Spanning an impressive 370,000 square feet, the newly constructed facility stands as AIT’s largest station to date, accommodating various logistics functions under one roof. With modern office space spanning two floors and a bonded warehouse certified by the Transportation Security Administration, the site is equipped to handle diverse shipping needs effectively.

Featuring 58 dock doors and multiple temperature-controlled areas, including those dedicated to food logistics and life sciences commodities, the facility offers comprehensive warehousing solutions such as pick and pack services and short- and long-term storage. It also serves as a hub for over 240 specialized logistics experts from various divisions within AIT, promoting seamless collaboration and enhanced customer service.

Vaughn Moore, Chairman and CEO of AIT Worldwide Logistics, highlights the company’s commitment to innovation and excellence through this state-of-the-art facility. By consolidating teams and investing in sustainable infrastructure, AIT aims to exceed customer expectations while advancing its vision to become a global leader in logistics.

In line with its sustainability goals, the new location is LEED-certified, emphasizing energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. Incorporating features such as warehouse cooling fans, LED lighting, and electric vehicle charging stations aligns with AIT’s aim to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2035.

Keith Tholan, President and Chief Operating Officer of AIT, emphasizes the facility’s role in enhancing operational efficiency and client satisfaction. With amenities like faster internet connectivity, EV parking with charging access, and versatile meeting spaces, the hub is designed to support AIT’s core values and foster collaboration among team members.

Strategically positioned near major transportation hubs, including intermodal terminals and Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the Palatine facility strengthens AIT’s global network, contributing to its mission of delivering reliable logistics solutions worldwide.

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CEO Lance Malesh expressed great enthusiasm about Slivka’s joining, stating, “We are delighted to have Max join our esteemed team at MODE Global. His comprehensive background in finance, coupled with his strategic acumen and strong leadership qualities, positions him as the perfect fit to spearhead our finance organization. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with Max as we forge ahead in extending our market presence and advancing our business goals.”

Slivka’s academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Northwestern University. Prior to his tenure at MODE Global, he held noteworthy positions in private equity investing at York Capital Management and Pegasus Capital Advisors. Slivka’s professional journey commenced in the realm of investment banking at Citi, marking a robust foundation for his subsequent accomplishments.

This strategic appointment underlines MODE Global’s commitment to securing top-tier talent to drive its financial strategies forward. With Slivka at the financial helm, MODE Global is poised to navigate its growth trajectory with enhanced precision and agility.

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Emerging from the darkest days of the pandemic, the global supply chain landscape has undergone a fundamental transformation fueled by a confluence of megatrends like geopolitical instability, climate change and technological advancements. In this “new normal,” overall production numbers and delivery schedules seem to be nearing pre-COVID levels. However, disruption to supply chains will likely become a permanent fixture. 

Moving forward, businesses must reevaluate their supply chain strategy and adopt one that minimizes disruption by placing equal focus on sustainability, risk management, and resiliency.

SUSTAINABILITY

Supply chain sustainability is a strategic decision a business makes to achieve its current needs without negatively impacting the needs of future generations. This includes the sustainable sourcing, production, packaging and optimized delivery of products with the goal of creating a more responsible and future-proof supply chain that benefits all stakeholders. A truly sustainable supply chain will balance environmental, social, and economic considerations.

Environmental Responsibility

Geared toward protecting the environment from potential harm caused by supply chain activities such as production, storage, packaging and transportation, environmental responsibility considers the ecological aspect of supply chain operations.

Do you or your suppliers have the ability to measure and monitor carbon emissions? Is there a greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan in place? Does the energy you use come from renewable sources? These are the questions that should be asked. Environmental responsibility begins with minimizing resource consumption—including the reduction of energy use and the conservation of water throughout the supply chain—while combating climate change through the use of green energy sources and carbon offsetting initiatives. 

Social Responsibility

A business that practices social responsibility treats every person in the supply chain with respect, dignity and equality. This includes employees, customers and vendors. Doing so means following ethical labor practices such as ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions while promoting diversity and equal opportunities within the workforce and throughout the entire supplier network. 

