Reverse Logistics Solutions – Effectively Dealing with Returned Inventory

Reverse logistics have always occupied a low place on the logistics priority list. In any enterprise, products that are returned by the customers back to the company need to be taken into account. And this aspect has been a long ignored part of the supply chain, although the reuse of products and materials is a common phenomenon. The reverse supply chain reduces operating costs by reusing products or components, making it one of the most fundamental reasons behind companies giving importance to the same, making it a significant part of a business. 

  Although supply chain solutions are concerned with the flow of raw materials and finished goods, its scope extends beyond this to include reverse flow of unsold finished goods, parts and packaging materials from the point of consumption at customer’s end back to the organization. In today’s competitive business environment reverse logistics and returns management is of great importance as it tracks from where and why goods are being returned. The key aspects of returns include the source of the returns and reasons for the returns. If you understand why returns occur it helps identify opportunities for improving supply chain processes and decision-making. The goal is to identify why returns are happening and work to reduce their volume.  

  With an integrated reverse logistics management tool: there is complete end- end visibility throughout the complete cycle and includes all parties involved in the reverse supply chain flow. Effective reverse logistics management can improve a firm’s profitability, enhance customer relationships, and be an essential part of an integrated supply chain management strategy. A vital step in ensuring effective returns processing, is choosing a choosing a returns management solution that manages the entire process of returns logistics in an efficient manner. The solution should be efficient enough to get the products back into the testing field in minimal time. Reverse logistics management has become a strategic asset that can reduce costs and deliver a high degree of functionality.  

  Look for a solution that has experience at refurbishing a vast array of products in minimal time and get  them back into the field tested. The solution must also provide scale, efficiency and speed, and have the capacity to take the complexities out of dealing with inbound product, particularly products that have been opened and, in many cases, used. To help minimize returned inventory, and turn it back into cash fast choose your solution wisely. 

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Make Your OVDP Reporting Easy

Paying your taxes in time is an essential aspect of every citizen. It proves that an individual or enterprise is abiding to the tax regulations and scrupulous in business and personal deals. If you are an American citizen having an offshore account that you have been maintaining privately, then it is advised that you report about it is staying compliant with tax laws.

There are two important components of overseas voluntary disclosure are:

  • First, the taxpayer should not be under criminal or audit investigation.
  • Second, the foreign bank account should not be associated with any illegal practices, for instance currency laundering or drug trafficking.

Once these pre-requisites are catered to, the criminal charges will automatically come off the table and the case would be transferred to the civil department for the analysis of penalties, taxes and interest. Therefore, systematic OVDP i.e. Overseas Voluntary Disclosure Program offers reduced penalties and makes sure that there is no criminal prosecution. However, there can be some fines or penalties in the form of bills.

The OVDP participants generally are changed at 27.5 percent of overseas penalty in lieu of the other penalties that includes FBAR civil and other penalties that also comprises of jail time. In its totality OVDP’s are case sensitive with complicated processes that needs to be followed and can be also be subjected to strict rules and guidelines. The IRS overseas voluntary disclosure can be applied to the citizens whom:

  • Voluntarily informs the IRS of his tax violations.
  • Has the only legal source of income.
  • Is not under criminal investigation, for tax evasion.
  • Files a correct tax return or cooperates with the IRS
  • Makes a full payment of the amount due.

In order to make the OVDP process easier, there are expert tax planning consultants providing a comprehensive insight about the tax code applicable to resident individuals in the United States, including US Citizens and Green Card Holders. The benefits include:

  • Total compliance
  • Consult and impact analysis
  • Analysis and Planning to bring down FBAR penalty
  • AMT Strategies
  • Foreign Tax Credit
  • Review of 2009 and 2010 OVDI cases
  • Mutual Fund or PFIC computations
  • Helps in preparing forms that are needed to take part in the OVDP program
  • Helps in preparing Tax amendments and delinquent FBAR
  • IRS Representation by Enrolled Agents or Affiliated CPAs and Attorneys
  • Affordable price

However, only expert and qualified overseas tax planning companies specialized in foreign compliance and sensitive IRS negotiations can manage OVDP and its implications.

Read More About: IRS Amnesty.

