Streamline Your APEC Compliance with Prep4Audit’s APEC Compliance Improvement Tools

All private firms are required to comply with APEC’s (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Private Sector Supply Chain Security Guidelines in order to enhance their supply chain security practices. APEC’s Private Sector Supply Chain Security Guidelines © is a compilation of recommendations for effective supply chain security regimes from several sources, including World Customs Organization and private programs. The guidelines could be included in the curriculum of capacity building activities designed to teach the principles of supply chain security. You can use Prep4Audit’s APEC compliance improvement tools set to streamline your compliance with APEC’s Private Sector Supply Security guidelines. Prep4Audit’s APEC Compliance Improvement Tools includes a Compliance Plan Template (Word) and a Compliance Tracking Worksheet (Excel). Following are details of each.

1)    Prep4Audit’s APEC Compliance Plan Template (Word) – It is a clear, internally consistent, and operational-level statement of compliance requirements in Microsoft Word©.  You can make changes to it according to your business model and print formatted professional-quality reports for governmental agencies, business partners, and potential customers.

2)    Prep4Audit’s APEC Compliance Tracking Worksheet (Excel) – It contains embedded features and functions in Microsoft Excel© to help you prepare for certification – before the audit begins.  You can use it to store compliance details for internal use and print formatted professional-quality reports for governmental agencies, business partners, and potential customers.

You can buy Prep4Audit’s APEC Compliance Plan Template (Word) and APEC Compliance Tracking Worksheet (Excel) for $74.99 only! The purchase price is per business unit for an unlimited use license. Use is limited to the purchasing business unit. Purchase confirms acceptance of the Prep4Audit’s Terms of Use.

To buy Prep4Audit’s APEC Compliance Improvement Tools or check its table of contents and working view, please log onto http://prep4audit.com/purchase-compliance-plan-templates-word-compliance-tracking-worksheets-excel-2/apec-compliance-worksheet-excel-and-requirements-checklist-word/

Getting AEO Status: Benefits of AEO Compliance Improvement Tools

AEO stands for Authorised Economic Operator status. It’s a certified standard issued by a Customs Administration.  The issue of either one of the three AEO certificates means that a company in supply chain has met certain criteria for management systems, compliance with custom rules, ongoing solvency and safety and security.  The certification of AEO status issued by any Member States Customs Administration is recognised throughout European Union. At present, AEOS and AEOF certificates are also recognised by Japan and the United States of America. Following are some important benefits of getting an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status.

•    Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) status reduces your risk score in risk analysis systems.

•    Authorised Economic Operators are given preference for physical controls.

•    Mutual Recognition Agreements of AEO programmes lead to faster movement of their goods through certain third country borders.

•    Reduced data sets for entry and exit summary declarations – only for AEO safety and security

•    Authorised Economic Operators enjoy the simplified procedures.

•    Authorised Economic Operators don’t need to give financial security for a few custom procedures such as inward processing or specific types of custom warehousing. 

•    For Authorised Economic Operators, it is easier to qualify for a transit guarantee waiver since getting AEO status fulfills a few conditions needed to get a guarantee waiver. 

Once you get an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status, it is your responsibility to make sure that you strictly comply with all AEO Supply Chain Safety and Security rules and regulations.  Also, you are liable to regular AEO Compliance Audits.  Prep4Audit provides AEO Compliance Improvement Tools in Word and Excel for $199.99.

The Product Sets of Prep4Audit cover the European Union’s Section I.2.5 and Safety and Security requirements for AEO-defined supply chain member categories. The products sets also include a Compliance Plan Template (Word) and a Compliance Tracking Worksheet (Excel).

A Look into ISO and the Benefits of ISO 9001-2008 Certification

Before getting to know much about any particular topic it is important to get briefly acquainted with the subject. As far as getting acquainted to ISO is concerned, it is much heard of subject and usually talked about.

What is ISO?

ISO or International Organization for Standardization is worldwide federation of several national standard bodies from each country. The primary objective of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and other associated activities in the world with a view to facilitating international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. The results of ISO technical work are published as International Standards.

                                                             

                                            

What is ISO 9001:2000?

ISO 9001:2000 is an internationally recognized standard for business processes. Companies with such accreditation must meet certain quality based criteria in order to maintain the standard. The new system is much more customer focused.

