Mit PDF
Mit PDF
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By -
And
A. Todd Templeton
B.S. Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University, 2003
The authors hereby grant to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic
copies of this documentin whole or in part.
1
Foreign Trade Zones and Bonded Warehouses for Luxury Goods
By
Nadya Petrova
And
A. Todd Templeton
ABSTRACT
We explore and compare the benefits of establishing and operating Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs)
and Bonded Warehouses (BWs) for luxury goods in North America, using the case of the
distribution network of Ralph Lauren Corporation (RLC). RLC is a luxury brand company with
about $7 billion annual revenue. With over 3 million square feet of warehousing facilities in the
USA, the company wants to explore potential savings from changing the legal titles of four of its
existing inventory holding and transload facilities to either FTZs or BWs while considering the
respective complexity and cost of setting up and managing the zones. To eliminate one of the
FTZ and BW options, we measured both of their operational fits to the metrics of RLC's
facilities. We found out that BWs are not a viable alternative for large-scale facilities such as
RLC's because of the complicated Customs and Border Protection control they require.
Furthermore, to determine which, if any, of the facilities should be transformed into FTZs, we
conducted a cost-benefit analysis and evaluated the Net Present Value of the projects. As a
result, we found out that it is financially beneficial to transform two of the four facilities under
consideration, leave one in its current state, and explore the future strategic role of the fourth
facility to determine the value of its FTZ transformation. We also suggest possible operational
opportunities that may increase the FTZ benefits for the RLC North America network.
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A BSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 2
A CKN OW LED G EM EN TS...................................................................................................... 5
LIST O F FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ 6
LIST O F TA BLES.......................................................................................................................... 7
LIST O F A BBREV IA TION S AN D ACRON Y M S ................................................................... 8
1. IN TRO DU CTION ...................................................................................................................... 9
1.1 Ralph Lauren Overview .................................................................................................... 10
1.2 Ralph Lauren Supply Chain............................................................................................. 11
1.3 Ralph Lauren U .S. Facilities ............................................................................................. 13
1.4 These Overview .................................................................................................................. 14
2. LITERA TU RE REV IEW ...................................................................................................... 15
2.1 Terminology and Definitions ........................................................................................... 15
2.1.1 Foreign Trade Zone Definition.................................................................................. 16
2.1.1 Bonded Warehouse D efinition ................................................................................. 18
2.2 Im plem entation Costs ...................................................................................................... 18
2.2.1 Implem entation Costs - Foreign Trade Zone........................................................... 19
2.2.2 Im plem entation Costs - Bonded W arehouse ............................................................. 19
2.3 Financial Benefits................................................................................................................ 20
2.3.1 Financial Benefits - Foreign Trade Zone.................................................................. 20
2.3.2 Financial Benefits - Bonded W arehouse ................................................................. 21
2.3.3 Key Differences between Foreign Trade Zones and Bonded Warehouses ............... 21
2.4 Exam ples of Existing Im plem entations .......................................................................... 23
3. M ETH O D O LO GY ................................................................................................................... 23
3.1 Im plem entation Costs ...................................................................................................... 24
3.2 Financial Benefits................................................................................................................ 25
3.2.1 Financial Benefits - Foreign Trade Zone.................................................................. 26
3.2.2 Financial Benefits - Bonded W arehouse ................................................................. 27
3.3 Cost Benefit Analysis....................................................................................................... 27
3.4 Supply Chain Im pacts ...................................................................................................... 28
4. DA TA CO LLECTION AN D AN A LY SIS............................................................................... 28
3
4.1 Implem entation Costs - Foreign Trade Zone ................................................................. 29
4.2 Im plem entation Costs - Bonded W arehouse .................................................................... 32
4.3 Financial Benefits - Foreign Trade Zone......................................................................... 34
4.4 Financial Benefits Calculator - Foreign Trade Zone...................................................... 38
4.5 Cost Benefit A nalysis - Foreign Trade Zone.................................................................. 40
4.6 Supply Chain p ...................................................................................................... 42
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................... 42
5.1 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 43
5.2 Recom m endations............................................................................................................... 44
5.3 A dditional Opportunities.................................................................................................. 46
5.3.1 Reduce the Num ber of Importer of Records ............................................................. 47
5.3.2 Im port A ir Shipm ent Entries through FTZ................................................................ 47
5.3.3 Consolidate W est Coast Operations .......................................................................... 47
5.3.4 H andling Reverse Logistics...................................................................................... 48
5.3.5 Canada N etw ork ........................................................................................................... 48
5.4 Final Rem arks ..................................................................................................................... 51
6. A PPEN D IX ............................................................................................................................... 53
7. REFEREN CES ......................................................................................................................... 63
4
ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our thesis advisor, Dr. Roberto Perez-Franco, for
his efforts and insights in guiding us through the research process. We greatly appreciate his
support and motivation throughout the year.
We would also like to thank the Ralph Lauren team for sponsoring our project. Without their
dedication to the MIT Supply Chain Management program, this thesis would not have been
possible.
We are indebted to our families for their continuous support and love throughout this challenging
year.
Special thanks to the industry experts and organizations that have contributed to our thesis.
We are grateful to the members and staff of the MIT Supply Chain Management program for
their valuable leadership and the opportunity to participate in this great learning experience.
5
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Ralph Lauren Annual Income Statement Results and Financial Forecast ................ 12
Figure 2: Foreign-Trade Zone: Merchandise Received 1991-2011.......................................... 17
Figure 3: Key Differences Between FTZs and BWs ................................................................. 22
Figure 4: Beechwood - Foreign Trade Zone Financial Benefits Calculator............................. 39
Figure 5: Financial FTZ Benefit Summ ary............................................................................... 40
Figure 6: Beechwood - Cost Benefit Analysis including DEE (in thousands of dollars)...... 41
Figure 7: Custom er Drop Shipment Example.......................................................................... 51
Figure 8: Eagle Hill - Foreign Trade Zone Financial Benefits Calculator ............................... 53
Figure 9: RL Direct - Foreign Trade Zone Financial Benefits Calculator................................ 54
Figure 10: OHL Transload- Foreign Trade Zone Financial Benefits Calculator ...................... 55
Figure 11: Beechwood - Cost Benefit Analysis excluding DEE (in thousands of dollars)......... 56
Figure 12: Eagle Hill - Cost Benefit Analysis including DEE (in thousands of dollars)......... 57
Figure 13: Eagle Hill - Cost Benefit Analysis excluding DEE (in thousands of dollars)...... 58
Figure 14: RL Direct - Cost Benefit Analysis including DEE (in thousands of dollars).......... 59
Figure 15: RL Direct - Cost Benefit Analysis excluding DEE (in thousands of dollars)...... 60
Figure 16: OHL Transload - Cost Benefit Analysis including DEE (in thousands of dollars).... 61
Figure 17: OHL Transload - Cost Benefit Analysis excluding DEE (in thousands of dollars) ... 62
6
LIST OF TABLES
7
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
BW - Bonded Warehouses
DC - Distribution Centers
NA - North American
8
1 INTRODUCTION
Ralph Lauren Corporation (RLC) is a rapidly growing global luxury apparel company that
focuses on high end clothes for men, women and children, as well as accessories, footwear,
fragrances, and home furnishings. RLC's North American (NA) operations consist of 5
Distribution Centers (DC), with a total of 2,960,000 sq. ft. of warehousing, that services over
3,200 customers located in 30 countries with over 180,000 unique SKUs. From April through
December of 2012, 82% of all products sold through the NA DCs were procured from China,
India, and other areas across Southeast Asia, including Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
Due to its global supply chain complexity and the continuous operational cost pressures, RLC
wants to determine if it is financially feasible and operationally efficient to qualify any or all of
The goal of this thesis project is to build a comparative analysis of the costs, financial benefits
and supply chain impacts of transitioningany or all of their currentDCs to either BWs or FTZs.
