U.S. customs delays can easily kill your timelines, causing missed or pushed-out deadlines and requiring a reassessment of the supply chain. Identifying issues early within your supply chain can help avoid tiresome delays and speed up your supply chain. Here’s a guide of how to fix bottlenecks in your supply chain and streamline your process.
Identify Bottlenecks
There are plenty of reasons why your goods could be delayed by U.S. Customs including:
● Document inaccuracies or errors
● Incorrect classification of imported goods
● MIssing data
More often than not, the bottlenecks holding up your goods in U.S. Customs could be avoided. Ensuring the accuracy of all documentation is the easiest way to eliminate several factors that could cause delays.
For example, if you use incorrect HTS codes, this could lead to incorrect duty payments and require reclassification. In addition, supply chains could face further penalties including fines or even a suspension of operations, depending on the severity.
Using a trade compliance software is the best way to ensure that you avoid common human errors that could lead to further issues with your supply chain. A trade compliance software consists of tools that streamline every step of the supply chain, including verifying suppliers and running pre-entry compliance.
Fix Classification and Documentation Errors
HTS codes are used to classify goods coming into the U.S. Each type of import requires a different HTS code. But, understanding HTS code classifications requires a highly technical understanding. Taking the time to lookup HTS codes for all imported goods manually could result in delays to the supply chain. In addition, incorrect HTS codes will not pass through U.S. customs and will cause delays.
Using an HTS classification tool through a trade compliance software can help speed up this part of the process while ensuring that the correct codes are being used. With this type of tool, supply chain teams can use natural language product descriptions to find the correct HTS codes without the extra manual effort of understanding the Harmonized Tariff Schedule technical jargon.
Documentation errors are another reason for delays in the supply chain. Any incorrect information could be audited and even lead to the risk of violating U.S. trade laws. When this happens, it could require more than just simply fixing a spelling error. U.S. trade law compliance is taken seriously and any non-compliance could result in further scrutiny for the company that made the errors, depending on the severity of those errors.
Automate Compliance Screening
Compliance screening is a major step in ensuring that your company adheres to U.S. trade laws. An entity screening evaluates businesses, individuals, or transactions to ensure they are not on any denied party lists, sanctions lists, or PEP lists. But, evaluating against several major global watchlists can be a huge manual effort. Using a trade compliance tool automates the process, in which the software can evaluate a business, individual, or transaction against over 200 lists at once. This includes the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, Entity list, Denied Person list, and Statutorily Denied Parties list.
Avoid Human Errors
Some delays to the supply chains may be out of a company’s control. For example, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) could delay or halt processing operations at any entry points due to a shift in federal trade policy. But, other delays are caused by human error.
Human error can easily be avoided in the supply chain, giving a higher assurance of importing/exporting goods within the company’s desired timeline. Then, the only thing that would delay are factors out of the company’s control. Using a trade compliance software helps companies avoid human error in a simplistic way, without a huge overhaul of the supply chain process or major reassessment of company resources.
Identifying and fixing your supply chain bottlenecks keeps your business on schedule and prevents costly delays to your income stream.
