Mercado Labs Launches Import Management System for Small Businesses 

Mercado Labs has launched an import management system tailored to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The new Mercado Lite enables SMBs to digitally manage purchase orders, at a monthly cost that is lower than that of the medium and enterprise tiers of the company’s import order management system (IOMS), Mercado Labs said in a Tuesday (Jan. 24) press release.

Real-time tracking and visibility of goods in transit — from the manufacturer’s warehouse all the way through to final delivery — is critical in helping supply chains become more efficient, Tive CEO Krenar Komoni told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in an interview posted in April 2022.

That visibility is often lacking, Komoni said at the time.

Communication is also important. The working relationship between retailer and supplier is improved when suppliers acknowledge orders have been received and provide updates on order status, from the time an order leaves the warehouse to the time it reaches the retailer’s location, Logicbroker Senior Director of Client Success Niki Antonelli told PYMNTS in an interview posted in February 2022.

“Having that visibility and that communication between partners is a great way to eliminate friction,” Antonelli said at the time.

The new Mercado Lite tracks, updates and manages import orders, organizing information and providing a single source of truth for both the importer and supplier, Mercado Labs said in the press release.

The system also provides unlimited user accounts for the importer’s suppliers, helps the two parties collaborate to ensure timely deliveries, and delivers alerts to notify importers of any issues with their orders, the release said.

“Teams no longer need to work off homegrown spreadsheets, faxes or PDFs, but from a single, digital order,” Mercado Labs Vice President of Engineering Harlan Beverly said in the release. “Small-to-medium importers who have been using the platform are already seeing errors on orders reduced by 75% thanks to our built-in change controls, with 55% more shipments arriving on-time.”