Unlike the standard import procedure, where goods are subject to import duties at the point of
the goods' entry into the country, goods entering through an FTZ or a BW are tariff-free until
withdrawn from the activated facility (United States. Department of Homeland Security, 2011 a).
At the time of shipment out of the warehouse, products are subject to the import duty rates of the
destination country. This postponement of duty payment can provide significant cash-flow
described in detail in this thesis, include import tax and fee savings.
9
One of the main differences between an FTZ and a BW is that FTZs are considered outside the
U.S. Customs territory, therefore import entries can be consolidated and filed just prior to
removal of the zone (United States. Department of Homeland Security, 2011 a). While BWs are
considered within U.S. Customs territory, import entries are must be filed before goods enter the
warehouse and all goods remain in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) supervision.
(United States. Department of Homeland Security, 2010). Another key difference between FTZs
and BWs is the range of activities that are allowed within the facilities. BWs function primarily
for storage, with allowances for cleaning and sorting, while FTZs can permit product assembly,
packaging, destroying, cleaning, testing, and labeling among other activities (United States.
differences regarding FTZs and BWs will be discussed within subsequent sections.
The above-mentioned benefits, as they pertain to RLC NA's operations, will be analyzed against
the specific set-up costs for FTZs or BWs, the on-going administrative fees, and the supply chain
implementations. In addition to the direct applicability to RLC, this research could be useful as a
framework by other companies that face similar challenges and wish to understand the benefits
Founded by designer Ralph Lauren in 1967, RLC started in the necktie market, but soon
expanded into men's apparel before quickly entering into women's fashion. The company
boomed in the 1980s due to the popularity of the flagship brand Polo, which reflects an
10
American perspective and lifestyle, as well as its vast expansion into markets such as children's
apparel, housewares, footwear, hats, and eyewear. During the 1990s, RLC introduced multiple
brands such as Polo Sport, Ralph Lauren Jeans, and acquired Club Monaco. In 1997, the
company went public and raised approximately $767 million through the initial public offering
Today, RLC manages strategic brands including Polo, Lauren, American Living, Ralph Lauren
Home, Chaps, Rugby, Club Monaco, and Ralph Lauren's Premium Collection ("Ralph Lauren
In RLC's 2012 fiscal year, the company posted revenue growth of 21% to $6.9 billion and
operating income growth of 23% to $1.0 billion. Growth in wholesale revenues (17%), retail
revenue (27%), and licensing royalties (1%) also contributed to this strong performance in 2012,
which is similar percentage-wise with RLC's strong performance and growth over the last 5
years. The company's 2007 - 2012 annual financial results, along with Thomas Reuters', a
financial analyst firm, financial expectation for the next 4 years, can be seen in Figure 1
(Zonebourse, n.d.).
RLC's Global Supply Chain (GSC) is organized as a global functional shared service
organization, combining regional operations and capabilities. The GSC function is structured
11
around 4 regional platforms: North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Each regional
platform services the local markets, manages inventory across key channels, and is tightly
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013. 2014e 2015. 2016.
9 000
8000
7000
a 6 000
C
4000
4000
3000
2000
1000-
0
M SE" Operaing profit Net Income Net Margin =*- Operatng Margin
(c) Zonebourse.com - Thomson Reuters
Figure 1: Ralph Lauren Annual Income Statement Results and Financial Forecast
integrated and connected within its own region. The North America region dominates with
almost 80% of the unit volume, while the Latin America and Asia regions offer the biggest
percentage growth opportunites. Table 1 provides the breakdown of unit volume per RLC
region.
12
In addition to the regional segmentation, the company is divided into divisions, autonomous
profit centers, and market channels. Each division may generate revenue from wholesale
customers, retail customers, and/or direct licensing. The combination of brands, channels, and
geographies-along with the large number of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) and diversified
operations. To combat this challenge, RLC develops customized supply chain solutions to drive
customer performance.
The OHL transload facility is located in near the port of L.A. and is managed by a 3PL company
named OHL. This is a non-inventory holding facility used to transfer merchandise from the west
All three DCs are located in the Greensboro/High Point area of North Carolina. They service
different RLC divisions across different product lines with unique supply chain strategies. Table
2 provides details by DC on the size, the volume shipped, and the number of customers.
Beechwood, with approximately 1.3M ft2, is the largest RLC DC in North America. This facility
shipped over 40 million units of product from April through December of 2012, and ships
approximately 100 million units annually. The Beechwood DC services multiple RLC divisions,
Monaco, in both the wholesale and retail markets. This DC delivers to key customers such as
13
major department stores like Macy's, which represented 18% of the 2011 wholesale revenue,
Table 2: Size, Throughput, and Customer Data by DC from April 2012 - December 2012
Export Destinations 29 22 -
%ExotbyDestitin 1% 29% 0%
Eagle Hill, which exports almost 30% of its product, manages the Ralph Lauren Home
Collection. The Ralph Lauren Home Collection consists of both Ralph Lauren Home and
RL Direct, the newest expansion facility, handles the company's e-Commerce sales. This is the
smallest of the three DC's in the North Carolina area, but also manages the highest number of
unique SKUs. The nature of the e-Commerce market requires this facility to hold and ship small
volumes of many different products that span most of RLC brands. Currently, RL Direct does
not export or import any products. All products come from RLC's other U.S. facilities and all
The subsequent chapters of this thesis are structured as follows: Chapter 2 reviews the literature
regarding both FTZs and BWs, including key definitions of terminology used throughout this
14
thesis and examples of FTZ and BW implementations. Chapter 3 discusses the methodology
used to perform the comparative analysis, while Chapter 4 walks through the actual data
collection and analysis. The final chapter describes the results from the analysis and the final
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
In this literature review, we summarize existing research related to FTZs and BWs and their
impacts on cash flow management and supply chain management. In the first section, we provide
explanations of relevant terminology and definitions. In the second section, we point out
publications related to the implementation costs of both FTZs and BWs. In the third section, we
provide a comparison between the financial benefits of FTZs and BWs. We then summarize
literature on existing FTZ and BW implementations, since these past experiences served as a
The publications that we found in professional journals focus on the implications of FTZs and
BWs on the economic development of countries and regions. Because we could not find
academic publications related to the effects on the operations of companies that function out of
FTZs and BWs, we turned to trade publications, white papers, and government reports.
The following definitions from the CBP are important terms that will be used throughout this
thesis.
