CBP’s Trusted Trader Program Includes New Incentives for Importers

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Colleen Bush

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that they are aiming to begin the first phase of a Trusted Trader program this fall. The program will enable CBP to better manage supply chain security and compliance by unifying the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Importer Self-Assessment (ISA) initiatives:

C-TPAT – a voluntary government-business initiative to improve overall supply chain and US border security. The program establishes supply chain security criteria for members to meet. As part of C-TPAT, CBP is hoping to complete supply chain security mutual recognition agreements with China and Mexico within the next 18 months.
ISA – focuses on Customs compliance. Importers who can demonstrate their ability to manage their compliance through self-assessment are accepted into the ISA program. CBP recently launched the ISA Pre-Certification test, whereby licensed customs brokerage firms participating in the program can evaluate and pre-certify importers applying to ISA.

So how will this new Trusted Trader Program benefit importers? Participating importers will receive a variety of additional incentives such has time and resource savings related to the processing of Customs entries, costs, etc. CBP recently had a working group compile a list of new incentives that would be valuable to Trusted Trader participants. This list is now undergoing a final review by CBP.

For more information on the Trusted Trader Program, please read this Word Trade 100 article and Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services’ press release.

Are you currently participating in C-TPAT or ISA? Check out this American Shipper 2013 Import Benchmark Study, which surveyed importers on their participation and effectiveness of the programs.

Amber Road Named One of SupplyChainBrain’s Great Supply Chain Partners of 2013

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Colleen Bush

Amber Road is pleased to announce that it received SupplyChainBrain’s Top Supply Chain Partners Award for 2013. This is the ninth year Amber Road has been recognized by the publication for its outstanding customer satisfaction and overall impact in the industry!

The 100 Great Supply Chain Partners Award highlights a select list of companies whose solutions and services have been so impressive that their customers took the time to nominate them.

“It is always an honor to be recognized as a Great Supply Chain Partner, especially when that honor comes directly from our clients,” said Jim Preuninger, CEO of Amber Road. “We would like to thank SupplyChainBrain for giving us this opportunity, and of course we thank our customers for their kind words and support.”

Click here to read the press release.

Upcoming Webinar: SCM World Global Trade Survey Results

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Kelsey Price

What: Live webinar on SCM World Global Trade Survey Results: Insights from Senior Supply Chain Practitioners

When: Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013 | 11am EDT

Where: Register here.

In order to capitalize on today’s global trade opportunities, organizations must overcome a series of unique supply chain and regulatory compliance challenges.

SCM World recently surveyed 114 senior supply chain leaders to better understand global trade challenges and the most effective approaches to solving them. SCM World and Amber Road will discuss the findings of this survey in our complimentary webinar, SCM World Global Trade Survey Results: Insights from Senior Supply Chain Practitioners.

Key topics will include:

How to overcome today’s biggest global trade challenges
How automation can be applied to various functional areas of global trade
How companies rate themselves on their current ability to handle global logistics and compliance challenges

Join us on Thursday, September 12 at 11am EDT to learn best practices from supply chain industry leaders.

Q&A from the “Minimizing Exposure, Liability, and Risk in Trade Compliance” Webinar

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Sam Scordato

Amber Road would like to thank all of those who attended our Minimizing Exposure, Liability, and Risk in Trade Compliance webinar. The attendees asked some great questions, but 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 are a few:

As a senior compliance professional, do I need insurance similar to our C-level leadership?
One can make the case that Empowered Officials and senior trade compliance professionals should be covered the same way senior executives and others in the organization are (including the board of directors). To my knowledge there’s no separate insurance package or coverage available for EOs and senior trade compliance professionals. With the job’s level of responsibility it’s certainly a worthwhile consideration.

From an enforcement perspective are there cases where an Empowered Official or Responsible Authority went to jail?
I do not know of any case where an EO went to jail. I do know of cases where the EO (or other trade compliance professional) was put on administrative leave, fired, demoted, sued by the corporation for breach of contract, and investigated personally by Justice. There are many cases where senior staff (i.e. VPs and above) have gone to jail and suffered many other negative outcomes, including significant fines and debarment.

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

The New World of Global Trade Management

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Kelsey Price

Ty Bordner

The term “global trade management” used to mean one thing: compliance. Not anymore. Ty Bordner, VP of Product Management & Solutions Consulting at Amber Road, describes how GTM today embraces the whole experience of moving goods across borders: regulation, duty management, logistics, and, most of all, global supply-chain visibility.

In the past, each of those processes would have been handled by separate, non-integrated IT applications. But companies can no longer afford a fragmented approach. They are looking for a one-stop shop for their GTM solution. They want a single vendor that can provide a common platform for managing all of their critical requirements.

Discover the trends driving GTM to new heights in Ty’s article here at SupplyChainBrain.