The Importance of Due Diligence

To some, the international supply chain can seem pretty mysterious. Tracing the movement of a shipment of widgets from the time you place your order with the overseas supplier, through the manufacturing process, packaging, shipping, customs clearance and ultimately the delivery of those widgets to your door involves many steps along the way. When all of those steps fall in line, things go smoothly. But for those of us who have spent any time in this industry, more often than not we have to deal with issues along the way.

When issues occur, it is the companies that took the necessary steps of due diligence before the product was ordered that often are able to best react and adapt to the bumps in the road along the way. And one of the key steps of due diligence is to know, really know your international suppliers. How can you put your trust, and your dollars into the hands of companies halfway around the world if you have not taken the time to fully know their trustworthiness? And how many companies take huge risks without taking advance steps to reduce those risks?

U.S. Customs fully expects importers to know their suppliers and understand their international supply chain, and to take steps to protect the supply chain and the U.S. consumers from risk. Over 40 other U.S. Government Agencies are also involved with regulating imported products and oftentimes importers don't even understand how many agencies have oversight over the products they import. There is an old saying that "ignorance of the law is no excuse," and that saying definitely applies to importers and the various laws and regulations that regulate imported products. And the failure to know about those regulatory requirements can be very costly.

Importers should speak with their U.S. Customs Brokers to discuss their supply chain and the products that they import or plan to import to help mitigate the risks. A little time and money invested know could save an importer from headaches and bigger costs down the road. And a question I ask many importers is this; how well do you know and trust your Customs Broker? Because if you don't have a level of trust with your broker, how can you trust them to provide you the valuable advice and guidance you need?

I've been a licensed Customs Broker for over 35 years, and while many brokers are very reliable and trustworthy, there are a number of brokers that may not be the resource you need. One service I provide is an audit of importers' import processes and transactions to help spot the danger zones before problems occur. Our fees are very reasonable and the peace of mind one of our audits can bring is worth far more than the cost. I'd be happy to discuss this with you further, simply contact me at [email protected].