Hosts: Renee Chiuchiarelli & Julie Parks

Welcome to Series 6 of Simply Trade Tips.

This series tackles a foundational — and often overlooked — issue in global trade:

Where does Customs actually sit inside your organization?

In this opening episode, Renee and Julie lay the groundwork by breaking down the three most common organizational structures and how each one impacts customs operations, compliance authority, budgeting, and risk management.

Because here’s the truth:

Customs rarely fails because people don’t care.

This episode sets the foundation for understanding how org structure dictates decision-making, funding, escalation paths, and ultimately — compliance outcomes.

Customs sits in the middle of everything:

Procurement

Finance

Logistics

Legal

Tax

Sales & contracts

Export operations

Yet it rarely “owns” all the decisions that affect it.

That misalignment can create compliance gaps, conflicting priorities, and operational tension between speed and governance.

Follow the money. Follow the reporting lines. That’s where risk lives.

Definition:

Where Customs Usually Sits:

Under Supply Chain

Under Legal

Occasionally under a dedicated Trade Compliance function

Clear ownership

Defined reporting line

Often its own budget (if structured well)

Under Supply Chain → can become overly execution-focused (velocity & cost driven)

Under Legal → can become overly compliance-focused and disconnected from operations

If no independent budget → strategy becomes fragmented

Key theme: Budget authority drives strategic control.

Definition:

Each division may manage its own customs activity.

Faster decision-making

Direct access to business leaders

Local agility

Inconsistent processes across divisions

Requires corporate oversight or council to maintain standards

Heavy reliance on influence rather than authority

This model works — but it requires strong coordination and governance discipline.

Definition:

This is where many global organizations land.

Multiple “bosses”

Consensus-driven decisions

Speed vs. compliance tension

Performance reviews may not align with dotted-line accountability

Success in a matrix requires:

Clear budget ownership

Clear escalation paths

Strong consensus-building skills

Mature leadership alignment

Without alignment, it becomes a tug-of-war between execution and governance.

A critical distinction discussed in this episode:

Entry filings

ACE submissions

Broker management

Day-to-day problem solving

Classification governance

Valuation methodology

Origin policy

Audit strategy

Risk tolerance

Julie and Renee strongly advocate for structural separation of these roles — even in small teams.

Why?

Operations finds errors.

When they don’t align, friction, inefficiency, and risk increase.

Renee and Julie call out four common structural warning signs:

Under logistics, contracts, or sales without escalation authority.

Brokers file entries — they do not own your risk.

A sponsor is not a cheerleader — it’s a leader who clears roadblocks and escalates risk appropriately.

If you don’t control funding, you don’t control strategy.

There is no “perfect” structure.

Centralized, decentralized, and matrix models can all work.

But maturity shows up in:

Clear decision rights

Budget authority

Executive sponsorship

Alignment between operations and compliance

Structure doesn’t eliminate risk.

Take a hard look at your organization:

Which structure are you operating in — centralized, decentralized, or matrix?

What’s working well?

Where are the structural gaps?

Who holds the budget and escalation authority?

Because you can’t fix what you haven’t identified.

Future episodes in this series will focus on how to modernize or optimize each model — whether through small tweaks or major reorgs.

Where does Customs sit in your organization?

And more importantly — is it positioned for influence or just paperwork?

Let us know inside the Trade Geeks Community or connect with us on LinkedIn.

Hosts:

Producer:

New Simply Trade Tips episodes every Tuesday.

Presented by Global Training Center — providing education, consulting, and compliance resources for trade professionals worldwide.

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