Stand out amongst the competition with the right data analytics tools

International trade is an excellent way for businesses to grow and scale up. However, it can sometimes be quite challenging to deal with the variations in customs, trade laws, and regulations of different nations. For the most part, trading with the United Kingdom has been a breeze for countries in the European Union. EU member states cooperate to facilitate movement and, crucially, trade seamlessly among member states.

Since Brexit, many are still trying to adapt to new customs and tax regulations on imports and exports. The process of adaptation slows processes and negatively affects the bottom line of the business.

Adopting a data-driven mindset

Source: MIC Datenverarbeitung

Trade opportunities are growing in many other parts of the world, especially in rapidly emerging economies in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa (MENA). It is important that any global business — especially those dealing with imports and exports, has an appropriate system in place to handle the large amounts of data generation and transmission as goods and services cross multiple borders.

Global digital transformation, catalyzed by the Covid-19 pandemic, has led to the creation of massive amounts of data, a situation set to increase. It is not enough to merely collect and store data — its true value lies in how it is harnessed and analyzed for meaningful insights to inform decision-making.

Data analytics for global businesses

Events such as political instability, natural catastrophes, or changes in local & overseas policies impact the trade ecosystem. Fluctuation in supply, demand, trade tariffs, restrictions, tax, import, and export levies: without an accurate data analysis engine processing the figures, the permutations are simply unclear.

Finding the right data analytics tools for global trade

Source: MIC Datenverarbeitung

The MIC Data Analytics tool is a perfect way to gain visibility on global customs processing. It helps businesses analyze and visualize data through dashboards and reports. Comprising multiple modules, the tool can focus on customs and foreign trade data sets in context with trade content, like customs tariffs and free trade agreements.

The same platform helps companies detect data inconsistencies and mitigate possible compliance issues. The tool can also show potential optimizations in trade practices that might be advantageous. The MIC Data Analytics modules are provided as a SaaS and can be run independently from any other MIC module. The solution enables a flexible and efficient ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load) data process and has full customization features.

Modules and features available include:

• Dataset: Creates a basic flow for each dataset (import, export, stock, parts, origin, etc.). For example, an import dataset contains information about the importer, imported goods, invoice, supplier, declarant, price, transportation, taxes, fees, etc.
• ETL (Extract, Transform and Load): Provides the ability to parse massive amounts of data for data analytics. The MIC system processes data from MIC modules and external sources (customs authorities, customs brokers, customer ERP systems, or any other source accessible via API). The transformation and enrichment of data with tariff content for analysis (for example) across countries/regions are invaluable.
• Data Serving API: RESTful APIs allow integration with existing systems, such as ERP, external business intelligence (BI) platforms, or reporting tools. Data can be exported raw in common formats — CSV, JSON, etc.
• Business Intelligence: The embedded BI tool Apache Superset allows the creation of practically infinite visualizations. The tool’s instance comes with predefined analytics queries, dashboards, and charts designed for trading companies.

Static reporting is minimized – data is captured and shown in near-real-time. Instead of retrospective analysis, decisions can be made, and changing conditions acted on as quickly as required. This facility also minimizes the danger of any compliance oversights and means the business is always audit-ready.

To learn more about MIC’s unique data analytics solution for your global business, get in touch today.