Nathalie Aydin
Is Senior Consultant Portfolio Management Trade at KUMAVISION.
How KUMAVISION trades365 restores an overview of international trade flows – and takes your import process to a new level.
Imagine this: A container with high-value goods is in the port of Hamburg, but nobody in the company can immediately say which orders are bundled inside, when the goods will reach the destination warehouse, or how the customs duties should be correctly distributed among the deliveries.
Not an isolated case – but rather everyday reality for many companies in international wholesale. Overseas imports are complex: partial deliveries from various orders, container-related invoices starting from the day of loading, time-critical freight data, and manual allocations across multiple systems. Those who don't have this process under control pay twice: through rework and through incorrect accounting entries.
The good news: This complexity can be mapped directly in the ERP system in a structured and transparent way.
How this works in practice is demonstrated by the container management in KUMAVISION trade.365.
With container management in KUMAVISION trade365 Companies receive an integrated solution for centrally planning, transparently tracking, and reliably processing overseas shipments. Containers are centrally managed and linked to purchase orders, goods receipts, transfers, and purchase invoices throughout the entire process. This creates a seamless flow of information – from loading to goods receipt at the destination warehouse.
All relevant data, such as delivery dates, ship information, and container-related costs, are consistently available and can be processed immediately. Manual assignments are reduced, subsequent processes are automated, and traceability is significantly improved.
Container orders: Partial deliveries bundled and process-managed.
A significant added value arises from the unique way container orders are handled. This allows partial deliveries from different purchase orders to be combined into a single container order and processed automatically. This reduces the need for manually assigning container numbers to individual orders or goods receipts. Order lines that are delivered with a container can be bundled in the container order, booked onto the ship, and then automatically transferred to the destination warehouse.
This creates a seamless process from loading onto the ship to goods receipt at the destination. Subsequent quantity discrepancies can also be handled transparently within the container order – for example, by issuing credit notes for under-deliveries or by expanding the container order for over-deliveries. This gives companies greater certainty in processing, a better data foundation, and significantly greater transparency regarding their international trade flows.
Your benefits at a glance
- Transparent control of overseas shipments: Containers, orders, goods receipts, transfers and invoices are linked together and can be tracked throughout the entire import process.
- Efficient mapping of container orders: Partial deliveries from multiple purchase orders are bundled into a single container order and processed in a structured manner – without repeated manual allocation in individual documents.
- Continuous process from ship to destination warehouse: Goods receipts at the ship's warehouse, automatic transfer orders and postings to the destination warehouse are supported by process-guided processes.
- Less manual effort in document processing: Container information is transferred to subsequent documents and is available for goods receipt, relocation, purchase invoice and allocation of surcharges/discounts.
- Safe handling of quantity deviations: Discrepancies between invoiced and actually received goods can be processed transparently in the container order – including credit notes for under-deliveries or extensions for over-deliveries.
- Centralized management of delivery dates: ETD (Estimated time of departure), ETA (Estimated time of arrival), and expected goods receipt data can be maintained on the container and transferred to linked document lines when changes are made.
- Transparent distribution of customs and freight costs: Surcharges and discounts can be filtered on a container-specific basis and distributed to the corresponding deliveries according to the principle of causation.
- Greater transparency through ship tracking: Linking containers with ship data allows for better tracking of transport status and support for planning along the supply chain.
"Especially in overseas business, a clean data basis determines how reliably and efficiently import processes can be managed. Container management with container orders creates transparency across all relevant documents and process steps."
– Nathalie Aydin, Senior Consultant Portfolio Management TRADE, KUMAVISION AG
trade 365 is an industry solution from KUMAVISION AG based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is specifically tailored to the needs of trading companies.