Customs Dutv - a tariff or tax imposed on goods when transported across international borders
15
Goods Entry - filing of paper or electronic documents with the CBP to declare the value,
Importer ofRecord - entity responsible for filing the goods entry and paying the assessed import
duties
PortofEntry - a port in the U.S. where customs officials are located to oversee the entry of
merchandise
Customs Duty - a tariff or tax imposed on goods when transported across international borders
Merchandise ProcessingFee - a fee required at the time of entry paid to the Customs and Border
HarborMaintenance Fee - a port use fee for unloading cargo from a commercial vessel
Customs Brokerage Fee - a fee charged by an agent to facilitate the entry of the goods
Dutv Drawback- a refund, reduction, or waiver in whole or in part of customs duties assessed or
Also known as Free Trade Zones, FTZs are locations in or near a port of entry that are legally
considered outside of Customs territory for the purpose of entry procedures and payment of
duties (What are Foreign Trade Zones?, 2011). FTZs were first established under the Foreign-
Trade Zone Act of 1934 to "expedite and encourage foreign commerce and other purposes"
(United States. Department of Homeland Security, 2011 a). The authority for establishing an FTZ
16
is granted by the Foreign Trade Zones Board, a part of the Import Administration within the
Department of Homeland Security, 2011 a). Though the FTZ Board manages the establishment,
zones are managed by the "grantee", a local public or non-profit organization required to operate
the zone uniformly across all companies (United States. Department of Homeland Security.
There are two different types of FTZs - General Purpose Zones (GPZs) and Subzones. GPZs are
areas open to the general public. Subzones are private sites established as a result of the
transformation of a company's facilities into an FTZ. Both types of FTZ are operationally the
same. The Subzone is a legal title transfer that allows companies to transform their existing
facilities into an FTZ while avoiding the huge expenses related to closing down and relocating
their existing warehouses to GPZs (United States. Department of Homeland Security, 201 lb).
M00
700
500
U
400
300 .
200
100
0
1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2 07 200 -i1
17
In 2011 the value of shipments into the 171 active U.S. FTZs was over $640 billion, up from the
$534 billion in 2010. Figure 2 provided by the Foreign Trade Zone Board shows the value of
both foreign and domestic merchandise entered in FTZs from 1991 to 2011. This figure also
shows the exceptional growth of FTZs over the last twenty years. The main industries utilizing
these zones included: oil and petroleum, automotive, textile and footwear, electronics, and
pharmaceutical (United States. Department of Homeland Security. Foreign Trade Zone Board,
2012a).
The CBP defines BWs as buildings or areas where dutiable merchandise can be stored and
undergo physical manipulation without payment of duties for up to 5 years from the date of
importation. In a BW the warehouse administrator incurs a liability for the merchandise under a
warehouse bond, a bond issued to guarantee the payment of customs fees. When a warehouse
receives the status of a BW, the Port Director defines the amount payable based on the purpose
for the bond. The minimum amount per building or area is $25,000. There are eleven different
classes of BWs. These classes range from government, private, and public facilities used
primarily for the storage of material to facilities that allow, under supervision by the customs
authority, cleaning, sorting, and repackaging but exclude manufacturing (United States.
In this section, we present information found on U.S. CBP's official website in order to
understand better the costs related to the implementation of both FTZs and BWs. We also
18
include our findings from an interview we had with Randy Campbell and Corey Campbell,
Set-up costs are usually one-time costs incurred during the application process, which requires
CBP approval, and the FTZ activation process. Set-up costs include FTZ Board Application Fee,
Grantee Manufacturing Request Processing Fee (if manufacturing is planned in the FTZ),
Administrative costs are usually incurred on an on-going basis. They are related to Operator
Consultant/Attorney.
Set-up requirements for BWs differ from FTZs in that the Port Director determines the amount
of the bond depending on the purpose of the bond. The minimum bond amount is $25,000. The
following formula was used in determining the limit of liability according to the purpose for
which the bond is issued (United States. Department of Homeland Security, 1991):
If duties and taxes are between $0 and $1,000,000, the bond limit liability will be fixed in
multiples of $10,000 nearest to 10 percent of duties, taxes, and fees paid by the importer.
If duties and taxes are > $1,000,000, the bond limit liability will be fixed in multiples of
$100,000 nearest to 10 percent of duties, taxes, and fees paid by the importer.
19
Currently, the following formula is used to estimate the limit of liability that a trader must be
responsible for, in case of using a BW: "1% of the maximum inventory level" (Randy Campbell,
Set-up costs for BWs are related to Application for BW, Warehouse Survey, Background
Inquiry, and Approval/Denial of Application. The change of a BW's purpose is allowed but it
This section showcases publications related to the benefits and the differences of FTZs and BWs.
The panelists at the conference of the American Association of Exporters & Importers (AAEI)
discussed savings related to operations in FTZs such as duty deferral, duty exemption on exports,
duty exemption through scrap, duty reduction through inverted tariff relief, brokerage fee, and
MPF reductions ("Five Ways," 2006). These savings are defined below.
Duty Deferral - Within an FTZ, duties are delayed until product is shipped out of the FTZ and
into the U.S. customs territory. This postponement of duty payment can provide a significant
Duty Exemption through Exports - Product re-exported out of an FTZ is exempt from import
Duty Exemption through Scrap - Product scrapped or discarded within an FTZ is exempt from
20
Duty Reduction - Also known as an Inverted Tariff, it is used within Manufacturing FTZs where
duty rates can be applied to the lessor of the raw materials entered into the zone or the finished
Brokerage Fee Reduction - FTZs allow weekly consolidated entries, thus reducing the total
MPFReduction - FTZs allow weekly consolidated entries, thus, reducing the total number of
Mongelluzzo (2003) examines the benefits of FTZs for non-manufacturing importers. It discloses
that the main savings opportunity comes from MPFs because the company can delay entering the
Customs territory for up to a week. Instead of paying MPFs every time a shipment arrives, an
importer can consolidate the goods in an FTZ and pay the MPF once.
The main savings of BWs, resulting from import duty postponement and re-exporting of goods,
are duty deferral and duty exemption. BWs do not affect costs related to MPFs and customs
brokerage fees as entries are not consolidated. BWs are considered to be on Customs territory
(United States. Department of Homeland Security, 2012b). Thus, all imported shipments arriving
2.3.3 Key Differences between Foreign Trade Zones and Bonded Warehouses
Figure 3 is derived by information collected from the Economic Development Council for
Central Illinois and the Greater Indianapolis Foreign Trade Zone ("FTZ vs. Bonded Warehouse,"
21
a
Duties are due only upon entry for U.S. Duties are due prior to release from bonded
Payment of Duty
consumption warehouses.
-T141ateendukaetgxosisk4 rnpd
This figure shows some of the main differences between and FTZ and BW. For example only
foreign cargo is allowed within a BW while both foreign and domestic cargo may be placed in an
FTZ. Also manufacturing is not allowed within a BW, but with CBP approval, manufacturing
22
2.4 Examples of Existing Implementations
Neville (2010) showcases that in practice the major FTZ-related savings come from MPFs and
duty deferrals. It estimates that VP Corporation's annual savings are 55 percent from MPFs and
44 percent from duty deferral. Transforming a DC into an FTZ subzone, Swatch Group reported
savings from "lower customs broker charges, MPF, and paperwork" to be 70 to 75 percent of
their total savings (Neville, 2010). Neville also points out that FTZ operations have become the
Hirotoshi Otsubo gave an example of FTZ effects on Reebok International's operations in his
thesis for the University of Tokyo (Otsubo, 2005). Reebok specializes in the design and
marketing of footwear and sports apparel. To offset U.S. quotas on Chinese-made products and
customs regulations, Reebok established a network of FTZs around the world. Otsubo points out
that Reebok benefits the most from "duty deferral, volume reduction [product destruction], and
the simplification of foreign trade procedures" as the company performs its quality control and
We are not able to identify any publications showcasing the implementation of BWs in the
apparel sector. Furthermore, we could not find white papers or articles detailing the benefits of
3 METHODOLOGY
To determine the feasibility of implementing either an FTZ or a BW across all or part of RLC's
current U.S. distribution network, we compared the implementation costs with the respective
financial benefits, as well as other potential supply chain or network impacts. This section
23
describes the processes and equations we used to estimate the implementation and administration
costs, the cost savings and cash-flow improvements, and the supply chain impacts. We then
discuss our methods to consolidate these factors to help RLC's future distribution decisions.