Additionally, there should be strong consideration for how a business contributes to the community in which it operates. In recent years, there has been an increasing expectation that companies support local communities beyond the scope of traditional community outreach initiatives.

Economic Responsibility

The economic component of supply chain sustainability refers to the financial impact a business has on its employees, suppliers, customers and shareholders. It involves the development of safeguards to secure profits to serve all stakeholders without compromising the environment and the community.

It’s important if not essential for businesses to maintain financial stability. For example, investing in unstable ventures can be costly and detrimental—not just to the business, but also to all entities across the entire supply chain.

Businesses that practice economic responsibility will utilize resources efficiently to minimize costs and waste while building strong, collaborative partnerships with suppliers and other stakeholders for mutual benefit and shared success.

RISK MANAGEMENT

For today’s supply chain, risk management has never been more important. A single disruption, such as the Suez Canal bottleneck, can cost millions if not billions of dollars. Another example is the semiconductor shortage. One warehouse fire caused a cascading disruption that affected the production of everything from computers and cars to phones, gaming systems and household appliances, just to name a few. 

Risk management in this context is a means of developing a strategy to identify, assess and mitigate risk across an entire supply chain. The goal is to create a consistent framework for businesses to become more resilient to disruption and uncertainty. 

Identify

It’s important to recognize potential internal and external risks that can impact the supply chain. Start by focusing on those risks that are known, which can be identified, measured and managed. For example, what is the likelihood of a supplier going bankrupt? You can determine this by looking at its financial history. With this information, it’s possible to quantify the impact it would have on the business. Additional risks to consider include geopolitical issues, demand fluctuations, technical disruptions and regulatory changes. 

Ensure that supply chain teams constantly address risk, whether generated internally or externally. Additionally, organizational risk experts such as corporate enterprise risk teams can provide risk reporting insights.

Assess

The assessment phase involves estimating the potential impacts of an identified risk. This allows businesses to identify the products and supply chain nodes with the greatest failure potential and prioritize resources to minimize the likelihood of an event. 

Assessment is vitally important to focus the supply chain risk management strategy and mitigation efforts and on what’s most important and what will have the largest impact. To make this determination, consider the following: number of customers that will be affected, damage to brand and reputation, total time to recover from disruption and the number of qualified alternate suppliers available (if relevant).

Mitigate

Risk mitigation involves the development of strategies and actions to reduce or eliminate the potential impact of an identified and assessed risk. Consider developing continuity plans, implementing flexible sourcing and logistics strategies and creating buffers such as excess capacity and inventory. These proven measures have been crucial for helping businesses mitigate risks and ensure their supply chain can overcome disruptions.

Monitor

Supply chain risk management is a 24/7 process. Risk monitoring ensures that the supply chain is continuously checked for changes in risk factors and external conditions, enabling the business to review the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies and update mitigation plans as needed.

By implementing these risk management initiatives, businesses can proactively minimize supply chain disruptions—and realize the full potential of their supply chain strategies.

RESILIENCY

In the new normal, a lot of businesses will need to rewrite their supply chain playbook, with special attention to the section on supply chain resiliency. The reason being that prior to the COVID pandemic, businesses experienced maybe a one- or two-month disruption every three to four years or so. During and since the pandemic, however, disruptions have occurred at an increased rate due to a number of factors including changing consumer behaviors, geopolitical instability and global supply chains that have become more complex. 

Supply change resiliency is a company’s ability to anticipate, adapt to and quickly recover from supply change disruptions while maintaining continuous business operations. Much easier said than done, this involves having a flexible contingency plan in place. But even better, a supply chain in the new normal will have the ability to forecast and anticipate disruptions with the ultimate goal of complete avoidance altogether. Businesses working to reach this level of resiliency may want to consider the following strategies: 

Embrace Big Data and Advanced Technology

Businesses can achieve substantial improvements in supply chain resiliency by understanding and leveraging large amounts of data from both internal and external sources. A growing number of businesses use control towers to organize this data into easy-to-understand formats, helping them monitor and identify potential threats to the supply chain. Similarly, supply chain managers that employ digital supply chain technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence can gain real-time insights that help them respond rapidly to potential disruptions. 

