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 $100,000 Recovered on Imported Goods using Duty Drawback - One Manufacturer's Experience
By Beth Gitlin
Are you importing merchandise into the US that will possibly be exported out of the US at a later date? Have you ever imported a component or material into the US, used it in your manufactured product, and then exported that product to a foreign country? Did you know that in both of these situations, you can apply to US Customs for Duty Drawback - a refund of your duties paid on your imported materials?
Duty Drawback is an underutilized program sponsored by the CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) under the Tariff Act of 1930 in which a company can receive a refund of duties paid on any imported materials that are contained in the products that they are exporting.
Companies that take advantage of drawback are able to compete more effectively in foreign markets. Since drawback reduces the cost of imported materials, cash flow and profits improve substantially. Each year thousands of companies continue to overlook potential duty refunds while their counterparts recover millions of dollars.
Global Passages recovered $100,000 for a customer in duty drawback on pumps that were imported from China into their US manufacturing facility. These pumps were part of a total package that included an above ground swimming pool and additional component parts that were made in the USA. The whole swimming pool package was then exported to a customer in Canada. In this case, the manufacturer was able to apply for duty drawback on the pumps as they had entered the US from China, but were exported with the rest of the package to Canada. The drawback was applied after the import and export transactions had occurred. This form of drawback is possible provided that it is applied within 3 years of the initial transaction.
What can you do to determine if you may be eligible for duty drawback? Follow the 5 simple steps below and you will be on your way to increasing profits and cash flow while remaining competitive in the global marketplace:
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Determine the total amount of duty paid minus any fees. Work with your customs broker or accounting department.
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Calculate the percentage of your total annual sales derived from exports. The sales department should be able to help you with this.
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Determine what percentage of imported components are used in the exported goods. Research with your materials manager.
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The Potential Duty Drawback = (Annual Import Duties X Annual Sales Exported) X (Percentage of imported components used in exported goods.)
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If you find that your potential duty drawback is a worthwhile dollar figure, speak immediately to a duty drawback specialist to recover your amounts from the previous 3 years and to implement a duty drawback program going forward.
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| About the Author ... |
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 | Beth Gitlin is President of Global Passages LLC, an international trade consulting firm that provides hands-on outsourced executive management skills and training for manufacturers, importers and  exporters that need assistance with import/export program start-up and expansion. Global Passages Connects people and companies world-wide to Exchange goods, services and ideas in order to Discover new opportunities and common purposes in business.
Contact Beth via email: bgitlin@globalpassages.net
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100 New Projects & Sales Increase of 47%
By Darrin Dingman
Banyan recently worked with a customer to design and implement a 90 day sales blitz. The blitz generated over 100 new projects and increased sales by over 47%. How did we do it?
Many of the companies I work with and observe struggle to understand the growing number of new tools available both on and off-line and how to use them to sell and market their products to a new breed of customer. However, many times, its not new technology, but an old law of physics that companies must understand to increase sales and improve profitability: INERTIA.
Summarized, Newton's law of inertia states: "A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion". Anyone that has managed a sales force has seen this law in action.
My favorite "inertia breaker" is a targeted, customized, 30 to 90 day sales blitz. Below are the 3 simple rules I follow when designing and implementing a sales blitz for a client. Follow these rules, and you and your sales team are almost certain to generate lasting, revenue enhancing results:
1) Set the Goal: Schedule a kick-off meeting. Make sure you define the goal of the blitz and ensure you are well prepared and organized. Assuming sales are stagnating or declining, a well planned blitz should be positioned as a catalyst to re-focus the team on achieving the company's true sales potential; not a punishment.
2) Define the Target: By definition, a blitz is described as an "overwhelming all out attack". For your purposes, make sure you and your team define a specific product, service, or customer segment you want to attack, and focus the best selling resources in the company on this target for a 30-90 day period. What product or service does your company have that is unique? At what customer type does that product best fit in your marketplace? Don't ignore existing customers during this process. Sometimes the best opportunities are right under your nose.
3) Measure & Communicate Progress Frequently: There are several reasons to do this. For one, remember that sales people (good ones anyway) are competitive and like to know whether they are winning or losing. In addition, measuring and communicating frequently demonstrates that this initiative is important, and that leadership is watching. You might add a spif or other way to recognize significant contributions.
As Mr. Newton taught us, "An object will retain its state of motion, including stationary, unless acted on by an equal an opposite force." If you would like some assistance getting things moving, please contact us. We would love to help.
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| About the Author ... |
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 |  Darrin Dingman is President of Banyan Business Partners, a consulting firm providing outsourced executive management talent and hands-on consulting services to entrepreneurs, owners and C-level executives looking to add human talent to their organization without making long-term financial commitments.
Contact Darrin via email: darrin@banyanbiz.com
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