Regulation & Compliance

Government Import Controls Cause Luxury Goods Retailers to Move Out of Argentina

September 21, 2012

A slew of luxury goods retailers are leaving Argentina in response to import barriers, currency controls and soaring inflation. American designer Ralph Lauren was the most recent departure when it announced last month that it was closing three of its stores in Buenos Aires, including its flagship in the upscale Recoleta district, as draconian measures on imports have all but left it unable to stock its shelves.

Is Port-Based Ballast Water Treatment Just A Dream?

September 20, 2012

The Maritime Executive

Despite pending regulations, most shipowners have refused to commit to an onboard ballast water treatment system. Yet port-based treatment has the potential to be a temporary or even permanent solution.

Mazda Motor Logistics Europe Automates Customs Declaration Process

September 20, 2012

Descartes

Mazda Motor Logistics Europe N.V., the Belgian-based operation of Mazda Motors, is using Descartes' cloud-based customs solution to automate declaration filings in Belgium.

California Starts Collecting Taxes on Internet Sales

September 19, 2012

The Los Angeles Times

The days of most tax-free internet shopping in California are over. After years of controversy, the world's largest online retailer, Amazon.com Inc., has begun collecting state and local sales taxes on California purchases. Depending on where you live, sales taxes in the state range from 7.25 percent to 9.75 percent.

Retailers Applaud Online Sales Tax Collection in California, Urge Congress to Act Nationwide

September 19, 2012

RILA

Advocates for a level playing field between traditional brick-and-mortar retailers and their online-only competitors are celebrating the implementation of "sales tax fairness" in California. Last week, online-only retailers, such as Amazon.com, began collecting state sales tax in California.

Uncertain Economy Affects Retail Supply Chain

September 17, 2012

STORES

As retail supply chains grow increasingly larger geographical footprints, they become more susceptible to risk. Retailers have long prepared for natural disasters and geopolitical events, but ongoing financial crises and uncertainty has them even more concerned.

A Unique Teaching Tool for SCM Students

September 17, 2012

SupplyChainBrain

Chris Schrage, instructor of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa, describes a unique global trade-practices project that involved students from the U.S. and Brazil, and artisans from Latin America.

Understanding Independent Distributor Certifications and Anti-Counterfeiting

September 12, 2012

Smith & Associates, Rockwell Automation

Quality management systems are at the core of every set of critical business processes, and essential among these are anti-counterfeit strategies. Recently, industry headlines have been replete with analyst and government reports documenting the pervasiveness of counterfeit product in supply chains. Rather than a new problem though, counterfeit criminal activity is as old as business itself, and with this history comes an equally long history of anti-counterfeit strategies and risk management practices.

How Business Should Respond to SEC's Rule on Conflict Minerals

September 10, 2012

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

No one appears completely happy with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule on tracking the presence of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in high-tech and other types of products. Comments on SEC's action range from outright opposition to quibbling over details.

Court Seems to Say Retailers Can Track Shoppers' Movements In and Outside Stores

September 10, 2012

Storefront Backtalk

Retailers wrestling with how far they can legally go with tracking shoppers' movements within their stores and in neighborhoods near their stores have been given an unexpected green light from a federal appeals court.