Starting an import/export business or expanding your business in such a way is a major challenge. Nowadays, the import and export of goods are considered to be an undertaking, especially if you operate in the global market.
As you may already know, there’s a ton of things to take care of before you can run your business smoothly. A good example is being compliant with all the rules, regulations and laws regarding international trade, in addition to taking care of transportation, warehousing, logistics and a mountain of paperwork.
Fortunately, modern technology has once again managed to provide proper assistance to import/export businesses. More precisely, various software solutions can help you immensely when it comes to organizing and running such a company.
However, with so many solutions available on the market, how does a business owner decide which solution is the best? Simply put, the best solution is the one that suits your business needs the most. With that in mind, here are a few ways how business software will improve your import/export business.
How to Start an Import/Export Business?
Just like any other business endeavor, starting an import/export business requires a lot of planning, preparations and, of course, funds. There are a lot of decisions to be made before you can launch your business and you need to carefully consider each of them. Here are a few things you should do before starting your company.
- Extensive market analysis – You must determine the demand for goods, conduct a competitive analysis and consider the type of import/export business you wish to start.
- You must consider whether to operate locally or globally.
- You must have a large capital – It may take around 10 years before you can ensure a +1% ROA (Return On Assets) in the global trade.
- You must research international as well as local laws, rules, and regulations for countries you wish to export to or import goods from.
- You must find proper assistance, such as customs brokerage and freight forwarding services.
- Lastly, you must take care of warehousing, transportation, and logistics for your supply chain.
What Is the Export/Import Business Software?
The import/export business software includes various solutions for multiple processes across your supply chain. This type of software solution makes all the daunting tasks a lot more seamless. Considering the fact that there are a lot of daily tasks to conduct for such companies, it’s vital that you leverage technology to make everything a lot easier. As an example, here are a few things import/export software should include.
- Cost and profit estimate and expenses tracking.
- Inventory tracking.
- International and global regulatory compliance.
- Multi-currency solution.
- Warehouse and transportation fleet management.
- Automation software for documentation, payments and other processes.
- Legal and business accounting solutions.
- Sales and customer service solutions.
The list can go on as this is just a brief example. Nevertheless, it’s important to carefully analyze every aspect of your business while determining both your needs and business goals before you start considering which software solution to opt for.
Choosing the Right Software
As mentioned before, you will have to consider your needs before you find the best solution for your import/export business. However, chances are that you’ll have to choose multiple options as there aren’t many solutions that will cover your every need.
Moreover, you may not be able to afford such a solution right from the start so you’ll have to choose what’s really necessary. For example, you should consider software solutions closer to the nature of your business.
Let’s say you’re a manufacturing company that wishes to export goods and import materials. In that case, efficient manufacturing software for small business would be right for you. You can track supplies, payments, shipments and many other things with such a solution.
Furthermore, if you’re running a general import/export business that trades in various things and nothing specific, you may opt for ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software as it’s designed to help companies in various processes and decisions.
The Benefits of Software Solutions
No matter which software solution you opt for, it will help your import/export business in more ways than one. The benefits are various depending on what’s the software designed to do. Let’s look at a few examples of software and the benefits they provide.
- Financial software – Tracks incomes and expenses, evaluate costs and profits, helps with accounting, payments, and can be integrated with automation invoice software like GetYooz.
- Warehouse management software – Automates packaging, labeling and storing of goods. Reduces the chances of human error and helps track shipments across the world.
- Supply chain software – Improves supplier/vendor sourcing, customer requirement processing, order-purchase processing, sales and distribution of goods.
As you can see, every software solution benefits something. The more technology you leverage, the more seamless running an import/export business will be.
Every company needs some kind of business software today. The main reason is that the market is a highly dynamic environment that changes often and you simply can’t get everything done in time without some help from technology. This is especially true for import/export companies as they have both local and international regulations on their plate.
import/export logistics – DepositPhotos