FBAR Rules and Implications

If  you are an American citizen then FBAR is a legal form that you must file in order to stay compliant with the foreign bank account and financial account reporting requirements that needs to the Unites States tax regulations. This legal policy applies for anyone living in the U.S and offering a financial interest or any other kind of authority on any financial account in a foreign country or state. It is also applicable in case the aggregate amount of the account held surpasses the count of US$10,000 at point of time in the year. The form that an American citizen is required to fill out for every year is termed as the Treasury Department Form 90-22.1.

The income that is generated inside the foreign bank accounts is generally reported to the individual tax returns for the year the income has been earned. Therefore, you are required to report the foreign income based on the type of income that is being generated. For instance, dividends and incomes are required to be reported on Schedule B, and the capital gains fall under the Schedule C and many more. Hence, if you are earning on the dividends and interests of these accounts then it becomes important to check the column in Part III Line 7A of Schedule B and recognize the country/countries where there is an account.

Categories of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Reported

The following kind of financial accounts that needs to be reported on the Foreign Bank Account Report includes:

  • Bank accounts (checking and savings)
  • Investment accounts
  • Mutual funds
  • Retirement and pension accounts
  • Securities and other brokerage accounts
  • Debit card and prepaid credit card accounts
  • Life insurance and annuities having cash value

Filing the Form

The Treasury Form 90-22.1 must be filled in by June 30th annually. During this time the American citizens are required to report the foreign bank account that they are presently holding. As per the quote of the Internal Revenue Manual Section 4.26.16.3.7 it is highlighted that the “The FBAR is considered filed when it is received in Detroit, not when it is postmarked."

FBAR Penalties

Any individual should file the TD F 90-22.1 in order to report on foreign bank accounts that he/she is presently holding. This is applicable even if the person has missed the deadline of June 30th. The state has come up with strict penalties for the ones failing to file the same on choice. Therefore to stay scrupulous in your FBAR filing it is advised that you partner with a tax planning consultant in United State to avoid any kind of penalties.

Read More About : IRS AmnestyOverseas voluntary disclosureEntity Formation

 

FBAR and Submission Requirements of OVDP – Part I

This is a two-part article that looks at FBAR and the different penalties for failing to file FBAR. It also looks at the OVDP program started by the IRS amnesty and provides detailed information about OVDP submission requirements.

FBAR is an acronym for the Foreign Bank Account Report, which is an annual report filed with the United States Treasury for Americans to report the existence of foreign bank accounts and other financial accounts held abroad. As per the law, any United States Person who has a financial interest in or signature authority, or other authority over any financial account in a foreign country and if the aggregate value of these accounts exceeds US$10,000 at any time during the calendar year must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

Missed FBAR filing can lead to huge civil penalty, an amount equal to the greater of $100,000 or 50 percent of the account balance for each violation each year, potentially accruing to the greater of $800,000 or 400 percent of each account balance over a six year period apart from criminal penalty, the fraud penalty and foreign information return penalties. In order to make taxpayers, who have undisclosed foreign accounts and entities, comply with the tax laws, the IRS amnesty has started the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) that allows tax evaders to make a voluntary disclosure of undisclosed foreign accounts or entities. Here is a look at some of the submission requirements of the OVDP program.

  • All applicants must submit copies of previously filed original (and, if applicable, previously filed amended) federal income tax returns for tax years covered by the voluntary disclosure.
  • All applicants must submit complete and accurate amended federal income tax returns (for individuals, Form 1040X, or original Form 1040 if delinquent) for all tax years covered by the voluntary disclosure. It should be accompanied by applicable schedules detailing the amount and type of previously unreported income from the account or entity (e.g., Schedule B for interest and dividends, Schedule D for capital gains and losses, Schedule E for income from partnerships, S corporations, estates or trusts, and, for years after 2010, Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets). For taxpayers who began filing timely, original, compliant returns that fully reported previously undisclosed offshore accounts or assets before making the voluntary disclosure for certain years of the offshore disclosure period, copies of the previously filed returns for the corresponding years.
  • All applicants must submit a copy of their completed and signed Offshore Voluntary Disclosures letter and attachment.

In the second and concluding part of this article, we will look at the rest of the submission requirements.

Read More  About : Entity Formation.

