American Association of Exporters and Importers Trade Trends Report 2018

Throughout history, global trade has never been as ubiquitous as it is today.

Technology of all kinds – from transportation tech like containerization, cargo aircraft, and supermax vessels all the way to the digital global e-commerce marketplace – facilitates an unprecedented flow of products around the world.

At the same time, world affairs have not been this complex since the height of the Cold War. The US, Russia and China are saber rattling while in many countries, nationalistic sentiment is nearing levels not seen since before WWI.

The resultant tariffs, sanctions, and continuous (often real-time) domestic and international policy changes have become the main enemy of the supply chain manager, who relies on consistency and certainty to plan and execute global trade.

On top of this, we are living in the “age of customer impatience,” where technologies like smart phones and the internet are driving expectations of receiving products and services on-demand, 24/7. These problems exacerbate typical risks and uncertainties associated with cross-border trade.

This white paper seeks to answer the question: How can we leverage technology to overcome emerging and enduring global supply chain management risks? We conducted a survey of supply chain professionals involved with global trade in order to gain a clearer picture of the primary challenges facing the community, and how their companies are using technology to address these challenges.