Advantages of ISO 9001:2000

There is nothing that a customer likes better than knowing that their supplier is accredited to a level where it is officially recognized and that they are at a certain level of competency. There are a number of customers, especially government bodies, who insist on their suppliers being accredited, therefore the standard cannot only make your business succeed by having its processes under control but also it can attract new clientele as well. ISO 9001:2000 will basically ensure that customer's service and delivery expectations should be met.

ISO 9001:2000 in Audits Preparation

There are two types of audits:
•  Internal Audit: This can be conducted by trained in-house staff or an outside consultant. The aim is the test every part of the ISO9001:2000 quality system at least once a year. One way I have constructed the audit plans is to build a matrix of each element of the quality standard for each department, whilst in some functional areas certain clauses of the system may not be relevant, many are common, so by using the matrix you know every area, for every relevant clause, has been checked.

•  External Audit: The external audits are performed by the organization who has accredited the ISO9001:2000 standard and have issued the certification for your company (or if you are going for accreditation they are the ones who will ratify your competency).

Quality Audit with Audit Preparation Tools

‘Quality’ is a word that has different meanings to different people. The oxford dictionary has defined quality as a certain degree of excellence, a relative nature etc. In linguistic style and sense, quality has originated from the Latin word ‘Qualis’, which means such as a thing really is. As a business word quality is understood as meeting the customers’ expectations.

Therefore, three simple statements are enough to explain what quality means:

• Satisfying Customer’s Expectations

• Understanding their Current Needs

• Evaluating the Future Requirements of the Customer’s

Whatever is the reason of preparing the audit, quality should be the primary term in it and any audit that lacks quality is certainly not an acceptable one. Before getting any further with audit, it is important to know and to understand the objective of audit. 

Here are the objectives in the form of bullets:

• The first and the primary objective of audit is to determine the conformity or non conformity of the quality system elements with specified requirements of the quality system standard.

• Audit is needed to determine the effectiveness of the implemented quality system in a particular objective of quality.

• It’s needed to provide an opportunity so as to improve the quality system.

• Audits are needed to meet the regulatory requirements.

• They permit the listing of name of the audited organization in the register.

• Last but certainly not the least, it allows and organization to evaluate their own quality system against a specified quality standard.

It is then when audit preparation tools play a very crucial role in audit preparation and only an effective and smart tool can deliver quality audit results. Over a period of time, Prep4audit has come up with some extremely good and effective audit preparation tools and each of them is unique and best in delivering results. Where the design of each tool is taken full care of, it is also considered that each tool is made for a specific purpose. The plus point of getting audit preparation tools from Prep4audit is that there is a toolkit available for each of them and this calls for the most effective results.

Here are the bullet points for the process of auditing:

• Audit Initiation

• Audit Preparation

• Audit Execution

• Audit Report

This four step process of audit preparation is indeed the most suitable one and the tools thus put into use are the most appropriate ones and certainly the most effective too.

The bottom line therefore is to make use of such audit preparation tools that are effective and can fetch good results than no other tool can.

Developing an Understanding of Supply Chain Security with the use of APEC

Auditing is important and no one really wants to know why… Whatever be the reason you’re preparing the audit, one thing that counts the most is perfection and efficiency. To reach that expected level of perfection you need some audit preparation tools that have a high degree of efficiency and the ones that are the most powerful tools you’ve ever come across.

The APEC Private Sector Supply Chain Security Guidelines are a compilation of various recommendations for effective supply chain regimes from several sources including the World Customs Organization and other private programs. Prep4audit has successfully launched its new audit preparation tool called Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and this tool they have launched in the form of a small toolkit that consists of a Compliance Assessment Worksheet in Excel and a Requirement Checklist in Word.

Before preceding any further to know more about the tool, it is first important to know about the key elements of Supply Chain Security and here’s a list of the same:

•  Physical Security
•  Access Control
•  Personnel Security
•  Procedural Security
•  Education and Training Awareness
•  Documentation Processing Security
•  Conveyance Security
•  Trading Partner Security
•  Crisis Management and Disaster Recovery

APEC Private Sector Supply Chain Security Guidelines are a compilation of recommendations for effective supply chain security regimes. Referenced sources included: Business Anti-Smuggling Coalition (BASC) Security Program, Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Guidelines, World Customs Organization (WCO) Supply Chain Security and Facilitation, Advance Cargo Information Guidelines, and IBM Corporate Security Guidelines.

