New Research Report: American Shipper’s 2013 Import Operations and Compliance Benchmark Study

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Colleen Bush

The 2013 Import Operations and Compliance Benchmark Study: Two Worlds Collide has just been released! This report is based on a study recently conducted by American Shipper and BPE Global to learn more about the issues impacting U.S. import operations and compliance managers.

The findings suggest that best-in-class shippers are integrating import compliance and operations functions to better leverage resources and investment in technology, leading to greater efficiencies.

Key focus areas include:

Import operations and compliance reporting structures
Customs filing timeliness and accuracy
C-TPAT and ISA participation and effectiveness
Operations and compliance technologies
The blend of operations and compliance functions

Align your import practices with best-in-class operations - download this complimentary report today!

Marianne Rowden Discusses Recent U.S. Regulatory and Legislative Updates

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Sam Scordato

At a recent seminar, Financial Returns of Global Trade, hosted by Amber Road and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc., Marianne Rowden, President and CEO of the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI), spoke on many of the recent U.S. legislative and regulatory updates. She covered topics including the Customs Re-authorization Bill, Simplified Entry, the effects of sequestration, the Export Control Reform Initiative, the status of mutual recognition agreements, and the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Two areas of particular focus for Rowden were Customs’ Centers of Excellence and Expertise (Centers), along with new C-TPAT proposed rules and their Privacy Act ramifications. These Centers will focus on industry specific trade issues and serve as an information resource for participating importers. By the end of 2013, ten Centers will be operational, including one for apparel, footwear, and textiles in San Francisco and a second for consumer products and mass merchandising in Atlanta.

“One of the goals of the Centers is to enhance enforcement and address industry risks,” explained Rowden, who noted that 40 percent of respondents from their most recent benchmarking survey said they would participate in a Center, and 50 percent said their participation depended on the benefits of joining.

Rowden also commented on two Federal Register notices published on March 13^th, one on a proposed records system for C-TPAT documents, and a second on Privacy Act exemptions to C-TPAT data. She expressed that the proposed records system “is not in the spirit of partnership. C-TPAT data is your proprietary data and the government has to respect the data. They have decided your data is not covered under the Trade Secrets act. The System of Records also violates the Safe Port Act.”

To learn more about these regulatory and legislative updates, please join Amber Road and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc. at the 92^nd Annual AAEI Conference on Globalization: Policy & Practice.

Q&A from the “Export Control Reform Update: Preparing for Transition” Webinar

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Sam Scordato

Amber Road would like to thank all of those who attended Export Control Reform Update: Preparing for Transition, which was hosted by American Shipper on Tuesday, April 23. We had an amazing turn out, and the attendees asked some great questions. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and were unable to answer all of them. The presenters were kind enough to provide us with written responses to those questions. Here is a sneak peak:

Will Temporary Export Licenses exist under ECR such as we currently have with Dept. of State (DSP-73′s)?

ECR will not impact the issuance of temporary export licenses (DSP-73s) by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). With respect to the EAR, BIS does not issue temporary export licenses. Upon the effective date of the initial implementation rule (October 15, 2013), all licenses issued by BIS will have a default validity period of four years, regardless of whether the transaction is a permanent or temporary export. Please note, however, that certain temporary exports, re-exports and transfers (in-country) may qualify for License Exception TMP (§ 740.9) if all relevant terms and conditions are met in §§ 740.2 and 740.9.

When the recently published final rule goes ‘active’ in October, will the revised ‘specially designed’ definition be applicable to the old existing USML/ECCN categories? Or is it only for use on the newly published categories and lists?

Upon the effective date, the definition of “specially designed” will apply to all instances where “specially designed” is used in the Commerce Control List (CCL). Thus, it will apply regardless of whether the item is a 600 series item or not, and regardless of whether the term is used as a control parameter or a decontrol parameter. With respect to the USML, the ITAR definition of “specially designed” will apply to USML Categories VIII and XIX upon the effective date. As subsequent revised USML categories are published in final form and become effective, the term “specially designed” will apply to those additional USML categories as well.

Don’t see the question you asked? Follow this link to see a full list of questions and answers.

Four out of the Top Five Companies in this Year’s Gartner Top 25 Supply Chains use Amber Road

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Kelsey Price

Gartner

Congratulations to the accomplished companies included in Gartner’s most recent Supply Chain Top 25, which included nine Amber Road customers! (Four of the top five, in fact, use Amber Road.) Gartner’s annual report identifies demand-driven leadership on the journey to integrated, innovative supply chains.

Amber Road’s customers have always fared well on Gartner’s list; nine customers also made it to the Top 25 in 2012. This year, companies like McDonald’s, Unilever, Intel, Cisco Systems, Dell, Wal-Mart, Starbucks and Qualcomm topped the list with help from Amber Road’s global trade management solutions in optimizing their supply chains.

Gartner picked out several trends that emerged among the leaders: “finding new synergies across best practices, partnering more productively for growth and inspiring the hearts and minds of their supply chain talent in new ways.”

Congrats again to all those included in Gartner’s report! You can find the full list, along with Gartner’s many insights, here.

Robert Perez Talks Key Custom Initiatives

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Sam Scordato

Robert E. Perez, director, field operations, New York Field Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, recently gave an update on key Customs initiatives at a recent retail seminar held in New York City. This retail-focused event, Financial Returns in Global Trade, was hosted by Amber Road and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc., and discussed the financial benefits that can result from the automation of key compliance processes.

According to Perez, Customs is embracing the idea of combing missions: improving security while lowering costs for the trade community and increasing the ease of interacting with Customs. Key Customs initiatives were borne of this idea, and will equate to a stronger economy.

“We are challenging ourselves to transform,” stated Perez, who enumerated several different underlying principles related to key Customs initiatives: consistency and harmonization, to drive down transaction costs for the community; modernization, by streamlining automation initiatives and developing a more agile development process; and co-creation, with a focus on the broker’s role.

Other principles underlying Customs’ key initiatives are bi-directional education, to make working with Customs more consistent and predictable; comprehensive trusted trader programs, with the harmonization of C-TPAT and ISA; trade intelligence, focusing on educating trusted partners, particularly with trade enforcement and protection; and trade enforcement and revenue collection, by working with other agencies, particularly with managing risk at the border.

Want to learn more about leveraging returns from the automation of trade compliance? Download Amber Road’s white paper, The ROI of Automating Trade Compliance.