There’s no hiding the fact that global trade is no longer defined by predictable tariffs and stable supply chains. Instead, we are witnessing a shift where it’s now a high-stakes balancing act between regulatory unpredictability, geopolitical shocks and compliance demands.
From volatile trade agreements and retaliatory tariffs to cross-border tax reforms and digital customs mandates, the rules of engagement are being rewritten, and legacy trade systems simply aren’t equipped to keep up. A solution that provides governance over business processes to ensure operational compliance is what the modern enterprise needs
According to the World Trade Organization, trade-restrictive measures among G20 economies have risen to levels not seen since 2008, with over 1,400 new measures introduced in just the last 12-month reporting cycle . Meanwhile, EY’s 2024 Global Trade Survey found that 72% of multinational companies are struggling to keep pace with shifting country-of-origin rules, preferential tariff qualifications, and real-time customs documentation requirements .
In this environment, most enterprises relying on outdated ERP-integrated trade modules or manual compliance processes face a serious operational liability. These systems were never designed for cloud agility, real-time regulatory updates, or cross-system automation, and as a result, they leave businesses exposed to avoidable risk, cost, and delay.
Enter Oracle Fusion Cloud Global Trade Management (GTM), a platform engineered to automate, connect, and scale compliance across today’s volatile global trade landscape. Unlike traditional trade tools, Oracle Fusion Cloud GTM offers end-to-end trade visibility, automation of complex regulatory logic, and integrations with both internal ERP systems and external trade partners. Even companies with a portfolio of ERP systems and lines of business can integrate with Oracle Fusion GTM to leverage centralized compliance governance regardless of technology partner.
This article explores how Oracle Fusion Cloud GTM solves today’s compliance challenges and future-proofs international trade operations for whatever comes next.
The New Realities of International Trade: Risk, Regulation, and Reaction Time
International trade has always involved complexity but in recent years, that complexity has escalated dramatically. Enterprises are now dealing with a not-so-healthy dose of geopolitical shifts, digital compliance mandates, supply chain restructuring, and trade policy volatility, all at once.
According to recent findings, the average number of new trade-restrictive measures has more than doubled since 2018, reflecting increasing use of tariffs, quotas, and export controls as tools of economic leverage. Meanwhile, regional reforms, like Brazil’s sweeping tax overhaul or the EU’s evolving Customs Union and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), are forcing businesses to re-evaluate how they calculate origin, value-add, and duty exposure across their supply chains.
These shifts aren’t just policy-level changes, they’re operational disruptors.
For example:
- A slight misinterpretation of updated rules of origin under USMCA or EU-UK trade arrangements can result in retroactive duty charges or denied preferential access.
- A delay in submitting an advanced ruling request to U.S. CBP can lead to reclassification disputes, causing costly customs delays or surprise audits.
- Relying on manual processes or siloed trade data often results in inconsistent documentation and missed filing deadlines, especially when compliance is managed across spreadsheets, disconnected ERP modules, or legacy systems like Oracle EBS ITM.
And, to make matters more critical, the cost of inaction is growing. A recent study found that companies operating without centralized trade compliance systems are five times more likely to experience regulatory fines, audit penalties, or shipment delays than their digitally integrated peers.
The pressure to respond quickly, whether it’s rerouting shipments, changing suppliers, or applying for tariff relief, requires trade systems that are real-time, rules-driven, and built to scale. Legacy systems can’t meet that demand.
How Oracle GTM Cloud Modernizes Trade Operations at Scale
Where traditional trade compliance systems function as afterthoughts, detached from supply chain decision-making and dependent on manual upkeep, Oracle Global Trade Management Cloud acts as an intelligent core that drives proactive, connected, and automated global trade operations.
At its core, Oracle GTM Cloud centralizes and automates the key components of global trade compliance across sourcing, procurement, logistics, finance, and customs workflows.
What Oracle GTM Cloud Actually Delivers
1. Centralized Trade Logic
All classification, origin, valuation, and regulatory rules are housed in a single source of truth, eliminating silos and inconsistencies that plague legacy systems.
2. Automation of Critical Compliance Processes
Oracle GTM automates:
- Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification
- Rules of origin qualification under trade agreements (e.g., USMCA, EU FTAs)
- Certificate management (origin, transformation, value-add)
- Restricted party screening
- Real-time customs documentation filing (e.g., AES in the U.S.)
3. End-to-End Integration
Because GTM is cloud-native and part of the broader Oracle Cloud SCM suite, it integrates seamlessly with:
- Oracle ERP systems as well as systems like SAP and Microsoft Dynamics 365
- Third-party logistics providers
- Customs authorities (like CBP)
- Partner onboarding systems
- Global supplier portals
Real-World Impact Across the Enterprise
For Procurement
- Simulate landed costs and tariff impact before selecting suppliers
- Optimize sourcing for cost and compliance
For Compliance and Legal Teams
- Access auditable documentation across every transaction
- Reduce risk of misclassification, non-compliance, and fines
- Automatically apply advanced ruling logic to relevant SKUs
- Automated control over business processes to prevent the organization from violating global trade restrictions and ensure compliance review
- Centralized management of Duty Drawback and required documentation
- Control the capture of documentation in your ERP systems processes, such as order management or procurement, to support filings for duty drawback, tax credits or other incentive programs
- Have a single system and centralized repository for managing global trade reporting requirements regardless of country.
