News Index/Article
Supply chain
system talks about EADS - 2006-11-14
The dust has
settled on some interesting supply chain advances that Toronto-based
GlobalTrade Corporation (GTC) has been quietly developing over recent months
and now the company is more able to speak publicly about them.
GTC develops
innovative, collaborative software products for global trade finance. Under the
trademark @GlobalTrade, the company services corporates that require
multi-party information exchange and document management systems enabling
visibility, better risk control, and cost savings, as well as financial
institutions that require innovative solutions to increase their market share
and protect the existing customer base.
GTC has been
co-operating closely with Bayerische HypoVereinsbank (HVB), taking advantage of
the bank's extensive coverage of mid-caps and large multinational corporates.
@GlobalTrade as a
multi-bank and multi-entity application that facilitates the uniform, real-time
and secured exchange of information between all parties has been an important
tool in HVB"s trade services business strategy. HVB is hosting the
platform for its customers, and supports the full range of trade services
business as well as agent services for guarantee facilities through this
platform. As a web-based, modular, interface it can be easily customised. Major
investments or changes to the user’s IT infrastructure are not required.
HVB is the third
largest private bank in Germany with 5% market share, over 26,000 employees,
680 branches, and more than 4mn customers. As a member of UniCredit Group it
holds a leading position in the economic hubs of Italy, Germany, Austria, and
Central and Eastern Europe with over 140,000 employees, 7,000 branches, and
more than 28mn customers.
Its wide network
allows the bank to be close to its customers wherever they are. HVB combines
its skills as a lender with in-depth industry knowledge and solutions oriented
towards the capital market. Corporate finance and foreign trade competence
complement the product range with customised and also cross-border financial
solutions.
EADS, a global
leader in the aerospace and defence industry with revenues of €34.2bn in 2005,
was the first customer that mandated HVB in September 2005 to implement the
@GlobalTrade Guarantee Platform in connection with its €2.9bn letter of
guarantee umbrella facility which closed at the beginning of May 2006. HVB acts
as agent for the 36 EADS subsidiaries and as service provider for the 22 banks
participating in this transaction.
"We have
chosen @GlobalTrade for its remarkable flexibility and ease of use,” says Jörg
Weber, manager of EADS group’s guarantee activities. “Despite the complexity of
this transaction and the multitude of banks involved, we have been able to
considerably improve the transparency and efficiency of our L/G activities.”
"Our main task
was to fully satisfy EADS' needs," adds Markus Wohlgeschaffen, managing
director and head of trade and payment products at HVB. "We wanted to
create a truly multi-bank and multi-entity solution taking into account our
customer's organisational set up and its prevailing internal processes. We even
managed to set up additional features, making the processes easier, more
transparent, and secure."
"EADS and HVB
management knew exactly what they wanted and had a tight timeline for going
live," says Jacob Katsman, GTC's CEO. "I am proud to say that our
company has delivered a true multi-bank platform that is now being used in
daily business by the world's most innovative companies and banks. Other
companies and banks will soon follow the HVB-EADS example, having realised that
electronic multi-bank applications are possible in reality and are not only a
dream of the future."
"The
technology requirements of the project included flexible workflows connecting
multiple EADS subsidiaries and banks and covering full guarantee management
cycle from application to release, automated multi-company and multi-bank
billing, multiple authorisation levels, delegated user management, various
security models of the participating banks, and quick roll-out and
adoption," explains Nick Pachnev, GTC's CTO. "Those requirements were
a perfect match for @GlobalTrade platform. The platform's comprehensive
functionality, modular design, high degree of customisation, and web-based
access allowed our company to meet all user requirements on schedule."