Optimize Production and Increase Resiliency Through Supply Chain Planning

Essential to achieving resiliency, strategic supply chain planning coordinates all elements of the supply chain and enhances visibility and agility. This helps businesses improve their understanding of supply and demand requirements while promoting production efficiency and minimizing the potential damage of supply chain disruptions.

Diversify Suppliers

“Don’t place all your eggs in one basket” is basically the logic behind this strategy. For example, a supply chain is vulnerable to disruption when it relies on a single source for raw materials. What if the supplier shuts down operations? Another potentially disruptive event can occur when a business has an abundance of suppliers in one geographic region. A single weather event or a natural disaster can wreak havoc on its supply chain. The obvious alternative is to diversify suppliers so that one slowdown doesn’t interrupt operations.

Supply Chain Optimism for 2024 and Beyond

Today’s global supply chain business is more exciting and challenging than ever. Even the most well-managed and stable supply chains are subject to game-changing volatility and disruption without notice. Looking on the bright side, supply chain professionals have faced mighty challenges in the past and persevered. There’s good reason to believe we’ll experience the same result when the next major disruption hits. Moving forward in 2024, we have the knowledge, the strategies and the sheer determination to achieve the highest possible levels of success in the new normal. 

Author Bio

Jagan Reddy brings 25+ years of supply chain solution strategy, business transformation and P&L management experience to his position as co-founder partner and managing partner of Netlogistik USA. Recognized across the supply chain solutions industry for customer value creation and thought leadership, he takes pride in helping businesses understand the key influencing factors driving the latest industry trends while delivering crucial insight and guidance to help them stay ahead of the curve. www.netlogistik.com

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January 2024 U.S. container import volumes increased 7.9% from December 2023 to 2,273,125 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) (see Figure 1). Versus January 2023, TEU volume was higher by 9.9%, and up 9.6% from pre-pandemic January 2019. 

Figure 1. U.S. Container Import Volume Year-over-Year Comparison

“January was another solid month driven by surprisingly strong imports from China,” said Chris Jones, EVP Industry and Services, Descartes. “The combined effect of the Panama drought and the conflict in the Middle East is beginning to impact transit times, particularly at the top East and Gulf coast ports.” 

The December report is Descartes’ thirtieth installment since beginning its analysis in August 2021. To read past reports, learn more about the key economic and logistics factors driving the global shipping crisis, and review strategies to help address it in the near-, short- and long-term, visit Descartes’ Global Shipping Resource Center.

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The focal point of this alliance revolves around Techdinamics’ cutting-edge techSHIP solution, which seamlessly integrates with Synergy’s advanced warehouse management system (WMS) SnapFulfil. Together, these platforms create a fully connected workflow encompassing order management, WMS functionalities, picking, packing, and shipping processes. The result is faster order fulfillment, improved accuracy, and reduced operating costs, all without the need for additional labor.

TechSHIP, a robust cloud-based application, facilitates easy integration with multiple carriers for generating shipping labels and custom documentation. It also offers intelligent rate shopping features, selecting the most cost-effective or appropriate services based on customer preferences and shipping destinations. With connections to over 150+ carriers, TechSHIP streamlines order processing, ensures timely deliveries, and provides competitive shipping rates.

Smitha Raphael, Chief Product & Delivery Officer at Synergy Logistics, emphasizes the speed and depth of integration offered by the techSHIP solution. Its agile nature allows for rapid configuration and deployment, enabling customers to achieve operational efficiencies and a swift return on investment within just 20-30 minutes.

One success story stemming from this partnership involves Younique, an online beauty retailer based in Utah. By leveraging the integration with techSHIP, Younique gained access to previously unavailable carriers like Purolator and significantly improved label printing efficiency for high-volume orders through SnapFulfil’s batch functionality, resulting in decreased shipping costs.

