A trade finance software developer founded four years ago says it is making significant advances in the field of global trade settlement solutions.

TradeBeam, which was founded in the midst of the dotcom boom in May 2000, claims it is now involved in the integration of physical and financial supply chains for global trade with over 3,000 corporate clients and end-users in over 100 countries live on its applications.

TradeBeam's financial product suite includes applications to automate letters of credit (L/Cs), reconciliation, dispute resolution, open account and payment terms processes.

Right lines

Lee Kidder, director of wholesale banking at Tower Group, one of the world's leading research and advisory groups focused on the financial services sector, believes the solutions provider is working along the right lines: "Automating the overall L/C process (i.e., to ensure accuracy and reduce the discrepancy rate, not simply to automate the L/C issuance) is extremely difficult but vitally important, because it is a necessary precursor to integrating the entire supply chain," Kidder is quoted as saying in a TradeBeam statement.

"TradeBeam's focus on integrating the entire supply chain process, which is where the industry is steadily moving, clearly puts it on the leading edge of trade finance technology," Kidder is quoted as saying.

Corporate clients

The California based company says its solution manages existing L/C usage and relationships for over one hundred and fifty corporate clients. Essentially it synchronises the payment terms and critical supporting documents to enable both electronic L/C creation and bank presentation.

TradeBeam's goal is to reduce discrepancies and improve efficiencies in the financial supply chain and according to corporate credit manager for Zebra Technologies Corporation, Theresa Williams, it has "significantly reduced discrepancies by automating document preparation and reconciling relevant logistics data and business documentation."

Success claims

Part of TradeBeam's success according to the company lies in its document management and reconciliation capability that generates documents based on the L/C terms, making use of business partner profiles, electronic data transmission and templates to minimise data entry.

The company says that paper and electronic distribution of L/C documentation can be made to banks, trading partners or any service provider and all documents created and managed by TradeBeam are compliant with UCP 500 and eUCP.

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