SARA LEE APPAREL EXECUTIVE STRESSES CARGO SECURITY

SARA LEE APPAREL EXECUTIVE STRESSES CARGO SECURITY    An apparel industry executive told trade executives and customs brokers that vigilance in cargo security is the only way to insure that it will be effective.
   Jerry Cook, vice president of Sara Lee Branded Apparel, said minor oversights by carriers and shippers could turn an ordinary cargo shipment into a vessel for danger.
   “A lot of people are willing to take your money. But are they willing to watch your cargo?” he asked.
   Cook noted that shippers should ask who has access to their cargo. Cargo that is stationary is most vulnerable to tampering or pilferage. Cook said that cargo containers can be opened for legitimate reasons at those times, but that is also the time when insertion or loss of product can occur.
   Cook, who spoke at the U.S. Customs Service Trade Symposium in Washington, said a partnership between shipper and carrier is necessary to ensure the cargo’s safety at all times, and security should be sealed when the cargo leaves the shippers’ sites. “It all begins at the point of origin.'
   Cook added that, the more prominent that automation becomes in the shipping industry, security will be more intact. Papers can get lost in the process of shipment, he said. Not only was a lot of paper wasteful, it also could leak information to the wrong people. “Paper is not a good friend of ours,” he said. And when it gets lost, “it tends to go to third parties.”
   Cook recommended that shippers and carriers spend more time in cooperation with U.S. Customs, which not only serves as a regulator and enforcer, but also has keen insight. “A lot of times they have trade intelligence that you and I never have,” he said.