Reg Adams, President of Techdinamics, highlights the seamless integration between SnapFulfil and techSHIP’s API, enabling users to manage orders and generate labels within the WMS interface. This integration empowers users to leverage techSHIP’s order management rules and rate shopping capabilities directly from SnapFulfil, enhancing operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

This strategic alignment between Synergy Logistics and Techdinamics represents a significant milestone in the realm of warehouse management, leveraging real-time integration and partnerships to provide transparency across critical business systems and sales channels. With a rapidly expanding network of native integrations spanning various sectors, Synergy aims to drive efficiency and innovation in warehouse operations, setting new standards for seamless shipping integration.

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But before you start choosing the software here are things to take care of:

1. Choose Your Niche

Research and Passion

Selecting a niche is a critical first step. Research trending products and identify a niche that aligns with your interests and has market demand. Passion for your chosen niche can drive long-term commitment and creativity in your business.

2. Market Research

Competitor Analysis

Conduct thorough market research to understand your competitors. Identify successful dropshipping stores in your niche and analyze their strategies. Recognize gaps in the market or areas where you can offer unique value to stand out. Use a go-to market tool to help research and launch your product.

3. Select a Reliable Dropshipping Supplier

Supplier Reliability and Product Quality

Choose reputable suppliers for your dropshipping store and conduct thorough software vendor evaluation. Assess their reliability, shipping times, and the quality of their products. Communicate with potential suppliers to establish a strong partnership and ensure a smooth supply chain.

4. Build Your E-commerce Platform

Here’s what you want in a  dropshipping software:

Product Search and Import

This is ready-to-use software for any business. With it you can both find and add products to your store. You can search the products from a database and the database has multiple dropshipping suppliers and marketplaces.

Product Information Management

When someone accesses your store they want reliability. Relevant and trusted information.

Because they want that product. You cannot see products or visit the store in person.

If you are an online seller the least thing to do is add relevant products to your store.

And thanks to this feature you can readily download product information from the sites make edits and publish your listings.

Automated Order Fulfillment

As someone who’s dropshipping products order fulfillment is one of the most time-intensive tasks of running your store. That’s where dropshipping automation can help. This is a useful feature and helps you automate a lot of the fulfillment.

With this feature, you can connect sales channels to dropshipping suppliers and enable order to be sent to fulfillment.

This eliminates any need for manually placing an order and saves you a bunch of time while also automating most things.

When a  customer makes an order on the store the order is simply sent to the dropshipping supplier.

It’s important to understand that the dropshipping software is limited to one sales channel while others allow for multiple channels. Like on Amazon and on your dropshipping store.

When selling on different sales channels it’s important to use a software solution that integrates with each use case.

Pricing Automation

Since you don’t store or own the products, you will face pricing fluctuations. But certain software solutions can help you both raise or lower your prices automatically based on your pre-defined pricing strategy.

Order Tracking

Customers like tracking their orders right from the point they order it. However, there’s no need for you to send manual updates. When a customer places an order you can use software to send them customized email.

And that email should have tracking details from your supplier like with a tracking number and link. These details enable your customer to track the package.

Automated Inventory Updates

For those who don’t know about this feature, inventory updates can help you limit overselling.

If you’re using a dropshipping solution with inventory tracking you don’t need to update or even look at inventory reports. Your customers won’t be able to order items that are out of stock.

With Spocket you can choose best products to dropship from thousands of trusted suppliers around the globe.

Features:

• Find winning products across different categories 
• Integrate with Shopfiy Wix and Woocommerce
• Automated order fulfillment
• Automated inventory tracking
• Built in sales analytics
• Support is available via e-mail, live chat, and also their FAQ section

Pricing:

There are four pricing plans, starting at $39.99. You can also access the free plan with 14 day free trial.

5. Set Up Payment and Shipping

Secure Payment Gateways

Integrate secure payment gateways to facilitate smooth transactions. Popular options include PayPal, Stripe, and credit card payments. Provide various payment methods to accommodate customer preferences.

