’s, top 50 VOCCs Web site: www.vesselvoyage.com and www.oceanaudits.com Company: INTTRA, Inc. Product: Ocean freight industry platform for processing electronic transactions between multiple carriers and shippers: Transactions include: bookings, shipping instructions, bills of lading, track and trace, schedules and electronic invoice presentment, dispute resolution and payment. Platform: Accessing the INTTRA platform is simple, using any combination of channel solutions: INTTRA-Link (EDI-based, system-to-system connection), INTTRA-Desktop (off-line PC application), INTTRA-Act (Web-based application) or via many Ocean supply chain software providers that are INTTRA Alliance partners. What Sets it Apart: INTTRA is the leading multi-carrier platform for ocean freight with more than 10 percent of global container orders initiated on the platform in 2009, says the company. It is a service-oriented partner offering efficiencies and cost savings to carriers and shippers seeking to streamline and standardize their business processes. INTTRA offers easier integration, global customer service, training and support, user e-commerce adoption services and connectivity to the largest global network of global shippers and carriers. Comments: INTTRA addresses the need for ocean carriers, shippers and freight forwarders to streamline their shipment processes and increase efficiency and visibility. INTTRA provides a flexible and scalable platform that improves overall customer satisfaction. Web site: www.inttra.com, www.oceanschedules.com	In This Issue Up Front News, Trends & Analysis New Items Trade Tools: How Uncle Sam helps exporters Capital Watch: Larger issues loom behind federal transport agendas Supply Chain Chris Steele: Development opportunities north and south of the border Compliance Corner: Denied Party Screening – Make sure you comply... comprehensively and timely Tech Trends Product Review: Invoicing and Auditing solutions Commentary David Bennett: Early signs of trouble Gateway Glance Panama China The Port Community Game Changer: Expansion of the Panama Canal will reshape global trade patterns All-weather ports are “all-in” Breakbulk Quarterly: East Coast - Thinking outside the box Breakbulk Quarterly: Brighter outlook for West Coast breakbulk in 2010 The Shipping Environment Casualties Navy tanker breaks loose, container crane topples, longshoreman dies at Virginia port ... and much more Final Say Getting TIGER by the tail
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Supply Chain: Product Review