GT Nexus adds financial to component to its logistics portal

GT Nexus adds financial to component to its logistics portal GT Nexus this week unveiled a new service offering aimed at integrating the financial transaction details of ocean shipments into its Web-based trade and logistics portal.
   The company, one of three primary Web portals for international ocean shipping and logistics, is essentially making available to banks that lend to consignees the information it shares between shippers and carriers.
   'Importers, exporters and their banks not only speed document exchange and presentment over GT Nexus,' the Alameda, Calif.-based company said in a statement. 'They can also enable a range of supply chain financing programs that further reduce cost of goods sold, strengthen strategic partnerships and deliver better cash flow,' including:
   * Pre-shipment financing, or vendor financing, made possible through clear vendor performance data and real-time visibility to purchase orders, resulting in better access to cash for the vendor and lower COGS to the buyer.
   * Inventory financing, or buyer financing, made possible by better visibility to in-transit inventory to support asset-based lending programs.
   * Post-shipment financing, factoring or early payment discount programs that enable better cash flow to vendors and in-exchange discounts or extended terms to the buyer.
   'Companies have long been forced to operate in two separate but equally vital supply chain worlds — the physical and the financial,' GT Nexus said. 'But the documents and data required to inform and automate the financial supply chain are exactly those that are produced and exchanged by trade and logistics partners all along the physical supply chain. This has resulted in redundant practices, miscommunication, and working capital tied up in centuries-old processes. Banks especially stand to benefit from new levels of operational efficiency by tapping GT Nexus for standardized data and documents.'
   The new service is meant to not only add depth to the offerings of GT Nexus' core customers bases — shippers and carriers — but also the major banks that provide the financial backbone for international trade. The company had been working on the financial feature for months, but waited until it had secured the endorsement of banks to underpin the functions on the Web site so that it was not a theoretical service being offered.
   'It takes a technology platform and an integrated partner network to deliver the trade documents and data needed for broader financial control and automation,' said Paul Johnson, senior vice president, Bank of America, in a statement.
   As with the company's other services, GT Nexus Trade is an on-demand, pay-as-you-go service.