Shipping Logistics

Define your shipping strategy, including regions you’ll ship to, estimated delivery times, and shipping costs. Communicate transparently with customers about shipping details to manage expectations.

Finally , take care of marketing your store.

6. Optimize for SEO

Keyword Research

Perform keyword research to optimize your product listings and overall website for search engines. Use relevant keywords in product titles, descriptions, and meta tags to improve visibility and attract organic traffic.

Social Media Marketing

Manage social media– Leverage social media platforms to promote your products. Create engaging content, run targeted ads, and collaborate with influencers to increase brand awareness.

Email Marketing Campaigns

Build an email list and implement email marketing strategies. Offer discounts, promotions, and valuable content to encourage repeat business and foster customer loyalty.

7. Monitor and Analyze Performance

Analytics Tools

Use embedded analytics tools to monitor your store’s performance. Track website traffic, conversion rates, and customer behavior. Use these insights to refine your strategies and enhance the customer experience.

Explore Additional Marketing Channels

Explore additional marketing channels, such as Google Ads, influencer collaborations, or affiliate marketing, to reach new audiences and drive more traffic to your store.

Conclusion

Building a dropshipping store from scratch requires careful planning, research, and ongoing dedication. By selecting the right niche, establishing strong partnerships with suppliers, and implementing effective marketing strategies, you can create a successful dropshipping business. Stay agile, adapt to market changes, and provide excellent customer service to foster long-term success.

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In its latest initiative aimed at simplifying complex risk issues, TT Club has released a new installment of TT Briefs titled “Understanding and Mitigating Risks of Working at Height.” This concise advice sheet offers practical guidance on steps to reduce risks, ensure workforce safety, mitigate injury claims, and safeguard against reputational damage in environments where working at height is unavoidable.

Introduced three years ago, TT Briefs are infographic-style advice sheets designed to provide easily digestible information on specific risks while also serving as visual reminders in the workplace. Mike Yarwood, Managing Director of Loss Prevention at TT Club, emphasizes the relevance of this latest Brief, noting the lack of consistent global regulations regarding at what height a worker is considered at risk of serious injury from falls. Therefore, TT Club’s guidance offers essential minimum measures for employers across various sectors to implement.

Recognizing the diverse operational conditions in the transport and logistics industry, the advice covers aspects such as infrastructure design, improved working practices, safe stowage of cargo, technological solutions like drones for inspections, and the deployment of fall prevention platforms. Additionally, it underscores the importance of comprehensive training programs and fostering a strong safety culture throughout operations.

Yarwood underscores the importance of effective communication in promoting best practices globally and TT Club’s commitment to delivering relevant insights based on the experiences of its insured. “Understanding and Mitigating Risks of Working at Height” reflects TT Club’s core commitment to safety and its ongoing efforts to assist operators in minimizing risks in their operations.

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Automated facilities are far safer than conventional operations in many ways. At the same time, robots introduce unique hazards that warehouses must contend with. In both cases, technological innovation is the answer to better safety.

Automation as a Safety Measure

Warehouse automation has historically trailed behind other heavy industries like manufacturing, but that’s starting to change. Over 70% of logistics businesses use some form of mobile robot today. This shift improves safety along two major lines — automating dangerous tasks and minimizing errors.

Automating Dangerous Tasks

Automation’s most significant safety advantage is that it removes workers from the most hazardous parts of the job. When human employees don’t need to carry the heaviest loads or reach the highest shelves, it has the same impact as if these hazards didn’t exist.

Automation can’t perform every job a human can, but the most dangerous work is often easily automated. Carrying heavy loads or picking items from high shelves are straightforward, predictable tasks — just the kind automation excels at.

Automated tasks don’t have to be dangerous to improve workplace safety. Overexertion accounts for 23% of all workplace injuries and often stems from repetitive motion. Warehouses that automate material-handling workflows minimize this motion, preventing one of the most common causes of injury.

Error Reduction

Automated warehouses are also safer because they minimize human error-related risks. Mistakes play a role in almost all workplace safety incidents, so companies that reduce errors will also reduce injuries.