 

Staying Up-to-Date on Latest News with IEEE Computer Society

Staying up-to-date and on form is important in every walk of life, but no sector moves faster or requires more attention than IT. Technology is constantly evolving and changing, and for this reason, it can be difficult at times to stay up to date with information technology. If you work in a technological environment, then it's important to stay up to date with changing technology simply to be able to do your job. It also makes you more marketable to potential employers. 

Most IT pros aren’t continually improving their skill set. It is understandable, as nobody wants to put in a long workday, come home, and then do more work, read books about work, talk about work, and “practice” work. But the truth of the matter is that technology evolving at a quick pace, and unless your employer is frequently throwing new challenges at you, you may not keep up and your skill set is most probably deteriorating.  You may have belonged to the crème-de-la-crème a few years ago, but that does not mean that your resume will get even a passing thought in today’s market. As a software engineer or any other software professional, if you want to ensure that your IT career continues to yield rewards, it is imperative that you keep your tech skills up to date. There is a need to stay up to date on technology to be competitive in business and to be able to address and resolve any technical needs as they occur. 

How IEEE Computer Society can help 

 IEEE Computer Society is leading computing membership organization and the trusted information and career-development source for a global workforce of technology leaders that include professors, researchers, software engineers, IT professionals, employers, and students.  

The unmatched source for technology information, inspiration, and collaboration, the IEEE Computer Society is the source that computing professionals trust to provide high-quality, state-of-the-art information on an on-demand basis. The Computer Society provides a wide range of forums for top minds to come together, including technical conferences,  computer magazines and publications, and a comprehensive digital library online, unique training webinars, professional training – e-learning courses.  

Everyone from software architects to iOS developers, security consultants to Linux engineers, need to know the latest and greatest changes in the business if they are to stay ahead of the game. To stay competitive in this business it is important to be on the cutting edge of technological developments. There are a number of ways to stay on top if you have a willingness to learn it. And it doesn’t have to be a chore.

 

 

Careers in Computer Technology – Cloud Related Vacancies Increasing

According to George F. Cross, the international chairman at Stanton Chase International, “We have moved into a long-term period of increased uncertainty, not just for businesses, but for markets and communities.”Hence, looking for a job in today’s weak economy is going to be tough for the software engineering graduates. Though there have been talks of the job market improving, in reality there has been no potential improvements when it comes to meaningful employment opportunities. There are only a few available positions but they are harder to get as the standards set by the employers are very high. Employers are looking for diverse skill sets and software engineering graduates have no choice but to develop the skill set considering today’s challenging job markets.

In such a scenario, where IT boom is long gone and perished, software engineering graduates need to update their skill sets to stay relevant in today’s job market. Graduates looking for careers in computer technology can rejoice since a new survey finds that the need for cloud computing skills is expanding. As per CompTIA’s ‘Third Annual Trends in Cloud Computing’ study indicates that the market for cloud solutions is robust, with the number of organizations using cloud resources rising for the third straight year.

Cloud computing is crucial as it results in cost savings and efficiency improvements for enterprises as well as customers. Hence, there is a huge demand for private cloud administrators, developers, compliance specialists, cloud architects, integration specialists, and departmental liaisons. And as per the recent IDC report ‘Climate Change: Cloud’s Impact on IT Organizations and Staffing’ the demand for cloud-savvy IT professionals will grow by 26% annually until 2015 and will create more than seven million cloud-related vacancies worldwide. This report expresses the need for a cloud savvy workforce for building and maintaining cloud infrastructure within organizations and identifies the positions of senior management, project and program managers, business analysts, application development and maintenance, IT systems and operations, network, telecom, security, and web management, help desk and end-user support as the key skill areas.

However, the fact of the matter is though cloud related vacancies are increasing, a greater percentage of it remains unfilled due to the inability to find the right people for this new job. This is because the new environment requires a different set of skill set which can be attained through certification, training and by attending technical conferences.

With more than 1.7 million jobs related to cloud computing remaining unfilled worldwide, graduates and professionals need to update their skill sets to survive in the current market.

