There was a time when U.S. companies could get by with manual global trade processes assisted only by a sharp mind, a pen, and a few forms. Using these three elements, companies were trading back and forth across the high seas in a way that complied with regulations, but provided very little in terms of visibility or accountability.

The terrorist attacks of September 11th changed all of that; and over time those events forced companies to rethink the way they handle their global trade activities. For most global shippers, however, new regulations and programs designed to take risk out of the supply chain have introduced a separate group of challenges that now need to be managed.

Combine the tightening global regulatory environment with the fact that more domestic shippers are involved with international trade, and it’s easy to see why the need for Global Trade Management (GTM) systems continues to grow.

In fact, the GTM market grossed about $280 million in sales in 2007, according to Adrian Gonzalez, director of ARC Advisory Group’s Logistics Executive Council. And to add to that future growth, the big ERP players like SAP, and Oracle have either gotten into or are about to get into the game. Vendors like Management Dynamics, Kewill, Descartes, JPMorgan and Infor also offer GTM systems that are continually being improved and tweaked to accommodate shippers’ needs and demands.

Companies looking to pick among those offerings would be wise to examine the complexity of their own global trade operations before making a decision, adds Gonzalez. He advises that a firm that’s handling a large volume of shipments going from China to the U.K., for example, should consider a best-of-breed solution; while a shipper that’s handling imports from China, Mexico, or Canada to the U.S. might look at a smaller, niche vendor.

Much like in the TMS and WMS spaces, on-demand options are also becoming a popular choice for shippers looking for fast GTM startup times with low upfront investments. “We’re seeing more on-demand used on the content side, since that changes regularly and is delivered via subscription,” says Gonzalez, who calls GTM one of the faster-growing supply chain software categories.

Some of that growth will be driven by Oracle’s move into the space, says Ian Hobkirk, former senior analyst of supply chain execution at the Aberdeen Group. Already armed with a world-class TMS, the vendor is “really putting a lot of horsepower into building a GTM solution,” adds Hobkirk. “Shippers want to go to one source for their TMS and GTM, and right now there’s no one out there offering that in an effective manner.”

Also driving the market will be the continued impact of stricter rules governing global trade, says John Fontanella, vice president of research at AMR Research. “One of the main drivers is security regulations imposed in the U.S. and Europe, both of which are putting more responsibility on the shipper,” says Fontanella, “which in turn requires capable, fully-developed GTM systems and the vendors to support and enhance them.”

Vendors are answering the call, and coming up with ways to replace manual processes with automated procedures that are easier for shippers to handle with less manpower. Here are two companies that are successfully using GTM systems in the course of business in lieu of the manual processes once used at their companies.

Black & Decker’s Power Tools and Accessories Division turned to Vastera (the global trade management firm later to be acquired by JPMorgan) in 2002, the same year the shipper began moving its manufacturing processes to Mexico. “We couldn’t keep up with the volume of activity, so we initially looked for a software solution, and later turned to managed services,” says Gail Morin, senior manager, global trade compliance, for the Tulsa-based division. “We realized that the managed services would serve as a much better compliance application for us.”

The system integration took about a year, and small changes have been made “here and there” since that initial implementation. “We’ve changed some brokers, which requires some additional integration to get them into the system,” says Morin, whose team previously handled the import compliance via a manual system that was heavily reliant on brokers to classify products.

Black & Decker, which sources materials, manufactures goods, and sells product in over 100 countries, offloaded key import compliance functions like Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification, duty management through special trade programs like NAFTA, performance of compliance audits, and post-entry management.

With an HTS classification database comprised of tens of thousands of parts (and growing by the day), Black & Decker reports that it has shortened its import cycle times by reducing import clearance related delays. The company also improved broker management through consistency of classifications and implementation of a rigorous audit process, enhanced its NAFTA qualification process, and reduced its import duties.

“Thousands of our parts and products are qualified annually for NAFTA,” says Morin. “In 2003 we recorded nearly $3 million in NAFTA savings, and savings are estimated at close to $7 million for 2007—an increase of over 240 percent over four years.”

According to Morin, Black & Decker’s decision to outsource key import compliance functions has allowed the company to provide its customer base with NAFTA information as needed, and quickly, thus improving customer response time. “The end result is the qualification of far more products for NAFTA,” says Morin. “We now capture 95 percent of eligible preference savings associated with cross-border shipments. This is savings that we would not have otherwise realized due to the required investment in time and technology.”

Today, those processes are completely automated, and provide an “incredible audit trail,” according to Morin. The duty management aspect of the system, for example, requalifies duties on a monthly basis. “If something falls out of qualification, it gets taken out of the system and our sister companies in Canada and Mexico are notified,” says Morin. “That audit trail is 1,000 times better than what we had before.”

Two years ago Yusen Air & Sea Service Inc., of New York started looking around for a GTM solution that would increase productivity by about 25 percent over and above the application that it had in place at the time. A wholly owned subsidiary of leading international freight forwarder Yusen Air & Sea Company, the company utilizes specialized global services and advanced communications technology network and tracking systems to offer logistics management solutions to customers worldwide.

From its new GTM, Yusen needed a way to ensure compliance with current regulations and upcoming changes such as ACE. The firm also required a graphical tool to provide real-time workflow and exception management support, and a way for executive staff and managers to monitor productivity. “We needed more options for our customers,” says Demetrius Jones, assistant vice president and corporate customs officer.

After extensive analysis of four different GTM systems, Yusen selected Kewill Customs. “We looked at the pros and cons of each, and decided this was the best fit for us,” says Jones. Particularly compelling for the company were the many “bells and whistles” that the Kewill system provided. “It has a lot of different options that help us be more proactive (such as Internet tracking and tracing) rather than reactive,” Jones adds. “Kewill also has staff that stay on top of government regulations like 10+2, and partners with the [government agencies] to create better programs.”

Using a Windows-based graphical user interface (GUI), information is keyed in once and defaulted throughout the system, which relies on extensive default information, thus reducing data entry requirements and errors while dramatically improving user productivity. The system’s built-in intelligence helps ensure full compliance with custom’s requirements, and an extensive online data validations program with over 4,000 file validations ensures the accuracy of data sent to customs, further reducing the time required to process a file.

According to Jones, the new GTM helped Yusen achieve productivity gains and a 40 percent savings in time to complete an entry. The firm’s real-time reporting solution is used internally to improve and optimize data to help managers and supervisors monitor the status of work in process, as well as an alert mechanism to notify when work is not being done according to schedule. Live since January at the firm’s Houston location, the GTM was expected to be rolled out at 14 other offices by May 1.