Partnership targets China's global trade management capabilities

"We provide a unified database of the trade regulations for many countries, including China." —Graham Napier, president and CEO, TradeBeam

Phase one of the offering will target smaller single-site entities, though TradeBeam also will pursue larger Chinese enterprises.

Without GTM functionality, explains Napier, many Chinese exporters must set up overseas offices to handle receipt and distribution of trade documents via fax or other semi-automated means. “We provide a unified database of the trade regulations for many countries, including China,” says Napier.

John Fontanella, a VP with Boston-based AMR Research, agrees that staying current with regulatory content is a key driver for GTM.

“There are so many rules and regulations out there regarding trade, tariffs, and taxes that very few companies are willing to take on the expense and complexity of managing the content themselves,” he says.

For global or U.S.-based companies doing business in China, TradeBeam faces competition from other GTM specialists—e.g., GT Nexus, Management Dynamics, and Vastera. Major ERP vendors such as SAP and Infor also offer GTM, and Oracle is developing a solution.