UPS launches trade consulting service in Asia

UPS has launched a new trade consulting service as part of its customs brokerage offering for Asia. The new Trade Management Services (TMS) will include trade consulting, import and export technologies and managed services, with UPS stating that it should help customers expand in the Asia Pacific region.

The company said Asia Pacific had the fastest export growth of any region in the first half of 2014.

The new service will be provided by a team based in Singapore, providing technological support and customs brokerage to assist intra-Asia and global commerce, UPS said.

Nando Cesarone, President of UPS Asia Pacific Region, said: “The launch of TMS is part of a long-term strategy to help our customers compete and do cross-border business more effectively. Increasing supply chain and regulatory complexities are barriers to trade, and are driving renewed focus on trade management and compliance.”

The UPS trade consulting service will work to improve customers’ competitive trade advantage, the company said, mitigating the risk in international trade by assessing their compliance, security and administrative issues impacting their business.

It aims to reduce customers’ exposure to penalties and clearance delays, while maximizing duty or tax savings, UPS added.

Lee Eng Keat, Director of Logistics at the Singapore Economic Development Board, said the setup of UPS’s Asian regional office for TMS in Singapore would boost the country’s capabilities and depth in providing companies with insights on compliance and customs brokerage across the region.

“It will further strengthen Singapore’s proposition as an ideal base for companies to navigate the increasingly complex supply chains in Asia,” he said. “The establishment of such functions will provide good, skilled jobs for Singaporeans in the logistics industry, and enable them to gain regional exposure.”