SupplyChainBrain.com recently cited World Trade Organization estimates that by 2010 there will be close to 400 bilateral and regional free-trade agreements in place around the world.  The growing number of agreements has complicated companies' ability to evaluate duty-avoidance alternatives and minimize the total landed cost of imported goods.

Management Dynamics compares distribution strategies using trade content information from 120 countries.  Nathan Pieri, senior vice president of marketing and product management at Management Dynamics says, "we have a number of tools, including Trade Planner, to help [importers] figure out where the critical components of an end product should be sourced so that overall landed cost is lower. It is no longer just about going to China. You could have a slightly higher invoice from another country but if there is a preferential agreement in place, you could end up with a lower landed cost because of duty savings."

ForeSee Results recently reported that citizen satisfaction with federal government web sites improved for the first time in a year, according to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Government Satisfaction Index.  The study also found that improvements in satisfaction could save tax dollars as citizens migrate to the web-channel as a primary resource, and away from more expensive channels like call centers.  Satisfied users of government websites are:

• 84% more likely to use the web as a primary resource for information or transactions;
• 82% more likely to recommend the website; and,
• 56% more likely to return to the site than dissatisfied citizens.

ForeSee reported that the highest-scoring federal website continues to be Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps6z/i1020/), with a score of 88 on the ACSI’s 100-point scale.  The site has been at the top of the Index in each quarterly report for the last two years.

"What it does, is it takes a very difficult and confusing process and makes it easier for people to understand," Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results, said in an interview. "They're really providing a value to people to understand what's going on. Even though it's not the prettiest site to look at, it seems to meet the needs of its users. And that's what it comes done to - meeting customers' needs." 

Potomac Tech Wire has announced the latest event in its breakfast round table series, "The Future of Software."  Topics to be discussed by senior industry executives and technology investors in the Mid-Atlantic include software-as-a-service, open source growth, business models and trends in enterprise software and venture capital. 

Updata Partners' Carter Griffin will participate on a panel entitled, "Venture Capital: Investing in Software," along with Harry Gruner, General Partner at JMI Equity and Don Rainey, General Partner at Grotech Ventures.

The event will be held from 8:00am - 10:30am on Friday, September 5 at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, Virginia.