Today’s segment was inspired by a question submitted by a member of Indago, our research community for supply chain and logistics practitioners:
Is membership in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program still worthwhile considering the increasing demands of new minimum security criteria and the somewhat revised benefits or perceived benefits?
Based on our survey of Indago members, the results are mixed: some view C-TPAT membership as beneficial, others do not.
Part of the problem, as the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in February 2017, is that it is difficult for anyone to “determine the extent to which C-TPAT members are receiving benefits because of data problems.”
In response, as reported in the Journal of Commerce last week, “legislation introduced in Congress [on Monday, July 15] would force US Customs and Border Protection to show quantifiable benefits to parties involved in a program promising reduced cargo screenings and provide protection to ‘mitigate economic hardships’ if a company is suspended or kicked out.”
Is your company a C-TPAT member? If so, do you believe membership in the program is worth it? How do you measure or quantify the benefits?