We began this analysis by collecting data from four of RLC's North America (NA) facilities:
Beechwood, Eagle Hill, RL Direct, and OHL Transload. Next, we estimated the costs and
savings of establishing and managing each facility with the new legal status. Third, we applied a
cost-benefit analysis comparing the representative costs and savings to determine whether RLC
should transform any of its current NA DCs into FTZs or BWs. The cost-benefit analysis helped
to determine financially which DCs, if any, should be transformed. Finally, we consolidated our
To calculate the cost side of the cost-benefit equation, we investigated the costs related to set-up
and manage FTZs and BWs. The U.S. CBP is the government agency responsible for declaring
the requirements for setting up and managing either an FTZ or a BW. In this analysis, we used
the latest postings on the U.S. CBP website. However, as these requirements are subject to
The main set-up costs of FTZs and BWs are related to the application for change to FTZ/BW
status, the FTZ/BW activation with the U.S. CBP, and the implementation of FTZ/BW
management software. To facilitate the FTZ/BW application and activation activities, companies
contract consulting firms. However, the set-up and administration costs for FTZs/BWs vary
tremendously based on the consulting fees of those organizations. To collect data related to those
24
costs, we approached five companies specializing in trade facilitation and 3PL services. We were
able to collect data through phone interviews from two of these companies:
Foreign-Trade Zone Corporation - a consulting firm with clients in over 40 states specializing in
Campbell Trade Group, Inc. - a foreign-trade zone consulting and economic development firm
located in York, PA
Conducting further research online, we also collected costs data from a feasibility analysis posted
on the website of IMS Worldwide, Inc. - a FTZ and industrial park consulting firm located in
Webster, TX. In our analysis we also used RLC's quoted OHL FTZ implementation costs as a
fourth source of reference to set-up and administrative costs. All four sources were consistent in
defining the cost range, which is large, and the showed the actual costs can vary significantly.
To determine the financial benefits, we solicited historic data, related to the importing, exporting,
and warehousing of each DC, directly from RLC. This historic data is assumed to be reflective of
future operations and is used to calculate the benefits outlined in this section.
25
For each RLC facility, data was consolidated into categories based on Importer of Record (IOR).
Consolidating the details by IOR helped standardize the estimation process across a large
number of SKUs and unit volumes. Table 3 provides the list of the specific IORs.
As described in the literature review, there are five key opportunities to reduce costs and improve
cash-flow when utilizing an FTZ. These savings include duty deferral, duty exemption, duty
reduction, MPF reduction, and brokerage fee reduction. We used Equations 1 through 6 to
determine the savings at each facility with (i) indicating each IOR category. The following
equations were derived from standard equations found within trade publications and white papers
altered to align with the RLC data collection process (Alvarado, 2011; "Five Ways," 2006).
Key Variables:
26
n
BWs provide the same advantages as FTZs with Duty Deferral (Equation 1) and Duty Exemption
through Exports (Equation 2). Therefore these equations will be the same, with the restriction
that the storage period cannot exceed five years. The other FTZ savings outlined in the previous
In order to evaluate the transition to either an FTZ or a BW for each DC, we calculated the
annual Net Benefits, total benefits minus the total expenses, for each of the four RLC facilities.
These annual Net Benefits were then used to calculate the Net Present Value (NPV) and
calculating the expected net monetary gain or loss from a project by subtracting the present value
of the cash outflows from the present value of the cash inflows at the present point in time.
Equation 7 shows the formula used to calculate the 3 year NPV for the Cost Benefit Analysis.
27
C CC
NPV = -C,+ 1 + 2 +...+ ' (7)
l+r (1+r)2 (1+r)'
The Discounted ROI is simply calculated as the discounted benefits minus the discounted costs
The Cost Benefit Analysis provides RLC with an overall estimate of the financial return, based
on the total costs and savings for the three-year period. Though each company may have
internal metrics to determine required return to move forward with a project, IMS Inc.'s
feasibility analysis suggests that the return on investment in an FTZ facility should be at least
200% (Spencer, n.d.). We were not able to identify a similar break-even point suggestion for a
BW implementation.
In addition to the financial feasibility of FTZs and BWs, we explored how moving to an FTZ or
BW could impact RLC's Supply Chain and NA Network. These impacts could include
adjustments to lead time, inventory, transportation, and network flow. Since we were unable to
find any previous research in this area, we discussed these possible impacts with FTZ/BW
experts. We further explored how RLC could use the advantages of FTZs or BWs in the U.S. to
This section, we describe the data gathered and analyzed to determine the feasibility of
implementing FTZs or BWs within four of RLC's U.S. facilities. These data include the
28
implementation costs of both establishing and managing an FTZ or a BW, financial benefits, and
Consulting experts play an important role in assisting companies with the application, activation,
collected information from consulting firms that specialize in FTZ implementations. This data
was collected through multiple methods including interviews, a recent feasibility analysis, and a
recent FTZ set-up request for quotation (RFQ) specifically for RLC's OHL facility. These
specialists confirmed that the main set-up costs of FTZs are related to the application for change
to FTZ status, the FTZ activation with the CBP, and the implementation of FTZ management
software and the main on-going costs are related to the personnel required for FTZ
administration. The ranges of data for these costs do vary by FTZ implementation, but the ranges
provided by each of the consultants were consistent. Table 4 provides the range of both set-up
29
Table 5 shows the size scale of FTZs located within FTZ 121 in Albany, NY. RLC's
Greensboro facilities are substantially larger than the highest size scale of 250,000 square feet
with Beechwood - 1,300,000 square feet, Eagle Hill - 800,000 square feet, and RL Direct - 300,
000 square feet. Thus, we applied the highest set-up and on-going FTZ costs whenever their cost
drivers are based on the facility's size. When evaluating OHL's case, we applied the specific
One of the data collection phone interviews we had was with Craig Pool, the FTZ Corporation
founder. According to Pool, the total FTZ set-up costs for zone application, activation with the
CBP, and software implementation can vary between $75,000, using a small scale consulting
firm, and $250,000, contracting a leading consulting firm. According to Randy Campbell, one of
the Campbell Trade Group founders, the FTZ application fee is a one-time charge that varies
between $7,500 and $12,000. This range includes the FTZ Board Application Fee, the
preparation of FTZ Application, and the Grantee Application Fee. Because multiple sites within
the same zone can be on the same application, each additional site would cost approximately
$2,500 for the additional preparation of the application. For this analysis, based on the expert's
feedback, we estimate the FTZ application fee to be $7,500 for each of RLCs facilities because
30
non-production facilities, such as RLC's, require a lower application fee than that for
manufacturing facilities.
