Taking the high road to C-TPAT (page 3)
-- Logistics Management, 9/1/2005
Page 3 of 4
As a first step, Carrier Mexico joined COMCE, a Mexican affiliate of BASC. The early work involved poring over BASC training materials to understand how to prepare for certification. With Marco Zuani as full-time supervisor and sales team leader Edna Mora assisting part-time, the security committee ran its own gap analyses. Team members worked with various corporate groups to uncover problem areas, learn how the plant's ISO 9000 compliance could ease the BASC and C-TPAT inspection processes, and communicate information about the programs throughout the company. Monthly reviews kept Carrier Mexico moving toward its goal of C-TPAT membership by the end of 2005.Next, the company signed up for a BASC pre-audit. This inspection, which was held in July, brought in outside experts to look for compliance gaps, with no penalty for the audited company. The inspectors spent a full day at Carrier Mexico talking with Rodarte's logistics staff, human resources managers, security personnel, sales leaders, and others, asking questions and offering suggestions. Their checklist included dozens of points—22 questions about facilities security alone.
Four days later, Rodarte received good news: a report stating that Carrier Mexico is a "likely candidate" for BASC certification. That wasn't surprising for a company that took BASC and C-TPAT requirements into consideration when designing its new manufacturing facilities. Nevertheless, the report contained a list of 12 recommendations for improvements (not records of non-compliance). One suggestion was to use laser gauges to speed up checking of trailer dimensions. Another was to more tightly control security seals. Instead of providing seals in bulk to the shipping department, BASC recommended, the logistics office should provide one week's worth of seals and issue no more until shipping could match the number of seals used with the number of trucks that left the factory the previous week.
With those recommendations in hand, Rodarte gathered his committee to share the details of the report and agree on action items. With the full BASC audit under way, the team is now preparing Carrier Mexico for the upcoming visit of the C-TPAT auditors. He continues to work closely with Frank De los Santos, a senior officer in CBP's Laredo office, keeping him informed about the results of the BASC pre-audit and the subsequent actions taken. Rodarte is now completing a full security profile for CBP, and as soon as the BASC certification comes through, he will ask CBP to schedule a C-TPAT audit.
A company's own C-TPAT compliance covers just one part of its supply chain. If a manufacturer is not working hand-in-glove with its suppliers, carriers, logistics service providers, and other supply chain partners, it has lived up to the letter of the C-TPAT program but not to its spirit.
As such, Rodarte and his team are working closely with the company's transportation and logistics service providers. For now, Carrier Mexico suggests that its partners apply to become C-TPAT members. By year's end, says Rodarte, he will be looking at making it mandatory.
Some carriers, such as Schneider International, are well along in that process and many of their drivers are already FAST certified. Rodarte also has asked Ryder, which manages both inbound and outbound storage and transportation for Carrier Mexico, to become both BASC and C-TPAT certified. Ryder expects to be certified soon by BASC for its work at Carrier Mexico's Monterrey plants, says Guzmán. Continued...
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