The Officer of the Future

By Janet Labuda

At the recent U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) west coast trade symposium a panel titled “Global Innovation” which included representatives from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Science and Technology, and CBP’s National Targeting Center discussed the innovations in software applications and use of data to enhance supply chain security.

One question raised by the panel was what would the future port look like? The question I raised, in return, was what will the future CBP officer look like? The question remained unanswered by the panel, but is one that needs to be considered seriously.

As CBP continues to seek and use innovative technological advances, it is the officer who needs to understand the use of such technology. This technology will be the officer’s partner in both the agency’s enforcement and facilitation missions. The officer will need to become a savvy analyst.

In addition, the operational personnel, i.e., Customs and Border Protection officers, import specialists, and trade analysts must be grounded in a solid understanding of the import and export dynamics of international trade. This includes production, sourcing, and logistics trends.

In order to be able to maximize the use of available technology, strategic and critical thinking skills must be in the officer’s tool box. Being able to identify, address and prioritize problems with a maximum impact will be essential. The days of continuing to focus on low-hanging fruit that fails to bring positive returns for both the agency and the trade community should be over.

The mere accessing of information and data is a waste of time if the ability to evaluate such information effectively does not exist. This is critical to enable supervisors and managers making decisions on the optimal deployment of limited resources.

In general, the officer must be flexible and nimble as global trade trends shift along with the potential risk. Continuing to hold onto historic trends and patterns will only cause the officer to be reactive instead of proactive as new challenges emerge. In addition, quick communication by analysts to officers in the port is vital. There is nothing worse than acting on inaccurate or old data. If your efforts do not produce results you must react swiftly to make necessary adjustments.

Corporate compliance officers need to have the same skills and approaches to be effective and provide a value added service across company operations.