About Education, Training and Awareness:

Education and training awareness encompasses educating and training of personnel to the security policies, awareness of any deviations from these policies and knowing exactly what action to take.

Learning more about Crisis and Disaster Management:

Crisis management and disaster recovery procedures include advance planning and establishing processes to prepare, coordinate, and operate in extraordinary circumstances.

1. Emergency Plan that includes:

•  Crisis Management Team (CMT)
•  Emergency Response personnel
•  Periodic updates and scenario testing

2. Training

•  Periodic
•  Emergency Response Personnel- ongoing

3. Testing

•  Emergency Plan

The cost of this efficient tool kit is just $24.99, which is a very small amount compared to the effectiveness of the tool and the benefit that it can prove to be when preparing audits.

Taking Food Safety Very Seriously with FSIS | Prep4Audit

Food safety is certainly the most important concern as of now. The continuous contamination in food has affected its quality in a very high scale. This shouldn’t continue for long and there’s an urgent need to look into the matter concerning food; food being the basic necessity of all living part of the ecosystem.

What’s needed the most during such a situation is somebody who understands that the food landscape is constantly changing and there’s a need for them to get involved in managing the changes related to the areas of food processing and food distribution. Everything needs to be taken care of right from domestic products, imports, exports, conducting risk assessments, educating the public about the importance of food safety. This is what brought USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Food safety audits become the next big thing and are required for companies set up in the field of food manufacturing and processing industry. Generally such examinations need to be carried out by a third part of an independent instructor. An examination of this nature is completely voluntary and basically depends on the judgment of a company’s owner or manufacturer in many cases. 

FSIS or better called Food Safety and Inspection Service ensures that a nation’s meat, poultry and egg supply is wholesome, safe and accurately labeled. They are trying to protect public health and prevent foodborne illness.  The department of FSIS checks that the products imported from other countries must be produced by a system that is equivalent to the one that is employed by the United Sates.

Prep4Audit and the Tool:

Prep4Audit offers inexpensive compliance assessment tools for the key industry checklists, guidelines and standards. Their tools include a compliance assessment worksheet in Excel and a requirements checklist in word. 

The FSIS tool at Prep4Audit covers the following three points:

1. Food safety guidelines for the transportation and distribution of meat, poultry and eggs
2. Food security guidelines for the transportation and distribution of meat, poultry and eggs
3. Food industry supply chain security

But the most important thing other than these three is that the toolkit is available at a cost of $34.99.

The Final Word:

Safety and Inspection Service ensures that a nation’s meat, poultry and egg supply is wholesome, safe and accurately labeled. They are trying to protect public health and prevent foodborne illness. Using this tool will prevent contamination of meat, poultry, and egg products during loading and unloading, transportation, and in-transit storage. 

C-TPAT: Because Quality Makes A Difference!!!

Even though the origins of C-TPAT date back to a decade or so, there still continues to be a lack of understanding regarding the concept of the tool and how it benefits and adds up to some organizational value.

Understanding the Tool:

“The U.S Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism initiative (C-TPAT) is a voluntary U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that has been designed to improve and uplift the border security while also accelerating the processing of import shipments. 

Prep4audit had designed a C-TPAT toolkit to help you improve your level of compliance with Customs and Border Protection. The toolkit includes a Compliance Assessment Worksheet (Excel) and Requirement Statements (Word). The toolkit is designed C-TPAT minimum security criteria are fundamentally designed to institute effective security practices designed to optimize supply chain performance to mitigate the risk of loss, theft, and contraband smuggling that could potentially introduce dangerous elements into the global supply chain.

Understanding what to do with it:

The audit suppliers for conformance to the C-TPAT requirements, as part of your preparation process to register in the program or general risk management. Many companies require their suppliers to comply even though they don’t officially register in the program since a C-TPAT audit will provide information that is useful in managing the security of your production, products and tooling at the supplier factory.

Top Benefits:

  

 The C-TPAT importers are 4 to 6 times less likely to incur a security of compliance examination. Partners in the program receive a fast lane access that save their time crossing the border.

• Involvement in the program reinforces an organization’s brand, mission and values. Marketability thus becomes an important benefit.   
• C-TPAT created this benefit “as a means to alleviate the additional cost of multiple container shipments being held for only one line item with storage costs collected on all containers.”

The C-TPAT toolkit is available at $29.99 per business unit for an unlimited use license. Not for resale by purchaser; which is a very small amount compared to the services that it provides.