Mercado Labs launches digital import solution for SMBs

With the company aiming to connect importers to their overseas suppliers in a fully digital, networked, and automated shared environment that manages the import order process from PO to final delivery, the release of the new solution, Mercado Lite, marks the first iOMS that is tailored to the needs of small to medium-sized businesses.

Import supply chains and what the solution entails

As detailed in the announcement, legacy import management platforms tend to have a requirement for on premise installation, offer limited connectivity with suppliers, and require an expensive, months-long configuration and installation process. Furthermore, having costs that quickly exceed USD  1 million on a yearly basis, import order management technology has been proven to be largely impractical for all but the biggest importers.

The Mercado Lite solution helps eliminate the need for time-intensive configuration and, by introducing a new tier with a cost of USD 999 a month, it looks to ensure that every importer can implement an import management system.

When commenting on the solution, company officials advised that early adopters of the platform have seen errors on orders reduced by 75% due to their built-in change controls, and a 55% increase in shipments arriving on time. Furthermore in-app messaging and tracking has helped suppliers benefit from real-time order data, with teams no longer having to work off spreadsheets, faxes, or PDFs, but from a single, digital order.

When signing up for Mercado Lite, importers will receive immediate access to change control features, tracking, approvals, milestones, and alerts to notify importers of any delays or issues with their orders. Additionally, the solution provides unlimited user accounts for an importer’s suppliers, allowing internal teams and manufacturing partners alike to access a shared source of information and collaborate for on-time orders’ delivery. What is more, most importers can start using Mercado Lite to manage import orders in an immediate manner, without there being a need for complex integrations with existing ERP or warehouse management systems (WMS).

Import management systems and Mercado Labs’ involvement

Based on press release information, import supply chain challenges have become more prevalent in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic, trade wars, geopolitical instability, and shortages have exposed the ones already present in the industry and highlighted a need for increased resilience when it comes to how the supply side manages the planning, buying, manufacturing, and moving of products. 

Despite this, most importers do not have dedicated systems for tracking, updating, and managing their import orders. Once a purchase order is generated by the importer’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, it is typically transmitted as a PDF via email, with each subsequent update, change order, and approval also communicated via email. When lacking an import order management system that organises the information and offers a single source of truth shared by both importer and supplier, costly errors and delays are thought to become inevitable.