Why CTPAT Membership Matters for Your Business

As a thought leader in CTPAT Compliance, the two questions we hear most often are: “What is CTPAT?” and “Why should we become a CTPAT member?”

Both are great questions, and both have simple answers…

Whether you are an importer, consolidator, or customs broker, the ultimate value of CTPAT Membership is legitimacy. Obtaining CTPAT Certification provides objective proof that your company has invested the time and effort to implement practices that make you a top-of-the-line business partner. Specifically, it demonstrates that the people you employ are well-trained, the data you manage is powerfully safeguarded, and the cargo you ship or handle is optimally protected.

1. Access Bigger, Better Business Partnerships.Most Fortune 1000-level companies require their business partners to belong to CTPAT and confirm their participation via the CBP’s Status Verification Portal as a standard part of the bid evaluation process.Completing CTPAT Certification inherently opens your organization up to larger business opportunities because it provides tangible assurance that your company exceeds operational & compliance expectations.
2. Minimize Import / Export Disruption When Disaster Strikes.In the aftermath of a natural disaster, state of emergency, or pandemic, the time it takes to return to “business as usual” can make or break a supply chain.CTPAT Membership mitigates risk of delays in that process, as it guarantees priority access to port and business resumption from U.S. Customs.
3. Increase Your Organization’s Relevancy in the Global Supply Chain.Over 70 countries across Asia, Europe, and the Americas strongly recommend their importers/exporters participate in a program known as Authorized Economic Operator (AEO), which requires members to meet a high set of global standards designed to facilitate safe and smooth trade worldwide.CTPAT is recognized as the U.S. equivalent of this program and is therefore internationally acknowledged as a mark of legitimacy by AEO-certified companies, garnering instant trust and respect from foreign partners.

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