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Hush Puppies manufacturer eliminates reliance on letters of credit - will use TradeCard's products and services to automate cross-border settlements
NEW YORK, May 16, 2001 - Financial supply chain service provider TradeCard announced today the addition of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW), a leading global marketer of branded footwear including Hush Puppies, CAT and Merrell Performance Footwear, to its growing list of high-profile customers that are using TradeCard to automate their cross-border procurement, fulfillment and account settlement processes.
"A large portion of our footwear is sourced from contract factories located in Asia and other parts of the world," said Stephen L. Gulis, Jr., Wolverine's chief financial officer. "Our challenge is to find ways to optimize cash flow while at the same time ensure that our products get to market on time. Until now, letters of credit were the instruments of choice to support financing of the more than 25 million pair of footwear we source from contract suppliers each year. Now TradeCard, which was introduced to us through Comerica, a TradeCard alliance partner and one of our major banks, is being used to automate our previously paper-intensive procurement financing operations, resulting in improved workflow, stronger supply chain management, cash flow and most importantly, better services to our customers."
According to a Cap Gemini Ernst & Young benchmarking study of 150 large companies, the firm believes that automation of the financial supply chain with TradeCard's technology along with targeted business process realignments could save companies 50 to 100 basis points of top-line revenue. Such savings result from improvements to working capital, risk management, and business process costs, including the labor and fees related to purchasing, invoicing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, treasury, and cash management.
Wolverine's transactions with TradeCard flow seamlessly through their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which is fully integrated with the TradeCard network. Such integration allows companies like Wolverine, which have made significant ERP investments, to further leverage their existing ERP infrastructure for TradeCard transactions. TradeCard member companies without ERP systems can access the TradeCard network via a browser. Regardless of the method companies use to transact with TradeCard, they can see what all the parties to an active transaction are doing in a collaborative environment, providing them the information they need to make better-informed payment decisions. At the same time, they have access to TradeCard's business alliance network of trade-related companies.
"We are essentially locating all the information related to the flow of goods and money to one vantage point so all the participants involved in a transaction can make better decisions," said Kurt Cavano, Chairman and CEO of TradeCard. "Wolverine will significantly benefit from TradeCard's selection of transaction workflows. They will be able to manage all of the critical issues such as order management, exposure management, reconciliation, receivables and payables matching online, for less cost than traditional tools allow for today."
Through a single platform that hosts a suite of financial services, TradeCard now enables virtually any type of domestic or cross-border trade transaction. TradeCard's platform infrastructure combined with a powerful transaction network and product features comprise a complete financial supply chain offering. A financial supply chain platform can help buyers and sellers better manage their accounts payables and receivables processes by providing more accurate information and visibility into their transactions while automating many of the labor-intensive aspects of payables and receivables management.
Comerica Bank, which first introduced Wolverine World Wide to TradeCard, was pleased by the progress of the Wolverine World Wide / TradeCard relationship.
"Wolverine World Wide is one of our key clients," said Mike Rinkus, First Vice President and officer in charge of Comerica Bank's Trade Finance Group. "Just as they were looking for ways to reduce their trade transaction costs through improved working capital and process efficiencies, we were embarking on our relationship with TradeCard. It is extremely satisfying to see such key partners link together in a mutually beneficial way - a relationship we hope to see duplicated with other clients and TradeCard in the future."
About TradeCard
TradeCard is a financial supply chain service provider. TradeCard's secure transaction infrastructure greatly reduces the inefficiencies and uncertainties found in traditional domestic and cross-border trade transaction processes. By streamlining and enhancing the steps necessary for purchase order approvals, payment decisions and settlement, TradeCard provides a cost-effective, practical and patented service for financial supply chain management. TradeCard, Inc. is headquartered in New York City with offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and London. TradeCard can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.tradecard.com.
About Wolverine World Wide
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. is the leading global marketer of branded non-athletic footwear for men, women and children. Wolverine World Wide markets footwear through its powerful stable of brands including Company owned brands - Hush Puppies®,Wolverine®, Merrell®, Bates®, and Hy-Test - as well as brands licensed to the Company - Caterpillar, Harley-Davidson and Coleman. To learn more about the Wolverine World Wide family of footwear, go to www.wolverineworldwide.com.
About Comerica
Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) is a multi-state financial services provider headquartered in Detroit, with banking subsidiaries in Michigan, California and Texas, banking operations in Florida, and businesses in several other states. Comerica also operates banking subsidiaries in Canada and Mexico, as well as a trade processing company in Hong Kong. Comerica is the 19th largest bank holding company in the U.S., a Fortune 500 company with $50 billion in assets, and is among the top 200 banking companies in the world, based on assets. Comerica is the nation's 10th largest commercial business lender and among the top 20 small business lenders. Comerica can be found on the World Wide Web at www.comerica.com.
