Powering Performance

Tom Swennes is a logistics and supply chain executive with over 28 years in finished automotive logistics. With a longstanding tie to AIAG, he has served as a volunteer since 2008. Swennes has been a leader in AIAG’s Visibility of Finished Vehicles Initiative (VOFV) — helping to develop event reporting standard across the finished vehicle supply chain — and is currently a member of AIAG’s Finished Vehicles Advisory Group. With both a systems and a sales background, as well as extensive operational experience at the OEM level, Swennes offers a unique perspective on the challenges facing automotive logistics professionals.

As the automotive trade compliance community dives into the second year of USMCA qualification and the corresponding supplier solicitation process, numerous challenges and new questions have arisen around what has changed, what best practices now exist, and what steps are required to qualify goods under USMCA.

As the automotive trade compliance community dives into the second year of USMCA qualification and the corresponding supplier solicitation process, numerous challenges exist as well as new questions around what has changed, including:

• What are the necessary steps to qualify goods under USMCA?
• Which best practices have been identified and what are the steps and processes involved?
• What is expected of us by our OEM or Tier I customers?

In response to requests from OEMs and their service providers, AIAG's Finished Vehicle Logistics Team is launching its new Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) workgroup this month!  

Offered by Wayne State University in cooperation with AIAG, this non-degree certificate program was designed to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of supply chain issues in the context of the global automotive industry.

If you haven’t checked out our Cyber Initiative page recently, now’s the time! From a two-part webinar on cyber risk and insurance, to links to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s cybersecurity eLearning and resource pages, we’ve compiled a number of free resources to help you bolster your cybersecurity efforts in 2021 and beyond.

Ready to kick off the new year with a training course, but not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered! Sessions are coming soon for both our USMCA Content Reporting and HTS Harmonized Tariff Schedule Overview courses – and best of all, a $100 discount is available when you take both within a month of each other! Simply reach out to our customer service team (1-877-275-2424) for more information and be sure to click the links below to learn more about these unique training opportunities.

New information on human trafficking from the U.S. Customs & Border Protection presented in a webinar last week is now available on the AIAG website. Moderated by Assistant Director Field Operations Tinesha Cherry, the webinar discusses how the transportation industry is uniquely positioned to help recognize and report human trafficking.

Join AIAG and our esteemed panelists for a FREE webinar on March 2, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. EST to discuss the automotive impacts of the USMCA Free Trade Agreement, which was implemented in July 2020. Since implementation, many questions have been answered, however, some still remain as the automotive manufacturing community gets fully up to speed on compliance protocols and industry best practices.  

Steve Britt, senior manager — customs at FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, leads customs and international trade functions with teams in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. He is responsible for all import and export operations and compliance activities as well as providing strategic direction for risk mitigation and duty optimization activities.