More C-TPAT staff expected to shorten validation delays

The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program is a popular initiative for reducing supply chain security risk, but according to some companies involved with the voluntary program, it's also fraught with delays in achieving its "validated" status.

The good news is that particular issue is being eased by the addition of more specialists for C-TPAT validation work.

C-TPAT, created in 2002, is administered by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. The program had 125 Supply Chain Security Specialists as of Oct. 2, 2006, with a plan to increase that number to 156 on board by the end of October, says Pat Jones, a CBP spokesperson.

Jones acknowledges past validation delays, indicating they were due to the program's popularity, and the time it took to add specialists. "There was a backlog a few years ago when we started doing the validations," says Jones.

Under C-TPAT, companies that voluntarily join the program must prove to CBP that they have comprehensive security measures in place in return for incentives such as reduced inspections and border wait times.

There are three tiers of participation. At Tier 1, CBP approves the application for certification. At Tier 2, CBP specialists visit the company and validate its procedures. At Tier 3, companies are validated and deemed by CBP to have security best practices in place.

According to Jones, as of October 2, 2006 there were 6,116 companies certified at Tier 1; with 3,319 companies validated as Tier 2; and 198 Tier 3 importers. Additionally, 175 companies have been removed.

Mark Storen, president of Tectus, a Denver-based supply chain security consulting firm, confirms validations had been lengthy as recently as a year ago, but have speeded up since the spring of 2006 as the CBP added specialists.

"The validation process takes time," says Storen. "They will go to a company's headquarters and spend time there, possibly visit company or outsourced distribution locations in the U.S., and potentially go to offshore manufacturing and transportation facilities."

Speedier validation would be welcome at Sanmina-SCI, a San Jose, Calif.-based electronic manufacturing services provider. Scott Horn, director of logistics service & repair, says the company has been C-TPAT-certified since September 2004, but has yet to be validated. "We are slated for additional audits, but it's a matter of scheduling and priorities—constrained largely by Customs' manpower capacity—to make that happen," he says.

Horn adds that Sanmina-SCI still believes C-TPAT brings benefits, and already is experiencing reduced inspections and a smooth flow of goods across borders, though this may be attributable to the company's positive international trade rating more so than certification. But the security measures themselves, says Horn, bring better control and visibility over shipments, while C-TPAT elevates the importance of "chain of custody" issues among trading partners.

For instance, Horn says, because more logistics companies are involved in the program, they have established formal procedures around practices such as splitting loads. In the past, split shipments were more loosely handled, and that could lead to problems. "Many of these [security] measures require more control," Horn says. "Because of that, we have fewer problems with shortages, missed deliveries, and other events that had an adverse impact on us in the past."