Autonomous alternatives to manually operated machines make some of the biggest impacts in this area. For example, conventional forklifts pose severe threats because driver errors are likely, as humans are easily distracted. Robot forklifts, by contrast, don’t get preoccupied or bored, so they’re less likely to make errors that endanger nearby workers.

It’s also worth noting that automation reduces the workload in labor-strained warehouses. Workers can feel less stressed when there’s less to do, letting them focus on what they’re doing, further preventing dangerous errors.

Keeping Workers Safe From Robots

Of course, automation itself can introduce new workplace hazards. The answer to these risks is not to avoid automation but to implement new technologies that make it safer.

Reliable Navigation

One of the most important steps in improving robot-related safety is ensuring they can navigate reliably. Moving equipment like forklifts is responsible for many injuries and OSHA violations, and mobile robots pose several of the same risks. An automated guided vehicle (AGV) that can’t identify obstacles and pedestrians quickly and accurately could cause harmful collisions.

Cameras and machine vision software are improving, which makes mobile robots safer by default. Besides these improvements, warehouses can capitalize on the Internet of Things (IoT) to enable better navigation. Robots that communicate with real-time sensors throughout the facility can move through it more effectively.

Edge computing takes these benefits further, as it spreads complex compute tasks between nearby devices, enabling faster responses. 5G networks can also provide more bandwidth and higher speeds to support these processes.

Adaptable Cobots

Collaborative robots (cobots) are another important technology that makes automated warehouses safer. These robots are designed to work alongside humans instead of replacing them. As such, they’re less likely to run into workers or cause disruptions that may lead to injury.

Adaptability is a key feature here. Cobots can respond to real-time data, often through IoT connectivity. As a result, they can adjust their workflow as necessary as conditions change to prevent mistakes that may endanger workers or keep out of people’s way even when they don’t follow predictable paths.

Amazon has implemented cobots extensively to impressive results. One of its solutions, Sequoia, combines multiple robotic systems to organize and move inventory throughout the warehouse. Combining separate systems lets it adapt as needed, and the design emphasizes making things easier for human workers. As a result, recordable incident rates dropped by 15% between 2021 and 2022.

Artificial Intelligence

It’s impossible to talk about disruptive technologies and not mention artificial intelligence (AI). AI can improve robot safety in warehouses in several ways, and its potential will likely grow as this technology advances.

AI-guided robots are more adaptable than classical alternatives, making them safer. Machine learning models can identify and respond to hazards in a fraction of a second, making them ideal for guided mobile robots to prevent collisions. Similarly, AI can help robots interpret situations to determine the best course of action to remain productive and keep human co-workers safe.

AI can also analyze data from across a warehouse to identify where the most accidents happen. Some models can go further and suggest possible improvements, making it easier to effectively reduce workplace injuries over time.

New Tech Is Transforming Warehouse Safety

Technology is one of warehouses’ greatest assets when addressing worker safety. The logistics and supply chain industries will become safer as more facilities embrace automation and complementary technologies.

Tech adoption isn’t a panacea to all workplace safety issues, but it offers substantial improvements. Warehouse managers must integrate these solutions into existing safety programs and combine them with other steps to become as safe as possible.

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Usage of the drawback program is a tool companies can use to reduce operating costs. The program may be used for goods that are unused, rejected or manufactured. 

The drawback program has several key factors that provide leverage to eligible companies. 

THE PROCESS

The process to submit a drawback claim and collect a duty refund is an evidence-based undertaking. Companies must have the required import, export and inventory documentation to support the drawback claim.

The drawback applicant prepares a detailed sample to CBP including lot numbers or product stock keeping units (SKUs) to tie the product to the import and export transaction. This presentation is submitted to CBP electronically using approved software. 

Documentation specifically supporting the drawback claim will include bills of lading, commercial invoices, packing lists and 7501 entry forms for the inbound portion. 

Documentation supporting the outbound piece will include the commercial invoice and bill of lading. Exports to Canada and Mexico will also require data elements from the Canadian B3 and the Mexican pedimento (CBP 7501 equivalents). 

