Office furniture company deploys NextLinx solution to streamline global trade transactions for 25,000-plus purchase parts
Holland, MI March 5, 2004 Office furniture manufacturer Haworth Inc. is set to implement a trade management solution from NextLinx to support the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) qualification process.
Based in Holland, Mich., Haworth operates in more than 120 countries and employs 8,000 members worldwide. The company had sales of $1.23 billion in 2003.
Supporting Haworth operations in United States and Canada, NextLinx's Trade Agreements solution will enable Haworth to perform NAFTA analysis and compliance for its range of office furniture, consisting of over 25,000 purchase parts from 250 global suppliers. Haworth expects to increase trade compliance efficiency, reduce outsourcing and logistics costs, and enable a business process that will adapt to and support its future growth.
"After thorough evaluations, NextLinx was the only software provider we found that offered a comprehensive solution that performed the full NAFTA analysis," said Scott Munker, director of global trade and compliance for Haworth.
Munker said that by offering accelerated integration and simplified maintenance, Trade Agreements will reduce both administrative and outsourcing costs for Haworth. "NextLinx fits well with our long-term systems strategy and provides us the capability to expand the solution to additional Haworth business sectors," Munker added.
NextLinx said that the Trade Agreements solution enables NAFTA qualification, supplier certification management, NAFTA certificate of origin and record keeping and reporting. Utilizing the Web-native solution, Haworth can reduce duties, fees and taxes on transactions between the United States, Mexico and Canada that qualify under NAFTA, creating a more cost effective shipment operation, according to NextLinx.
More specifically, Haworth will be able to manage communication and data via a supplier portal, which provides a Web interface for suppliers to log on and update certifications and origin information, as well as send essential NAFTA documents electronically. Haworth anticipates reducing the workload associated with managing its 250 NAFTA suppliers.
"While managing shipments between the United States, Canada and Mexico can be a very complicated and costly task for any organization, Haworth realizes the importance of utilizing a qualification tool that automates NAFTA compliance," said Rajiv Uppal, founder, president and CEO of NextLinx. "Accordingly, Haworth will have the ability to easily streamline the qualification process."
Powered by Global Knowledge, a database of global trade content and international business rules, Trade Agreements provides a configurable workflow that enables the user to monitor the NAFTA process by product, supplier, and transaction, while maintaining an audit trail. Trade Agreements is one of three modules that comprise NextLinx Trade Collaborator, a global trade software suite.
