Leveraging Free Trade Agreements to Achieve the Next Level of Savings from Global Sourcing

With manufacturers spending 50% or more of revenue on purchasing parts, sourcing from low cost countries has become an important business strategy in the past ten years.

The next level of savings from a low-cost country sourcing strategy is in how a company can leverage trade agreements to reduce landed costs – specifically duties.

However, there are a number of complexities and costs associated with capturing the benefit of trade agreements.

For example, companies need country of origin tracking, special program or trade program indicators, tools to solicit supplier collaboration, and a means to ensure regulatory compliance to prevent fines and delays.

This whitepaper will address five best practices that will allow your company to fully take advantage of FTA opportunities:

• Establish a supplier management program
• Implement multi-sourcing data visibility
• Manage supplier communications with an automated solicitation process
• Automate the qualification process
• Expand your FTA portfolio