The CBP activation fee, is a one-time cost that consultants charge for their services, including
activation request, site inspection, site plan layout, and FTZ procedures manual. This cost does
not vary according to the size of the facility to be activated as an FTZ. The activation of a single
property is around $25,000, depending on the number of employees that need to be trained to
operate the FTZ. Activating an additional property within the same zone would cost 25% of the
initial activation fee. The exact cost for the activation of each additional property is related to the
personnel training that is required to manage an FTZ. Given the large scale of the RLC facilities
and the big number of employees at each facility, we assign $100,000 for FTZ activation and
employee trainings.
The largest cost driver in FTZ establishment is the implementation of FTZ management
software. Software implementation costs are based on the number of transactions accounted for
by the software. Transactions refer to each physical movement of goods within, in, or out of an
FTZ. The average software implementation cost, according to Randy Campbell, is $100,000 for
the system set-up and $20,000 to $25,000 annually for system maintenance. We assign $100,000
per DC because of their size and operational complexity. Although we evaluate each DC's
properties within the same site, a company has the opportunity to run one software
implementation if it tracks inventory in the same system across the multiple properties prior to
transforming the site into an FTZ. However, if the company operates different inventory tracking
systems in each property, it has to undergo separate software implementations in each property.
31
Due to the large number of transactions within RLCs facilities we estimate the annual system
maintenance cost to be $25,000. Table 6 provides the estimated FTZ implementation costs for
each facility.
The ongoing management of an FTZ requires a dedicated FTZ administrator, whose salary varies
between $75,000 and $90,000 annually. This person is responsible to manage the daily FTZ
operations and ensure the company complies with all FTZ regulations. In addition to the
administrator fee, companies will incur a Grantee Annual Fee and could incur additional
warehousing fees if the facility is managed through a 3PL and additional space is required. We
assign the maximum FTZ administrator salary of $90,000 based on the complexity of managing
Establishing a BW requires an application to the local CBP port director, a certificate showing
the building is fit for fire insurance and the blueprint of the space to be bonded. While
interviewing the consulting experts, both of them made it clear that BWs are not a feasible option
for a facility of a size similar to the RLC's facilities. BWs are more suitable for international
32
consolidation centers or cross docks that require limited material handling. This allows the final
export decision to be postponed while duty is deferred. Within a BW, product is under constant
CBP supervision and no receipt or goods issue is allowed within the warehouse without customs
approval (Chapter 7: Free Trade Zones, 2004). We were unable to further explore the cost
details of setting up a BW facility as there were no related examples the experts could provide.
According to Craig Pool, operating BWs imposes strong managerial limitations and "no large
scale DCs operate out of BWs." BWs' operations require stringent reporting of incoming and
exiting items to the CBP. According to the Bonded Warehouse Manual for Customs and Border
Protection Officers and Bonded Warehouse Proprietors, the CBP has the authority to conduct
physical checks of the activities in the BW (United States. Department of Homeland Security,
2012b). A search in a BW can be done at any time without advance notice and without a warrant.
The BW proprietor should provide all necessary equipment for these searches, such as equipment
for weighing, gauging, and measuring. Compliance reviews are frequent and are conducted by
the port office to physically check all transaction within a BW to make sure that the BW is
compliant with the existing regulations. Compliance reviews are conducted without prior
notification and at any time the CBP considers necessary. Audits are another form of stringent
control over BWs. These audits are very detailed checks of the proprietor's financial and
inventory records. Unlike compliance reviews, audits are announced by an advance notice.
Although audits are not as frequent as compliance reviews, they are much more thorough and
take much more time, up to a month (United States. Department of Homeland Security, 2012b).
Besides for the operational complications and limitations, the BW administration requires "a lot
33
4.3 Financial Benefits - Foreign Trade Zone
Based on the findings in the previous section, BWs are not deemed a feasible option for RLCs
facilities. Thus, we focused our financial benefits data collection on FTZs. Working closely with
our contacts at RLC, we collected the key information outlined in Section 3.2.1. The historic
data used for the financial benefits came from a number of different RLC IT systems across
multiple time periods. For this analysis we assume all time periods are weighted equally
throughout the course of a year, without any major seasonality or variation. This allows the data
points to be averaged over each time period and annualized to obtain a serviceable estimate. The
following descriptions outline the origins and time periods for the collected data.
EstimatedAnnual Entry Value: We annualized data from eFocus, a system that tracks import
shipments and manages customs, from April 2012 through February 2013. The total product
value of entries was $2.1 billion. The Beechwood and OHL facility accounted for almost 75% of
the total product value that was entered into the US over the course of a year. Table 7 below
shows in detail the total entry value in each warehouse facility and the corresponding IOR.
EstimatedNumber ofAnnual Entries: Using a Customs Entry Detail Report, provided by RLC's
freight forwarder, that covered January 2012 to December 2012, we estimate the number of
ocean shipment entries per facility. The annual number of entries from ocean shipments for
RLC's U.S. operations was approximately 7200. A third of the entries went through facilities
other than those reviewed in this analysis, including RLC's Chino and Buena Park facilities as
well as direct shipments to customers. Table 8 below shows the annual number of entries per DC
34
Table 7: Estimated Annual Entry Value (in thousands of dollars)
35
Annual Value of Exports to NAFTA and Non-NAFTA Regions: The provided export shipment
data came directly from RLC's ERP system covering the period of April 2012 through October
2012. This data was provided by the RLC Division; we then aligned the data to the appropriate
IOR to ensure the data analysis was uniform. After annualizing this data we estimated that RLC
exported approximately $23.7 million of product from Beechwood and Eagle Hill. Neither the
OHL nor the RL Direct facility currently exports material. The largest exporter was the Home
Collection division, which is managed exclusively through the Eagle Hill facility. Table 9 below
shows the value of total exports in thousands of dollars and the breakdown of exports' value per
Scrap/Waste PercentageofAnnual Entry Value: Based on an interview with RLC, since none of
the facilities are expected to manufacture finished goods and the amount of scrap was limited, we
assumed 0% scrap/waste.
36
Average Inbound Duty Rate: Because the product mix fluctuates within each Importer of Record
category, the RLC Trade Department recommended an average duty rate of 16% for each IOR
category with the exception of Ralph Lauren Footwear, which should be 20%.
FinishedProductDuty Rate: This data point will not apply to RLC operations because the
company will not utilize a Manufacturing FTZ. Based on conversations with RLC personnel, for
this analysis all products are assumed to be imported as finished goods. Hence, average the
Cost of Capital:We could not obtain RLC's actual cost of capital within the timeline of our
Average Days ofInventorv: We could not obtain RLC data to calculate Inventory Turns or
inventory turns, or 36.5 days of inventory, as an estimate for each DC. Since the OHL Transload
facility does not store inventory, we estimated an average of 3 days of inventory to receive,
Merchandise ProcessingFee: RLC's Freight Forwarder provided MPFs for all entries through
the Port of LA from July 2012 through September 2012. During this time period RLC paid
$355,000 for 1250 entries. We averaged the MPFs to obtain an estimated fee per entry of $284.
Brokerage Fee: The Brokerage fee was estimated to be $125 per entry (Laden, 2008).
Table 10 below combines the financial data for RLC's U.S. facilities broken out by each IOR
category.
