Your week starts with a familiar headache. Last month's shipments came in, but the landed costs blew your budget. You fire up the spreadsheet to check the numbers, but the margin calculations are a mess. You realise that the duty rates changed mid-month, and your supplier didn't update the invoices. Now, you're scrambling to reconcile the discrepancies before your next shipment arrives.
The problem isn't just the fluctuating duty rates. It's the manual process that can't keep up. You or someone on your team has to input every variable — freight costs, duty rates, exchange rates, and supplier invoices. And if any of those details change, you're back to square one, recalculating everything by hand. It's time-consuming, error-prone, and by the time goods arrive, the margin is often wrong.
This isn't a rare occurrence; it's a weekly, sometimes daily struggle. Every shipment brings a new set of variables, and every change in regulations or supplier pricing throws another wrench into the works. You're not just dealing with the immediate problem of inaccurate pricing. You're also losing time that could be spent on growing your business. The manual process is a drain on your resources, and it's holding you back from making informed decisions.
On top of that, your competitors are probably using more efficient methods. They're likely able to react quicker to market changes, adjust their pricing more accurately, and ultimately, undercut your offers. This puts you at a disadvantage, making it harder to compete and grow your business.
The trade engine is built to address these issues head-on. It's designed to handle the complexity of multi-vertical trade operations, providing a single solution that can be configured to fit your specific needs rather than requiring a rebuild for each customer.
The system starts with a multi-tenant framework that allows it to serve multiple businesses simultaneously, each with its own set of configurations. This means you don't have to worry about sharing resources or data with other companies. Your data stays secure and separate.
At the heart of the system are multiple instances of a freight-bond engine. This engine is responsible for calculating the landed cost, taking into account all the variables that can affect it — freight costs, duty rates, exchange rates, and more. It's designed to be flexible, allowing you to input your specific data and get accurate calculations in real-time.
The industry pack component ensures that the system is tailored to your specific industry. It includes pre-configured settings and rules that are relevant to your business, saving you time and reducing the risk of errors.
The technology can also interface with your existing systems, pulling in data from your invoices, supplier records, and more. This means you don't have to manually input data, reducing the risk of errors and saving you time.
With the trade engine in place, your Tuesday mornings look very different. You no longer start the week with a headache, trying to reconcile discrepancies in your pricing. Instead, you start with accurate, up-to-date information.
The system provides real-time calculations, so you always know the landed cost and margin for your shipments. This means you can make informed decisions about your pricing, ensuring you're competitive in the market while protecting your profit margins.
You also have a clear view of all the variables that affect your pricing. This means you can easily see the impact of changes in duty rates, exchange rates, or supplier pricing. You can react quickly to these changes, adjusting your pricing as needed to stay competitive.
Moreover, the system provides a historical record of your pricing. This means you can look back at previous shipments, see how your pricing has changed over time, and identify trends. This information can be invaluable when it comes to forecasting and planning for the future.
With accurate pricing and informed decisions, you're no longer at a disadvantage. You can compete on a level playing field, growing your business and expanding your market share. You're no longer held back by manual processes and inaccuracies. You're free to focus on what you do best — running your business.
Compare the landed cost and margin for your most recent shipment with the estimates from two months ago.