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Need For Advanced Enterprise Storage Server Solutions

In simple terms, enterprise storage server is a centralized storage server system that is used by business organizations for managing and safeguarding data. It allows data sharing through its connectivity to multiple networks and computing devices that include UNIX, Windows 2000 and other mainframe platform. Generally, enterprise storage servers differ from the consumer storage or dedicated servers with regards to its storage features and technology.

Ideally, the enterprise storage servers have four core elements, i.e. back up, disaster recovery, archiving and storage. However, these days there are certain challenges faced by enterprise storage servers. Some of them are discussed below:

  • The requirement for other storage processes for storing the infrequently utilized “dormant data” cost efficiently
  • Huge data explosion had resulted in the need for an incorporated, recorded and granular data
  • Most enterprise storage servers are required to server huge amount of users that include data miners, multidimensional users, departmental users and executive users

Advanced Enterprise Storage Server Solutions

Today service providers specializing in big data applications have introduced innovative and leading edge enterprise storage server solutions, that offers high-end performance, consistency, and energy and is cost-efficient. They are set up keeping in mind enterprise as well as other usages. The solution also configures the Operating System and software to function at required levels offering any feature that the user might need to custom servers. As soon as the server arrives at the consumer’s end, expert professionals of the service provider arrive to rack cable and execute them.  The rack-optimized severs come with an inbuilt innovative multi-core high performance technology energy efficient architecture and are appropriate for virtualization, clustering as well as cloud computing. They are further configured to provide high virtualization functions and are approved by VMware.

New Categories of Enterprise Storage Server Solutions

The modern day service providers of enterprise storage server have also come up with unique blade server solutions that can combine different speeds along with processors. They can be optimized for crucial mission data center applications and server consolidations. Each platform own a management module, network switches and hot-plug computing blades for easy substitution and removal. This in turn helps to minimize down time issues.

Furthermore, in the recent year’s enterprise storage server solutions have been playing an essential role in rendering business intelligence to organizations that can be leverage successfully. It also makes sure that the sensitive information is consolidated to provide an organization the required business intelligence architecture.

Read More About: Security ApplicationsDatacenter Solutions Integration

 

 

Enterprise Storage Servers–Manage Data in Global Environment

Today, enterprises conduct their businesses with the help of the world class IT infrastructure, best-of-the-breed  applications, storage systems and telecommunication equipment all networked  throughout their widespread business establishments.  Such a networked corporate environment helps in digital communications  leading to faster decisions and quicker solutions.  However, to face the fiercely competitive environment, enterprises besides deploying improved servers also tries to expand into areas beyond geographical boundaries. This brings in the need to increase the capacity  for storage of data and  also ensure the security of the digitally accessed  information.

With data being vital for every business, a secure storage of data becomes an important aspect of the network system. Storage servers used in  these technologically enhanced business environments, need to centralize and reliable  storage solutions that can be accessed easily irrespective of the distance and time.  The increasing demands for storage of data with minimal administrative requirements and enhanced  utilization of the storage servers  have paved way for the service providers to offer enterprise storage server solutions  that will help  enterprises  to  manage  their data.

A well equipped and configured  storage server used in any corporate network or as part of data center solution allows enterprises hassle-free and secure storage of its critical data for a long time. Unlike the desktop systems, the reliability of the data is very crucial in data centers.  Any outage can badly affect the entire systems and the enterprise, its people and processes. With the globalized organizations looking for a data center solution integration, the configuration of the enterprise storage server has a great influence on the solutions. Further, with advances and innovations in technology, the global enterprises also need to cater for a scalable storage system. The leading service providers of custom computer systems and networking have developed  an advanced storage server offering  an innovative storage solution.

Like the dedicated servers, these servers with storage solutions are well equipped with a number of features which makes it feasible for the enterprises  to offer  high-performance and cost-efficient servers that  provides consistency. This energy efficient servers in order to meet the optimal functional requirements  can be configured and customized as per requirements. These rack-optimized enterprise storage servers being scalable with advanced multi-core high-performance technology and configured for maximum Virtualization performance can be used for data center Virtualization, clustering and cloud computing services.  These solutions, which use high-end technologies help enterprises  to improve efficiencies, maximize the storage assets, and facilitate business operations with the existing infrastructure.

Read More About: Network Server, Big Data Partnership, Security Application Partners, Datacentre Solutions Integration.

