cbs Positions SAP GTS as the Strategic Backbone for APAC Trade Compliance

APAC businesses face accelerating regulatory pressure as governments modernise customs systems, expand electronic reporting mandates, and tighten border controls. For SAP customers preparing their transition to SAP S/4HANA, these changes coincide with an important shift in the ERP landscape: many long-standing foreign trade functions from SAP R/3 and ECC do not carry forward into SAP S/4HANA. Companies dependent on SAP Sales & Distribution – Foreign Trade (SD-FT) workflows are discovering functional gaps in essential areas such as electronic customs communication, preference processing, and duty management.

Against this backdrop, cbs Corporate Business Solutions is elevating SAP Global Trade Services (SAP GTS) as its primary value proposition for 2026, positioning the platform as the strategic answer to global trade modernisation and regional regulatory change. While e-world.cloud remains part of the broader compliance portfolio, the company’s focus is now centred on end-to-end GTS programs, including implementation, customs and compliance management, risk and preference processing, and more.

APAC Regulatory Shifts Push Companies Toward Scalable Trade Platforms

APAC nations are rapidly advancing digitalisation initiatives, and Australia is a clear example of this trend. Increasingly sophisticated border-protection programs, higher documentation accuracy requirements, and emerging mandates for electronic evidence and automated reporting are placing new pressure on businesses to strengthen their compliance processes. As cbs notes, these developments intersect with the reality that SAP S/4HANA’s native international trade module provides only limited foreign trade coverage, offering classification, basic export controls, and Intrastat reporting but not the customs filing, risk management, or duty-preference functionality required for modern APAC trade environments.

SAP GTS closes these gaps by delivering a mature, globally proven compliance platform. Its capabilities span sanctioned-party screening, embargo checks, license assignment, electronic customs declarations, transit processes, duty-preference calculation, and audit-ready documentation. These features map directly to regional developments, such as increased customs automation in Australia, ongoing RCEP-driven preferential trade activity, and rising expectations for digital traceability across inbound and outbound supply chains. With GTS, companies standardise compliance processes, reduce manual workload, and ensure continuity across multi-country operations.

cbs Expands Its GTS Portfolio to Support End-to-End Transformation

To help companies navigate the intersection of regulatory change and S/4HANA migration, cbs is structuring its 2026 offering around a comprehensive GTS lifecycle.

cbs’s implementation consulting approach begins with a detailed analysis of legal, system, and process requirements, followed by blueprinting, activation of GTS subservices, ERP–GTS integration, data and document transfer, and extensive test cycles for customs. This methodology draws on more than 15 years of specialised experience and a reusable development library designed to accelerate delivery.

In customs and compliance operations, cbs supports organisations in building automated electronic filing processes, managing complex export-control scenarios, deploying risk-based controls, and adapting global GTS templates to country-specific regulations. This includes growing demand in Australia for stricter import and export governance, more granular classification accuracy, and higher levels of electronic documentation.

cbs also offers global application management and support, including interface monitoring, issue resolution, legal-change adaptation, and performance tuning. These services ensure that GTS landscapes continue to operate smoothly amid evolving customs regulations and high transaction volumes. For SAP S/4HANA programs, cbs’s GTS E4H transition services provide readiness assessments, architectural guidance, and implementation support for customers moving to SAP’s next-generation GTS platform.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

APAC trade complexity is rising quickly. SAP customers in the region, especially in Australia, must recognise that native S/4HANA capabilities will not cover critical customs, duty, and export-control requirements. Many organisations will find that a dedicated GTS architecture is now essential to sustaining compliant and uninterrupted cross-border operations.

Compliance expectations are tightening. As electronic customs processes expand and audit demands increase, companies will need to shift from manual or fragmented workflows to more standardised and automated platforms. Implementing GTS as part of the SAP S/4HANA journey helps ensure that trade functions evolve in step with broader regulatory modernisation.

Execution determines success. Organisations that perform early GTS assessments, redesign their trade workflows, and establish support structures will be best positioned to manage risk and improve operational efficiency. For SAPinsiders, this means treating global trade not as a secondary workstream but as a core pillar of their transformation strategy.