37
Table 10: Consolidated Financial Data by Importer of Record Category
Because of its operational complexity, the BW model is not deemed a viable option for the scale
of RLC's facilities. Thus, we continued the research by exploring the FTZ option for RLC's four
facilities.
Using the financial data collected in the previous subsection, we developed a Financial Benefit
Calculator in Microsoft Excel. This tool calculates and consolidates all the financial benefits for
each RLC facility based on the collected and estimated data. Figure 4 shows the three primary
1. Input Variables - the area to input the collected key variables outlined in Section 3.2.1
38
2. Output Data - this section calculates the savings specific to each IOR using equations 1-6
3. Results Summary - a summary of the total savings for each type of FTZ benefit
A copy of each facility's FTZ Financial Benefits Calculator and a summary of all results can be
Summary of Savings
By Input:
DruMes $ - S 24,240 S
S
2. Output Data
arenlabLare $ S
- S
173,671 5 50,886
S
24.480 S 15.371
rgoodIsadAccessodea S S
- S
26,986 5 275.040 S
*AoRelapspaden S
S
- S 146,926 $ S
abhLMuenC&ww S 190,473 S 154.505 77.304 S 38.625
S S
*Lamn cperada $ $S
S - S 841,684 S 611.497 150.576 S
£
70,875
*hLannFoowewnc. S S -
-
S
S
12.986 S 75,906 $ S
S
*hLaannWameasaar $ - S 21,408 S .234,485 S 2,625
uAybyRWLosm S 11.710 S S
$ - t - S L4 90.76 1,420,324 S 252,700 S 3225i
By Type:
Total= LIA I
39
Figure 5 shows a graph of the financial savings, across each RLC facility. The graph does not
include either Duty Reduction or Duty Exemption Scrap as there were no expected savings for
any of the analyzed facilities. The Beechwood facility provided the largest financial benefits
with approximately $3.3 million in annual savings. The annual savings at this facility are
primarily driven by duty deferral, $1.5 million, and by duty exemption of export, $1.4 million.
At the OHL Transload facility the main benefits are related to MPF savings. This is in line with
the large number of import entries coming into the West Coast of the U.S. from RLC's extensive
$4,000
$3,296
$3,500
$3,000
$2,500
IA
V5
$2,000
C
$1,500
$1,084 $1,066
~1,U~A)
$154
The FTZ benefits of duty exemption export (DEE) can also be achieved without an FTZ through
duty drawback, the refund of duty collected on imported material that is subsequently exported.
Because the details of the RLC duty drawback process are unknown, we performed two cost-
benefit analyses. The first analysis included all duty exemption savings assuming there was no
duty drawback. While the second analysis did not include any duty exemptions savings
40
assuming all savings are retrieved through duty drawback. Depending on the timing of the duty
drawback refund there could be some cash-flow savings, but without the necessary information
We compared the set-up and administrative costs of each RLC facility to the expected savings of
operating out of an FTZ for a three year period. Based on the financial analyst growth
estimated the NPV of each DC as a separate project. Figure 6 provides an example of the
Beechwood FTZ Cost Benefits analysis including the estimated benefits, the estimated costs, and
the net results. In addition to the net results we calculate the NPV and Discounted ROI for each
separate project.
-
$
$
-
1,420 $ 1,520
-
$
$
$
-
1,626
-
$
$
$
-
4,566
-
-A 1. Estimated
Benefits
FrZ Expenses
ApplicationFees $ 8 S - $ - $ - $ 8
Activation Fees $ 100 $ - $ - $ - S 100 2. Estimated
Software/IT Integration $ 100 $ - S - S - $ 100
Administration Personnel $ - $ 90 $ 90 5 90 $ 270 Costs
Warehousing S - $ - $ - S - $ -
SoftwareIT S - $ 25 $ 25 S 25 S 75
Operator and Bond Fee S - S 10 $ 10 S 10 $ 30
3. Results I
NPV @
YUm. ... (O%)
A C -I
IM7J
Figure 6: Beechwood - Cost Benefit Analysis Including DEE (in thousands of dollars)
41
Copies of the Cost Benefit Analysis for each facility for both scenarios, including and excluding
The summary of the 3 year NPV and Discounted ROI for each RLC facility is shown in Table
11. Based on feedback from the consultants, they suggest a ROI greater than 200% to implement
an FTZ.
Table 11: Results of the Cost Benefit Analysis (in thousands of dollars)
One of the Supply Chain impacts of an FTZ that was pointed out to us by consulting experts is
the reduction of one to two days of lead time. By avoiding immediate Customs' processing of the
merchandise stored in an FTZ, traders can shorten their lead time. However, we were not able to
collect any data to substantiate that statement. If obtained, this lead time reduction could reduce
both pipeline and safety stock inventory levels for RLC. No other inventory or logistics impacts
The following conclusions and recommendations are based on the data collected and analyzed,
and are contingent on the assumptions outlined in the methodology. These assumptions,
especially inventory turns, play a critical role in this analysis. Since we were unable to collect
42
data regarding inventory turns, RLC suggested we estimate ten inventory turns at each DC. Our
5.1 Conclusions
distributionfacilities.
Based on expert feedback, operating out of an FTZ does not negatively impact operations and in
some cases it may reduce the time to clear customs by bypassing the standard customs clearance
procedure.
Conclusion 2: BWs are not afeasible option operationallyfor RLC's large scale
distributionfacilities.
It is not the cost associated with BW set-up and administration that render it unattractive, but
rather the complexity of managing the high level of CBP supervision. Thus, our
With discounted ROI's of greater than 300%, these two facilities' financial benefits outweigh the
costs to establish and maintain an FTZ status. The total estimated three year Net Benefit NPV of
these two facilities is between $10.4 million, including duty exemption through export, and $6.6
43
Conclusion 4: It is not cost beneficial to transform RL Direct into an FTZ.
Since there is little to no import or export activity within the RL Direct, eCommerce, facility
there are neither import fees savings nor export duty exemptions. Relying only on the cash-flow
impact of duty deferral, the FTZ benefits do not provide sufficient savings to offset
implementation costs. The expected 3 year Net Benefits NPV is ($110,000) and the Discounted
ROI is (21%).
With the largest savings coming from DEE, approximately $1 million, the two scenarios of
including and excluding DEE, provideconflicting results. RLC's existing duty drawbacks affect
the level of expected DDE. Without the duty exemption the 3 year discounted ROI greatly
5.2 Recommendations
an FTZ
Following from Conclusion 3, the OHL Transload facility should be transformed into an FTZ.
Though OHL Transload does not provide the most financial savings, with $2.2 million three year
NPV Net Benefits and 325% discounted ROI, its FTZ status will directly impact the savings of
the other facilities. Merchandise shipped through the West Coast moves first through OHL
Transload before reaching the North Carolina DCs. Goods cannot move from a non-FTZ facility
44
to an FTZ facility without incurring duties and import fees. Implementing another DC into an
FTZ prior to OHL Transload's transformation would not allow the destination DC to take
OHL Transload.
Following from Conclusion 3, in addition to being cost beneficial, the Beechwood DC receives
approximately 55% of its total imported merchandise value through the OHL Transload facility.