 

Cost-effective and Energy Efficient Build to Order Storage Servers

An enterprise storage server is a centralized repository that helps enterprises to manage and secure data. Enterprise storage servers are useful for business houses that deal with heavy workloads of business-critical information. It performs functions such as data sharing, backup and restoration, common data management and data protection. It offers unlimited connectivity, support for all the different platforms in operation, high availability, disaster recovery and centralized administration and remote support. These are intelligent storage servers that are designed to be versatile and cost efficient and meet the requirements of todays on demand business where business continuity is essential.

Those who plan to opt for an enterprise storage server solution, there are service providers who built-to-order general-purpose storage servers that are cost-effective, energy efficient and that offer high performance and high reliability.  It meets the most demanding requirements of performance, capacity and availability that big enterprises require.  Collaborating with such service providers helps in complete customization, unparalleled reliability and quick turnaround at a highly competitive price. Besides, they configure the clients’ OS and software to operate at optimal levels and deliver any functionality that they might need on their new custom servers. Here is a look at some other benefits of opting for a customized enterprise storage server.

  • Features the latest multi-core high performance technology, energy-efficient architecture and are ideally suited for Virtualization, Clustering and Cloud Computing
  • Provides versatile blade server solutions with many different combinations of processors and speeds are fully optimized for mission critical data center applications and server consolidation
  • Each platform contains hot-plug compute blades, management modules, and network switches allow for easy removal and replacement. This makes the Blade servers effortless to maintain and minimizes down time.
  • Offers a full spectrum of customized Rack mount scalable storage servers for a wide range of applications including data backup
  • These high-availability, redundant systems may be configured as a multi-purpose server with your choice of Microsoft Windows or Linux operating system for a maintenance-free storage.
  • Get high performance, high availability storage servers with flexible features that can be customized according to your needs
  • Being a fault tolerant storage system, it can be maintained and upgraded concurrently with customer operation
  • Customized backup, recovery, deduplication, and unified storage solutions enable reduced backup costs, simplified data recovery and improved protection
  • Provides a common platform to allocate and manage growing demands for data storage while improving storage utilization and reducing administrative effort

Thus, with enterprise storage servers, enterprises can meet all the requirements of their businesses easily and effortlessly.

Read More About: Dedicated ServerBig Data ApplicationsSecurity ApplicationsDatacenter Solutions Integration

 

Successful Ideas & Innovations Ensure Business Longevity

In today’s dynamically changing business environment innovation is the key to survive. Such an environment requires organizations to come up with innovative and creative goods, ideas, services and standards. Entrepreneurs see this change as healthy and they always search for change, respond to it and exploit it as an opportunity. Any company that wishes to truly be sustainable must innovate.

Building a culture that supports innovation can help your business stay relevant, meet challenges and stay competitive. Innovation is not just about new ideas but also about new ways of applying ideas. Successful business leaders understand that innovation is the key to their success and fame. To ensure longevity, businesses need to have the ability to implement new ideas, new services, solve problems, face external barriers and convert them into opportunities, with a passion and a never-give-up attitude.

Sustaining a position in the consumers' mind is an on-going battle and this continuous battle for the top spot has forced companies to constantly innovate. Very few companies are successful in sustaining their dominant position and those who do it, continuously innovate.  High technology Company, such as Sony, is often discussed as an example of a firm that depends critically on the continued succession of new product innovation for survival. While continuous innovation is not easy; to survive, a company must meet customer demands for rapid incremental improvement.

Take Gillette for example. Gillette firmly believes in continuous product innovation and has always stuck to its mantra of "innovation is Gillette". With the ability to continuously attack its own products, it has revolutionized the wet shaving market throughout the world. From Sensor to Mach3, Gillette has kept on innovating and has ensured a continuous evolution in Gillette's product line since its inception. Gillette has been successful mainly because of its attitude of continually rejuvenating existing products with new features, which has helped it in staying far ahead of its competitors. Gillette has proved that innovation is vital for business longevity. Innovation is a core business necessity today and companies that do not innovate continuously die.

Innovation has become a specific tool of entrepreneurs. By doing new things or doing old things in new ways is important and entrepreneurs exploit this opportunity for a different business or a different service.

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