TradeCard, Inc. (TradeCard) has been busy lately. In the space of a fortnight, the online international trade transaction company has been signing alliances faster than you can say "letter of credit". These alliances are crucial for TradeCard's value proposition for business to business (B2B) marketplaces, which is to provide online financial links to complete the B2B e-commerce value chain. Online services provided by TradeCard are electronic order fulfillment, compliance and settlement.
E-discovery
To flesh out its discovery service, TradeCard has entered into a partnership agreement with Global Sources, an infomediary and B2B market maker for volume buyers. Global Sources provides access to and maintains online catalogs, sourcing and marketing services, and an order management system called Global Sources Transact (Transact). Through this partnership with TradeCard, Global Sources members can now register for the online settlement mechanism provided by TradeCard.
At the same time, TradeCard's push into Asia was given a boost with a partnership with Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd (Tradelink) in Hong Kong. Tradelink is a joint venture between the HKSAR Government and 11 private sector shareholders, including Cable & Wireless HKT, China Resource Holdings, and two international banks, HSBC and Standard Chartered. Tradelink aims to "jump start" the adoption of e-commerce in HK by providing electronic services for the most commonly-used government statutory transactions and submissions currently done on paper.
E-fulfillment
TradeCard has teamed up with Bureau Verita, and under the partnership agreement, TradeCard members will have access to Bureau Verita rating and inspection services and pre- and post-export inspection services to ensure imported products meet expected standards.
In the same vein, TradeCard has also formed an alliance with SGS SociTtT GTnTrale de Surveillance (SGS) to provide inspection services to buyers, as well as access to SGS's new SGSonSITE vendor rating program. Vendors in the program are graded and given a rating "seal" based on their quality assurance/quality control capabilities.
"The internet is enabling buyers to find new suppliers, and suppliers to find new buyers at accelerating rates," says Kurt Cavano, chairman and CEO of TradeCard. "As these new relationships form, independent "trust" providers such as SGS help facilitate the transactions."
E-settlement
Also on the TradeCard bandwagon is Thomas Cook. Once TradeCard has electronically obtained proof of delivery, a message is sent to Thomas Cook to electronically debit the buyer's account at its financial institution and electronically credit the seller's account. Essentially, Thomas Cook will be the "money mover" for TradeCard.
"This agreement allows buyers and sellers who transact with TradeCard to maintain their individual bank relationships ... traders win in two ways with this deal: they can still finance their trades, if desired, with their own financial institutions, and can rest assured that their money is in trusted hands with Thomas Cook during the money transfer process," says Cavano.
TradeCard offers payment assurance through its alliance with Coface, an export credit insurer.
