Simplify origin tracking in a complex supply chain

Establishing the country of origin is important in order to benefit from free trade arrangements e.g. European Free Trade Association, Association of South East Asian Nations and the North American Free Trade Agreement. The consequences of incorrectly assuming that a product qualifies under certain rules of origin can be substantial, such as supply interruptions, penalties and sanctions. If the country of origin is incorrectly stated, goods may be seized by customs and fines imposed.

Through a single dashboard, users can make significant time savings, as they are able to monitor an entire supply chain for compliance and quickly identify country of origin. As part of the process, Substantial transformation calculations provide traceability with calculated origins rolled-up through BoM data.

The Compliance Map Origin Determination Module is primarily targeted at electronics and medical device manufacturing companies, especially as components used in electronics assembly can be sourced from around the world across several assembly and manufacturing locations. Information on origins may even be found several tiers down a supply chain.

The module can automatically collect country of origin data from your supply chain, apply rules of origin such as determining if the product was wholly produced in one country or if Substantial Transformation took place. Criteria such as Regional Value Content analysis can be automated to roll through your BoM and provide a calculated and accurate Origin Determination. The result is a timely assessment of origin for even complex assemblies or products, which in turn mitigates any assumption over origin turning into a costly mistake.

Anthony Delengaigne, Director, Implementation Services, The Compliance Map, commented: “In the globalised business world we operate in, it’s not always as simple as one might hope to maintain the strictest ethical controls. The rise supply chain complexities, multi-sourcing and production of goods in multiple stages can make tracking down the origin of items and raw materials tricky. Our new Origin Determination Module solves this transparently, quickly and easily."

The Compliance Map software will automate every step of the origin evaluation process, integrating with source data, such as your PLM/ERP and warehousing systems so you always have the most up-to-date, accurate and traceable origin determination.

To calculate the country of origin, the module can apply several different Origin Models where Substantial Transformation evaluation is required, The Compliance Map system will automatically review tariff changes based on BOM and supply chain information and mark products appropriately.

Where Regional Value Content criteria need to be applied (such as with ASEAN origin legislation), non-originating and originating materials are aggregated based on origin data and rolled-up to determine whether the test passes a Value Content threshold (such as 40%).

Origin Determination joins the growing Compliance Map platform with solutions such as Conflict Minerals management, Material Compliance, Waste Compliance and Supply Chain Investigation, providing a holistic one stop shop for all environmental compliance and supply chain requirements.

As with every other module in The Compliance Map solution, a complete audit trail is preserved of every action taken with justification in order to easily demonstrate your due diligence process.