In the five years since 9/11, combating terrorism and securing the global supply chain has become of vital importance. For its part, U.S. Customs is relying on companies to voluntarily comply with its C-PAT program, and also is upgrading its own technology. Don?t let the term ?compliance? scare you?C-PAT offers great business benefits to those that do.

While some companies volunteer to be Customs and Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) members, others have made participation and/or compliance with C-TPAT security standards mandatory for their suppliers and partners. Ultimately, widespread adoption and participation will help companies speed low-risk shipments across borders and through ports of entry while preserving the security of global trade.

C-TPAT requires that corporations assume responsibility for the security of the supply chain well in advance of the normal legal responsibility (when the company takes possession of the goods). Customs is asking companies to take on the burden of ensuring and monitoring security practices and
their execution all the way from origin, through transit, to the ports, and delivery to final destination. The three tiers of status are as follows:

The more advanced a company progresses in C-TPAT status, the more benefits it can receive, mostly in the form of expedited flow of shipments through customs. One consumer goods company said it slashed imported container inspections to a mere 0.66 percent from 7.60 percent. That, however, isn’t the only benefit found.

Benefits beyond customs
Companies have found that joining C-TPAT often results in discovering outdated procedures, uncovering areas that need rework for better efficiency, or both.

While performing the required supply chain assessment for C-TPAT membership, most companies are able to streamline their operations and gain increased visibility into multi-enterprise activities. This increased visibility allows companies to create a continuous improvement scenario in which they can highlight inefficient processes, removing additional unnecessary costs and complexity.

C-TPAT can also help companies optimize the management of assets and inventories, while at the same time enhancing security. Enhanced security practices and increased supply chain performance mitigate the risk of loss, damage, and theft. They also reduce the likelihood that potentially dangerous elements get introduced into the global supply chain.

The fact that C-TPAT program participation enhances supply chain efficiency while increasing security should help speed its adoption across industries.

Source: AMR Research

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