RETRO ADVANTAGE

Drawback claims may be filed for up to five years from the import date. When this occurs, it can be a windfall for a company resulting in a sizeable check when the retroactive drawback claims are paid. 

It is key to appreciate that it takes some digging (excavating) through documents, receipts and recordkeeping systems to obtain historical data.

In the event a company determines it does not have complete documentation to support the claim, they will find themselves requesting this documentation from their customs brokers, freight forwarders, carriers and third-party providers. 

Therefore, it is incumbent upon a company to ensure they are maintaining accurate and required documents as part of their import/export recordkeeping process. This may also require working internally with the finance and information technology (IT) department to obtain the necessary details required.

NOT THE “IMPORTER OR EXPORTER”

A company may submit a drawback claim for goods on which they may not have been the importer of record or the actual exporter. This can be a bit tricky to manage. 

For the import side, the company would need to be able to collect evidence that the domestic purchase price included duties and taxes and an ability to support that claim from the supplier. The CBP7501 data elements would also be required to submit the drawback claim. The actual importer of record may be reluctant to provide this level of detail. The assistance of a third party to broker and address this challenge can be beneficial.

Where the drawback claimant is not the exporter, the company will need to obtain an export waiver from the actual exporter. Additionally, the supporting documentation will be required to provide the export data elements. 

This process is doable and over the years, we have helped companies successfully meet this challenge. However, we would be remiss not to mention it requires a substantial amount of coordination and collaboration with sellers and buyers (vendors and customers). 

Service providers with robust technology platforms can also be helpful in providing the necessary data.

FORMS OF DRAWBACK

In weighing a company’s eligibility for drawback, it is important to understand the different types of drawbacks. The most common types are:

• Unused Merchandise 
• Manufactured Merchandise
• Rejected Merchandise
• Destruction

There are other types of drawbacks that are specialized and focus on specific industries and business models.  

DRAWBACK CHALLENGES

The challenges faced in coordinating drawback claims may include management support, cross organizational support, IT support, data collection and data integration. These challenges can be resolved through an organized and responsible management process, utilization of professional support and being both diligent and patient through the process.

To manage these challenges successfully, over the past 20 years we have developed a four-step process:

1. Assessment
2. Financial Model
3. Operational Model
4. Application

The process begins with an intellectual assessment of your company’s likelihood (or not) to benefit from a drawback program. The financial model creates the costs and the gains associated with a drawback claim to assure a responsible and realistic return on investment. 

ADDITIONAL FACTORS

The drawback process has been somewhat simplified by the ability to submit a combined application. This application will include a waiver of the notice of intent to export for past exports, a waiver of notice of intent for future exports, and a request for accelerated payment of the drawback claim by CBP. 

NEXT STEPS

Should you decide you are interested in a drawback, options for additional information and next steps include accessing the websites of both CBP and Blue Tiger. 

Drawback | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov) 

Management Consulting | Blue Tiger International (bluetigerintl.com)

We recommend first assessing the opportunity and benefits of committing to drawback to decide the need to move forward. Once that decision has been made, create a financial model addressing costs and time required to manage a drawback program to determine the return on investment and justify the decision to move forward.

Should the ROI be sufficient to move ahead, you need to assess what operational changes will be needed to collect the necessary data on imports and exports to create an accurate and detailed drawback claim.

Consider aligning your company’s technology with the required data elements or work with a drawback intermediary who will act as an interface on your behalf. These companies typically charge a fee of 5% to 25% of monies collected, paid on a contingent basis. The amount is determined by the degree of difficulty in making the specific drawback program function as required by CBP.

The use of a consultant or drawback intermediary is a potentially good option as they will smooth out the process and expedite the ability to avoid delays, address challenges and, most importantly, help expedite payment of your drawback claim.

Author Bio

Thomas A. Cook is a seasoned global supply chain professional, author of more than 20 books on global trade and managing director of Blue Tiger International. He can be reached at tomcook@bluetigerintl.com or (516) 359-6232. 

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