Thus, to achieve the expected savings it is critical that the merchandise is transported in-bond
from an FTZ West Coast facility to Beechwood. An in-bond shipment allows merchandise to be
The Beechwood facility provides the greatest financial benefits and is impacted the most by the
duty drawback process. The estimated savings for Duty Deferral through Export for this facility
is $1.4 million. If RLC is currently receiving duty drawbacks for this entire amount, the expected
total annual savings will reduce from $3.3 million to $1.9 million. Though the 3 year discounted
ROI will reduce from approximately 1600% to 860%, the FTZ savings still justify transitioning
to an FTZ. These large savings align with expectations since Beechwood is the largest facility
with the highest number of entries, and the largest average inventory value.
Following Conclusion 4, transforming RL Direct is not beneficial at this time. The lack of direct
imports to and exports from the facility lead to no savings from duty deferral and duty
exemption. However, a strategic change in the use of the facility would change the results of our
45
cost benefit analysis. In this case, a follow up analysis utilizing the FTZ Benefit Calculator and
Following from Conclusion 5, the analysis is inconclusive because we could not collect relevant
data to determine the actual effects of the existing duty drawbacks on Eagle Hill's expected FTZ
savings. With limited benefits coming from the other savings areas, RLC should review the duty
drawback details and the expected long term strategy for exports from Eagle Hill. If RLC expects
the future non-NAFTA export rate to substantially decrease or is currently receiving similar
financial benefits from duty drawbacks, this facility may not benefit from the transition to an
FTZ. If RLC expects this export rate to continue or increase and the duty drawback process is not
refunding the entire duty exemption savings, implementing this facility as an FTZ should provide
sufficient savings. Additionally, we were asked to apply averaged inventory turns of 10, but
given the lower inventory turns in the RLC Home Division operating in Eagle Hill, higher duty
In addition to the conclusions and recommendations we derived from the cost benefit analysis,
we provide suggestions for further consideration. Though we were unable to collect data
regarding these proposals, we believe more research could display additional FTZ benefits.
Currently RLC is importing under 20 different IORs. Consolidating the number of IORs coming
into each facility would provide further potential savings. As an example of multiple IORs, there
46
are currently four American Living IORs: Childrenswear, Dresses, Menswear, and
Womenswear. Because FTZs allow weekly consolidated entries by each IOR, reducing the
number of IORs will result in potential annual savings of $25,220 per IOR for each facility.
Both Beechwood and OHL Transload import with over 10 different IORs, therefore reducing the
This analysis focused on import ocean shipments coming into RLCs U.S. facilities and did not
take air shipments into account. Data received at the end of this analysis showed that RLC had
12,843 air shipment import entries in 2012, of which 95% of these shipments entered through
New York's JFK airport. This number of air shipment entries is substantially higher than the
roughly 7,500 2012 ocean shipment entries. If entered through an FTZ these entries could
provide additional significant MPF and Brokerage Fee savings. Since products can arrive at any
U.S. Port of Entry and be shipped in-bond to an FTZ, these air shipment entries should be further
In addition to the OHL Transload facility, RLC also has two other facilities in the LA area,
located in Chino, CA and Buena Park, CA. The Chino facility primarily supports brands such as
RL Mens, Chaps, and RL Childrenswear, while the Buena Park facility supports the American
Living brand. To increase the FTZ benefits on the west coast RLC, depending on the long term
brand strategy, RLC could look into consolidating some or all of the operations into FTZ
facilities. These two locations combined accounted for over 2,300 ocean container import
47
entries in 2012. This is approximately one third of RLC's total number of import entries, while
the entry value was only 15% of the total value. If combined with the entries through OHL,
Chino and Buena Park's entries could provide additional annual savings of approximately
$400,000 on MPFs and approximately $200,000 on Brokerage fees. Utilizing the FTZ Benefits
calculator and Cost Benefit Model, RLC could investigate if it is beneficial to convert either of
these two facilities to stand-alone FTZ locations or to a single consolidated LA FTZ facility.
RLC handles returned merchandise in their current Greensboro facilities. Reverse logistics
cannot be handled within an FTZ activated area. Once merchandise leaves the FTZ it is
considered officially imported into the country of destination and the appropriate duties apply
and cannot be returned to an FTZ area. This is commonly handled by activating only a portion of
the facility as an FTZ, leaving the remaining area as a non-FTZ area for other daily operations
such as reverse logistics. The FTZ experts recommended including the whole footage of each
facility in the FTZ application but only activate the portion specifically needed to operate the
FTZ activities. The part that is left not activated would be used for handling returned
merchandise.
To determine the significance of having inventory-holding FTZ locations in the North American
region, we looked at the current RLC distribution network in Canada. RLC's Toronto DC
receives material directly from overseas suppliers, and accounts for 1%of total sales in North
America. To take advantage of the savings related to MPFs, brokerage fees, and duty deferral by
48
using a U.S. FTZ, we suggest further analysis and a possible network change. To consolidate the
Canadian volume, thus benefiting from U.S. FTZs, we suggest exploring four potential options:
Direct Transload, Hub and Spoke, Customer Direct Shipment, and Customer Drop Shipment. A
major financial impact to these options is the dutiable value of the goods at the time of export, on
which the customs duties will be paid. Given the high margins associated with luxury industries,
the difference between the duties paid on retail price versus transfer price could be significant.
When exploring the four options to support RLC Canada through a U.S. FTZ the following
special NAFTA provisions for duty deferral programs should be taken into consideration. This
provision applies to goods that are imported into a FTZ with the U.S. and Canada, and then
subsequently exported to other NAFTA countries. At the time of export goods from an FTZ are
treated as if withdrawn for domestic consumption, thus subject to the applicable duties. These
duties may be reduced or waived by the amount up to the total customs and duties paid to the
exported NAFTA country (United States. Department of Homeland Security, n.d.). Further
details can be found from the U.S. Custom and Border Protection FTZ Manual.
Below are the four suggested options to support RLC Canada through a U.S. FTZ. We believe
these options could be very beneficial to RLC's FTZ strategy, but were unable to collect the
necessary data to complete the analysis. Therefore we only outline the options for future
research. Each option should be reviewed thoroughly to determine the additional costs and the
Direct Transload:For orders bound to Canada, consolidating shipments through the OHL
Transload facility, instead of directly to a Canadian port, would allow RLC to take advantage of
additional FTZ savings related to MPFs, and brokerage fees. This option would involve the least
49
amount of change by allowing RLC to utilize the existing infrastructure and only requiring west
Hub and Spoke: In this option Canadian bound material would be consolidated and stored in a
RLC inventory holding DC (Hub) until replenishment to the RLC Canadian facility (Spoke) is
required. Based on the number and volume of shipments, in addition to RLCs supply chain
strategy, the Canadian facility could either be an inventory holding DC or a pull point, a non-
inventory holding location, where consolidated shipments from the U.S. would be
deconsolidated for customer delivery. This option would allow FTZ benefits of MPFS,
brokerage fee, and duty deferral in addition to other supply chain benefits of inventory flexibility
from risk pulling and postponing the replenishment decision into Canada.
Customer Direct Shipment: This option suggests consolidating U.S. and Canadian shipments
from Asia and warehousing them in Greensboro, NC, then exporting directly to RLC Canadian
customers. If Canadian retail customers order merchandise directly from U.S., the dutiable value
of the goods would be the retail price at which the merchandise is sold to the Canadian retailer.
