Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC was recently recertified under the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program.
This program is a voluntary government-business initiative to build cooperative relationships that strengthen and improve international supply chain and US border security. The program was implemented by US Customs after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Businesses were asked by the US Customs Border Protection to ensure the integrity of security practices and communicate and verify security guidelines of their supply chain business partners.
Bendix initially was certified as a C-TPAT program participant in 2004. Since then, it has been recertified twice.
Requirements for C-TPAT include following procedures for ensuring container security, physical access control, personnel security, procedural security, information technology security, and security and threat awareness. As a partner, Bendix is required to conduct annual internal audits at its facilities to review adherence to minimum C-TPAT requirements.
In turn, suppliers, manufacturers, and vendors working with Bendix must have written documentation indicating whether they also are C-TPAT-certified. Those that are not certified must provide, among other requirements, written documentation proving they meet C-TPAT security criteria.