For any import and export business, the Tradecloud digital platform enables unique automated and integrated treasury management and control of import trade flows.
Import trade is a complex process that necessitates an import solution with significant capabilities to support each important component of the global supply chain process in a coordinated manner: Buying; Shipping; Treasury; Import Finance and Accounting.
Import trade transactions generate foreign exchange and cash flow exposures that are best managed with a world-class best-practice import solution like Tradecloud’s digital platform. In any import trade transaction, there is a high risk of financial exposure when it comes to import Treasury Management.
Import trade foreign exchange exposures that are unplanned or unknown can wipe out an entire year’s profit and more for an import and export corporation.
The practice of recording and controlling these exposures in Excel is quickly becoming obsolete. Excel, with or without Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or other inputs, is fragmented and dangerous, and is being phased out in favor of world-class digital solutions like Tradecloud, which dramatically streamline global supply chain logistics for any import and export company.
The Tradecloud digital treasury solution is unique in that it includes import buying, shipping, and cost accounting in addition to import trade treasury management.
The following characteristics and capabilities must be met by world-class import treasury management on an integrated digital import trade platform:
- Provide buyers with an automated, accurate, and committed foreign exchange conversion rate into an automated costing per unit of product so they can make product selection decisions and confirm import orders.
- Ensure that exchange rates used in product costings and automated accumulation of treasury exposures conform with formal treasury management and accounting policies by enabling dynamic managed and accounted for changes to committed currency rates used in per unit of product costings.
- Enable the use of the selected treasury management policies, including the ability to:
- Cost import products and orders using market related spot exchange rate plus forward cover points;
- Cost import products and orders using a specific forward exchange contract rate or an average forward exchange contract rate;
- Cost import product and orders using a treasury provided standard rate for the period.
- Provide accurate treasury management reports, including hedge accounting inputs
- Accumulate real-time accurate import trade related treasury exposures, covered positions, open positions, and import order utilisations by date and currency.
As a best practice digital solution for import trade treasury management, the Tradecloud platform provides all of the above. To determine market-related forward cover rates, the technology incorporates a live spot market treasury feed and an accurate interest rate curves.
Importer forward exchange cover contracts, can be captured or uploaded into Tradecloud and precisely allocated and connected to import orders, and used in import product costings / order placement.
This greatly reduces the difficulties of import treasury management that are common in supply chain logistics, and it can be configured to fit any import or export organization.