Hosts:

Published: March 2026

In this episode of Simply Trade Tips, hosts Renee Chiuchiarelli and Julie Parks dive deeper into one of the most overlooked drivers of trade compliance success: organizational structure.

While many trade professionals focus on technical issues like classification, valuation, or origin rules, Renee and Julie explain that the real barrier to execution is often structural — specifically who owns the budget, who sponsors the program, and how decision-making authority is distributed across the organization.

They explore how trade leaders can navigate internal structures, align their messaging with different departments, and build the relationships necessary to secure funding and remove roadblocks.

Because in global trade, having the right expertise isn’t enough — you also need the right organizational support to make things happen.

• Why organizational structure can make or break a trade compliance program

When the trade team owns the budget, they can prioritize projects based on compliance risk and operational need.

But when another department controls the budget, trade leaders must frame requests in terms that matter to that function — whether that’s ROI, operational efficiency, or system modernization.

Different departments evaluate trade initiatives through their own lens:

• Finance: ROI, penalties avoided, dollars recovered

Understanding these priorities can dramatically improve the chances of getting initiatives funded.

An executive sponsor is not simply someone who encourages the program.

A real sponsor:

• Clears organizational roadblocks

The right sponsor can dramatically increase the effectiveness of a trade compliance program.

Trade rarely sits perfectly within one department. That means trade leaders often need multiple relationships across the organization to make initiatives successful.

For example:

• Trade under logistics may benefit from a legal sponsor

These partnerships create the influence needed to move compliance initiatives forward.

“A real sponsor isn’t a cheerleader — it’s someone who clears the roadblocks.”

Have you experienced organizational roadblocks in your trade program?

How is your compliance team structured — and does it help or hinder your work?

Share your thoughts with the Simply Trade community.

Hosts:

Julie Parks

Producer:

New Simply Trade Tips episodes every Tuesday.

Presented by:

Simply Trade Podcast on LinkedIn

Global Training Center on LinkedIn

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