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SOPs The Foundation of Trade Compliance How to create functional SOPs that allow your company to move freight promptly, safely, and cost-effectively — and now, compliantly and securely. By Kelly Raia, Vice President, Compliance, American River International All companies engaged in global supply chains, who want compliant and secure import and export transactions, need to set a foundation for the trade compliance initiative. This is best accomplished by creating SOPs. The SOPs accomplish the following: • Create accountability and responsibility • Connect the dots in the organization between business units • Place everyone on the same page • Create an explicit guide that is transparent to all corporate entities and to government agencies • Become the standard for the company to demonstrate three key elements of corporate trade governance — reasonable care, due diligence, and supervision and control. • Mitigate the effects created when key personnel depart, and there is a need for continuity of information, wherewithal, and action The SOPs must be: • Functional • Easy to understand • Directly related to regulations and government directives • Approved by senior management and counsel • In line with other corporate SOP implementations, such as OSHA, FDA, etc. • Contemporary and allow for revisions, updates, and modifications That is best accomplished when SOPs are developed by one person. That person, however, should be supported by a team of business unit leaders who can contribute in pertinent areas in the global supply chain. When other business units are engaged in the SOP development process, they are more likely to support them once established in corporate governance. SOPs in trade compliance can cover an array of areas, such as but not limited to: • Harmonized classification • Record keeping • Valuation • Denied party screening • AES transmissions • FCPA regulations • Hazardous material handling • Managing service providers • ITAR regulations • Dealing with Customs Board Protection (CBP) • Personnel training and education The basic concept of SOP development in trade compliance is to provide a set of guidelines that covers all the areas of how a company imports and exports. You need to make sure that wherever there is government regulation, procedures are in place to deal with those government controls. Secondarily, it is critical that these SOPs cover all aspects of supply chain operation and create a “best practices” mindset in how they’re written and executed into the company’s business processes. And lastly, SOPs must be functional, allowing a company to move freight promptly, safely, and cost-effectively, as well as compliantly and securely.	In This Issue New Items Time for the Tough to Get Going Supply Chain Real Estate Responds to Supply Chain Shifts Taking Your Ship to an IP Environment Compliance Corner: SOPs, the Foundation of Trade Compliance New Applications for RFID Features Gateway at a Glance � Canada Moving Goods in a Slower Economy Ports & infrastructure National Gateway — a Public-Private Partnership in Progress California River Ports Port Products Clean Air Equipment Commentary Contract Negotiations Approaching Who, What, Where, When Final Say
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SOPs The Foundation of Trade Compliance