This option would not require any infrastructure in Canada and allow inventory flexibility
through risk pooling, but it would substantially increase the required duties based on the retail
price.
Customer Drop Shipment: Figure 7 shows the difference between the invoice flow (green) and
the physical flow of goods (blue) in the case of customer drop shipment. To avoid paying duties
on high retail value, RLC could use a transfer price for shipments to Canada. A RLC Canada
entity could receive orders from Canadian retail customers then RLC Canada would order from
RLC USA in Greensboro, NC. RLC USA would send an invoice to RLC Canada but drop-ship
50
the merchandise from the Greensboro FTZs directly to the Canadian retailers. This option
minimizes the increase in duties while eliminating the need for warehousing in Canada.
* Shipping entity
* Destination Retailers
ES Invoicing entity
E11 Flow of money
* Flow of goods
In this scenario duties would be collected on the transfer price between the U.S. and Canadian
This thesis summarizes research conducted to compare FTZs and BWs for RLC NA operations.
To complete this research we compared the financial benefits, as they pertain to RLC NA
operations, against the facility specific set-up and management costs, as well as the operational
efficiency, for FTZs and BWs. This research can be utilized by RLC to make strategic
51
operational decisions and to determine a roadmap to possible FTZ or BW implementations. In
addition to the direct benefit to RLC, this research may be useful as a reference for other
companies that face similar challenges and wish to understand the benefits of FTZs and BWs.
The opportunity for RLC to implement and utilize an FTZ is dependent on each facility
operations and strategic plans. The facility's inbound, outbound, and internal operations
influence FTZ benefits. Any major strategic change in the operations of the facilities in
exports, inventory turns, value, type, and origin of the merchandise are some of the critical
factors for fluctuations in FTZ-related savings. The recommendations and suggestions listed
above are dependent on the data gathered and analyzed regarding the current operations in the
Beechwood, OHL, Eagle Hill, and RL Direct facilities, and contingent on our working
assumptions.
52
APPENDIX
Figures 8 through 10 are discussed in Section 4.4 and Figures 11 through 17 are discussed in
Section 4.5.
FagI HiI
Sumnmary of Savings
By Input:
42,940 $ 23,500
Total $ - $ - $ 91.750 $ 925.699 $ 42.940 $ 23.500
By Type:
Total= $1,083,889
53
Duty and Fee Savings Estimator for FTZ
Direct
Summary of Savings
By Input:
By Type:
Total = $153,863
54
Duty and Fee Savings Estimator for FTZ
OHLTDnbad |
Summary of Savings
By Input:
By Type:
Total= $1,065,642
Figure 10: OHL Transload - Foreign Trade Zone Financial Benefits Calculator
55
Beechwood - Excluding Duty Exemption Export Growth Rate 7%
Discount Rate 10%
FTZ Benefits and Expenses by Type Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
FTZ Expenses
Application Fees $ 8 $ - $ - $ - $ 8
Activation Fees $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Software/IT Integration $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Administration Personnel $ - $ 90 $ 90 $ 90 $ 270
Warehousing $ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
Software/IT $ - $ 25 $ 25 $ 25 $ 75
Operator and Bond Fee $ - $ 10 $ 10 $ 10 $ 30
Figure 11: Beechwood - Cost Benefit Analysis Excluding DEE (in thousands of dollars)
56
Eagle Hill - Including Duty Exemption Export Growth Rate 7%
Discount Rate 10%
FTZ Benefits and Expenses by Type Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
VFZ Expenses
Application Fees $ 8 $ - $ - $ - $ 8
Activation Fees $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Software/IT Integration $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Administration Personnel $ - $ 90 $ 90 $ 90 $ 270
Warehousing $ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
Software/IT $ - $ 25 $ 25 $ 25 $ 75
Operator and Bond Fee $ - $ 10 $ 10 $ 10 $ 30
Figure 12: Eagle Hill - Cost Benefit Analysis Including DEE (in thousands of dollars)
57
Eagle Hill - Excluding Duty Exemption Export Growth Rate 7%
Discount Rate 10%
FTZ Benefits and Expenses by Type Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
FZ Expenses
Application Fees $ 8 $ - $ - $ - $ 8
Activation Fees $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Software/IT Integration $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Administration Personnel $ - $ 90 $ 90 $ 90 $ 270
Warehousing $ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
Software/IT $ - $ 25 $ 25 $ 25 $ 75
Operator and Bond Fee $ - $ 10 $ 10 $ 10 $ 30
NPV @ (10%) $ (
Discounted ROI -19%
Figure 13: Eagle Hill - Cost Benefit Analysis Excluding DEE (in thousands of dollars)
58
RL Direct - Including Duty Exemption Export Growth Rate 7%
Discount Rate 10%
FTZ Benefits and Expenses by Type Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
FTZ Expenses
Application Fees $ 8 $ - $ - $ - $ 8
Activation Fees $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Software/IT Integration $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Administration Personnel $ - $ 90 $ 90 $ 90 $ 270
Warehousing $ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
Software/IT $ - $ 25 $ 25 $ 25 $ 75
Operator and Bond Fee $ - $ 10 $ 10 $ 10 $ 30
Figure 14: RL Direct - Cost Benefit Analysis Including DEE (in thousands of dollars)
59
RL Direct - Excluding Duty Exemption Export Growth Rate 7%
Discount Rate 10%
FTZ Benefits and Expenses by Type Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
FTZ Expenses
Application Fees $ 8 $ - $ - $ - $ 8
Activation Fees $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Software/IT Integration $ 100 $ - $ - $ - $ 100
Administration Personnel $ - $ 90 $ 90 $ 90 $ 270
Warehousing $ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
Software/IT $ - $ 25 $ 25 $ 25 $ 75
Operator and Bond Fee $ - $ 10 $ 10 $ 10 $ 30
Figure 15: RL Direct - Cost Benefit Analysis Excluding DEE (in thousands of dollars)
60
OHL Transload - Including Duty Exemption Export Growth Rate 7%
Discount Rate 10%
FTZ Benefits and Expenses by Type Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
HFZ Expenses
Application Fees $ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
Activation Fees $ 31 $ - $ - $ - $ 31
Software/IT Integration $ 69 $ - $ - $ - $ 69
Administration Personnel $ - $ 94 $ 94 $ 94 $ 283
Warehousing $ - $ 120 $ 120 $ 120 $ 360
Software/IT $ - $ 7 $ 7 $ 7 $ 22
Operator and Bond Fee $ - $ 6 $ 6 $ 6 $ 17
Figure 16: OHL Transload - Cost Benefit Analysis Including DEE (in thousands of dollars)
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011L Transload - Excluding Duty Exemption Export Growth Rate 7%
Discount Rate 10%
FTZ Benefits and Expenses by Type Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
FTZ Expenses
Application Fees $ - $ - $ - $ - $ -
Activation Fees $ 31 $ - $ - $ - $ 31
Software/IT Integration $ 69 $ - $ - $ - $ 69
Administration Personnel $ - $ 94 $ 94 $ 94 $ 283
Warehousing $ - $ 120 $ 120 $ 120 $ 360
Software/IT $ - $ 7 $ 7 $ 7 $ 22
Operator and Bond Fee $ - $ 6 $ 6 $ 6 $ 17
Figure 17: OHL Transload - Cost Benefit Analysis Excluding DEE (in thousands of dollars)
62
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