Nearly 7 out of 10 supply chain executives in Brazil cited total landed costs of importing products into the country as their greatest challenge.  These costs include purchase price, freight transportation, insurance and other inbound logistics costs to the port of destination, plus customs duties and other taxes on shipments.

"As Brazilian companies become part of regional and global supply chains, they increasingly are looking to reduce the landed cost of their imports and speed their delivery to markets here," explained Roberto Croce, general manager of BDP International in Brazil.

Nearly half (45%) of supply chain professionals recently surveyed by global logistics firm BDP International and its Centrx consulting unit indicated they are supporting their internal regulatory compliance departments with external resources, especially those with under $1 billion in annual revenues and those doing business in emerging markets.

Growing global concern over environmental and safety issues is spinning a global web of trade and security programs that impact both importers and exporters, and both products and their movement. Compliance with new regulations such as the EU REACH and U.S. Importer's Security Filing 10+2 programs can be complex and costly. To better understand how companies are dealing with these issues, BDP and Centrx surveyed 184 logistics executives from a wide range of industries.

More than 80 percent of supply chain managers recently polled at manufacturing companies involved in international trade by BDP International's in conjunction with its supply chain consulting unit, Centrx, expressed concern that growing protectionism could sink the world into a global depression.  

Respondents also feared the current economic downturn could result in a prolonged reversal of world trade. On a somewhat brighter note, three-quarters of them believed the recession would not last more than another 12 months.

Nearly half (48%) of supply chain executives in the chemical, consumer goods, industrial and retail sectors consider their companies’ to be global, but management of their supply chains would indicate otherwise.

Indeed 60% of these executives said supply chain decisions in their companies are made at the regional or local levels, according to a recent study conducted by BDP International’s Centrx™ consulting unit and St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

Just 35% of respondents reported their companies’ supply chains are managed globally.

BDP International's report on the results of a survey conducted to determine the reasons why NVO service arrangements (NSAs) have been slow to gain acceptance in the marketplace.