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Inspectorate to provide analysis and testing services to online trade transaction company
NEW YORK, June 28, 2000 - TradeCard, Inc., an online international trade transaction network for buyers and sellers, announced a partnership today with Inspectorate, a member of the British Standards Institute (BSI) Group of Companies. The partnership will provide TradeCard members online access to Inspectorate's inspection and testing services when they conduct cross-border trades using the TradeCard system
"The Internet has made international trade accessible to more people than ever before, and new trading relationships are forming every day," said Kurt Cavano, Chairman and CEO of TradeCard. "While these new relationships offer great potential for individuals and trade as a whole, they also expose buyers to the risks associated with purchasing from previously unknown sellers. That's where Inspectorate - an independent, well known and trusted inspection company - can come in and verify the quality of the products."
Inspectorate offers a wide range of testing services in the petroleum, chemical, agricultural and metals industries. However, its consumer product inspection and testing services, covering the electronic, footwear, sporting goods, textile and giftware segments, will prove most germane to TradeCard's finished goods target market. Inspectorate's product inspection services can cover the complete production process from initial evaluation and raw materials inspection to final inspection and testing and loading supervision, or any one stage in the manufacturing process.
"Inspectorate has spent years earning the trust of individuals and companies worldwide who rely upon us to verify the quality of goods they intend to purchase," said Inspectorate International Marketing Executive, Dana Marucci. Now, by joining with TradeCard, our customers can reach us seamlessly, within the context of an online trade transaction. That's better business for them, and better business for us."
The TradeCard/Inspectorate agreement places Inspectorate among the key TradeCard partners who provide value-added services to TradeCard members in the trade financing, inspection and logistics areas.
How TradeCard Works In order to use TradeCard's patented transaction system, buyers and sellers must first become approved TradeCard members by completing an online application. To begin a transaction, the buyer creates a purchase order containing the transaction's terms and conditions. This purchase order can be created directly on the TradeCard system, or sent via electronic file from a company's ERP system or an online marketplace.
TradeCard stores the purchase order on its secure, proprietary database, and notifies the seller that an order is pending. The seller can either approve the purchase order electronically, or can negotiate the order with the buyer online. Once both parties have agreed on the terms of the purchase order, it becomes a purchase contract.
At the time of shipment, the seller populates an invoice and packing list on the TradeCard system using either TradeCard's pre-populating tools, or by means of an electronic file. At this point the seller may obtain assurance of payment from a third party credit insurer. If the order requires inspection, the inspecting party submits an inspection certificate. A proof-of-delivery documents. At any time during this fulfillment phase, either party can submit a request for amendment to the purchase order that will only be effective upon the electronic approval of both parties.
Once all the required documents have been submitted, TradeCard's patented compliance engine automatically verifies that all required terms of the transaction are met by comparing the data of the purchase order with the commercial invoice, packing list and proof of delivery documents. If discrepancies are noted, the buyer and seller can resolve them online.
Once discrepancies, if any, are resolved and compliance is met, a global payment provider electronically transfers funds from the buyer's financial institution to the seller's financial institution, settling the transaction. If necessary, foreign currency exchange services can also be obtained from the global payment provider. TradeCard is an open network; buyers and sellers are not required to open new accounts with other financial institutions. TradeCard and its global payment provider work with buyers' and sellers' existing account relationships.
In addition to these core features, TradeCard members can contract for inspection services, and will be able to contract for pre- and post-export financing, cargo insurance and other value-added services.
About TradeCard
TradeCard is a business-to-business e-commerce infrastructure that enables buyers and sellers to conduct and settle international trade transactions securely over the Internet. By aggregating buyers, sellers and disparate trade service providers, our solution automates and streamlines existing international trade transaction processes, which are complex, paper-based, time-consuming and expensive. Our objective is to provide a secure, reliable, cost-effective and user-friendly solution for conducting and settling international trade transactions.
TradeCard, Inc. is headquartered in New York City with a branch office in Hong Kong, and can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.tradecard.com
About Inspectorate
The core objective of Inspectorate's global business is minimizing risk, through independent inspection, analysis and testing. Its network of services now extends to over 100 countries worldwide and is backed by more than 1800 employees and 70 specialist laboratories. Inspectorate provides a complete array of quality control inspections and testing services on both commodities and consumer products that include metals, minerals, oil, petrochemicals, fertilizers, agriculture, apparel, electronics, toys and many other products. For more information, please visit Inspectorate at www.inspectorate.com.
