Remember back in your college days, when you had to stay on top of all your financial aid forms?

Remember how your parents would nag you about CSS and FAFSA every year when the submissions were due?

As a current college student and Tradewin intern, I am no stranger to financial aid deadlines and nagging parents – in fact, I’ve got three years of experience under my belt. Although it’s a pain to keep track of all the forms, it is important to make sure they are all filled out correctly and submitted on time. Otherwise, the College Board (or worse, the federal government!) will make life difficult.

Similarly, supply chain security is a crucial element to import and export compliance, and is one of Tradewin’s specialties. As most of you probably know, supply chain security involves the supervision of a company’s import and/or export processes.

If your company’s supply chain is not running smoothly, the best-case scenario is the one in which Customs and Border Protection (CBP) grills you for it.

There are several trade compliance and anti-terrorism programs associated with supply chain security, depending on which countries are involved. For the U.S., the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) is the most relevant.

The goal of C-TPAT is to ensure security while facilitating trade. This program is focused on supporting security in the supply chain in respect to terrorism, which is something that you don't want your company to miss out on.

In order for a company to qualify for the C-TPAT program, it must demonstrate to CBP that it has a secure supply chain that meets the criteria of the C-TPAT program. This can be a very time consuming process, with time being a “commodity” that most companies are in short supply of. Qualifying for the C-TPAT can be time consuming, but it doesn't have to be. 

If you are unsure whether your supply chain security program is efficient and/or up to CBP’s standards, give Tradewin a call. Our compliance professionals can save you “time” when applying to C-TPAT. 

Tradewin offers many services for C-TPAT. We assess the applicant’s supply chain security and advise where improvement is necessary in order to qualify for the program. Our VendorValidations™ tool can store and keep track of your company’s suppliers and their supply chain security information.

We can be that nagging college parent for your company, only less annoying – we promise.