For Logistics and Operations
- Accelerate customs clearance with real-time document generation
- Avoid border delays caused by missing or inaccurate filings
For IT and Security
- Eliminate the need for custom code or manual rule entry
- Benefit from quarterly cloud updates aligned with evolving regulations
- A single system to support all global trade.
Why GTM Cloud Future-Proofs Trade Compliance
Modernizing trade compliance is about solving today’s inefficiencies and building a framework that can evolve with tomorrow’s risks.
Unlike on-prem or legacy trade modules that degrade with every rule change or patch cycle, GTM Cloud is purpose-built to grow with your organization and the global regulatory landscape.
Cloud-Native Architecture
Legacy trade tools like Oracle EBS ITM are frozen in time, rarely updated and costly to maintain. In contrast, GTM Cloud benefits from quarterly updates, seamlessly delivering:
- New trade agreements
- Updated tariff schedules
- Enhanced automation logic
- Integrations with global customs and regulatory platforms
Agility in the Face of Global Policy Shifts
Whether it’s Brazil’s tax reform, the EU’s CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism), or changing U.S. origin thresholds under USMCA, trade regulations are evolving faster than most IT teams can track.
Oracle GTM Cloud keeps your compliance logic current and enables:
- Real-time origin recalculations
- Country-specific logic customization
- Automated responses to tariff schedule updates
- Adaptability across regional tax schemes and customs requirements
Digital Audit Readiness by Design
Customs authorities worldwide are digitizing enforcement, demanding instant, transparent access to trade records. Manual systems and fragmented documentation simply fail to deliver for the modern enterprise.
With GTM Cloud, every trade action is:
- Timestamped and audit-ready
- Linked to master data and transactional context
- Easily retrieved for inspections or internal reviews
Resilience for What’s Next: Reshoring, ESG, and Geopolitical Disruption
The next five years will bring even more pressure:
- Nearshoring and reshoring demand new supplier screening and tariff modeling
- ESG-linked trade policies will introduce reporting obligations tied to origin, emissions, and labor practices
- Geopolitical instability will continue to drive regional trade fragmentation
According to Gartner’s 2024 Market Guide for Global Trade Management, Oracle remains a leading platform due to its scalability, extensive compliance rules engine, and deep integration with the broader Oracle Cloud ecosystem.
ITC’s Role: Accelerating Oracle GTM Success
Deploying Oracle Global Trade Management Cloud is a powerful step. But realizing its full potential, especially in complex, high-risk, and legacy-heavy environments, requires more than configuration. It demands strategic alignment, data maturity, supplier engagement, and expert guidance.
At IT Convergence, we have 27+ years of experience helping customers maximize the value of their Oracle solutions.
How?
Legacy System Modernization Expertise
Many enterprises still operate on legacy trade modules like Oracle EBS ITM, which were never built for the speed, agility, or regulatory scope of today’s world. ITC has deep experience in:
- Mapping and migrating legacy trade logic to GTM Cloud
- Recreating critical workflows in the cloud without business disruption
- Ensuring master data integrity and customs rule fidelity post-migration
Industry-Specific Configuration & Advisory
ITC creates configurations with real-world, verticalized logic and offers advisory aligned to:
- Industry-specific documentation standards
- Preferred trade agreement strategies
- Product-specific customs treatments
Supplier Enablement and Certification Campaigns
A centralized system is only as strong as the data it holds. ITC helps clients launch global certificate collection campaigns to:
- Validate supplier declarations
- Capture and manage value-add and transformation documentation
- Ensure origin compliance across jurisdictions
- Prepare for CBP and EU customs audits
Building a Resilient Trade Compliance Strategy Before the Next Disruption
Tariff volatility. Digital customs enforcement. Global tax reforms.
You’ve seen them on headlines but now they’re ready to impact your business. These aren’t temporary disruptions, instead, they’re the new baseline for international trade.
As supply chains stretch across borders and compliance demands intensify, the organizations that thrive won’t be the ones reacting fastest…they’ll be the ones already prepared.
Oracle Global Trade Management Cloud offers compliance automation and delivers strategic control over your sourcing, documentation, and duty exposure across every region you operate in.
But success with GTM Cloud doesn’t happen automatically. You need a partner who understands the nuances of global trade, the legacy systems you’re managing, and how to make GTM Cloud work for your unique environment.
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Disclaimer:
The information presented in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only. IT Convergence is a technology and ERP systems advisory firm. While we closely monitor the tax, trade, and tariff volatility landscape, we focus on helping organizations prepare their Oracle environments accordingly. We do not provide tax or legal advice, nor do we interpret tax legislation.
We recommend that all organizations consult with qualified tax or legal advisors to assess their specific obligations based on industry, entity classification, and jurisdiction.
IT Convergence supports customers in configuring, optimizing, and future-proofing their systems for compliance but does not assume responsibility for legal or fiscal determinations.
