As this is my first article for IBT, perhaps a little background is in order. I have spent my career on the security side of global trade. I began that career with the U.S. Customs Service, worked my way from catching shoplifters to the Director of Global Security at Target Corporation, and am now the co-founder of Trade Innovations, Inc. My partner Mike Laden and I were involved in the very initial conversations with Customs that resulted in the creation of the public-private partnership known as the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). Through those experiences, I have found a few issues that I am quite passionate about.

Over the next few months I will provide a little insight and raise a few questions about the opportunities that today’s global economy present. These issues include such varied ideas as the power of small companies to create unique advantages through global trade to the revolutionary way customs programs are being implemented on a global basis.

I will focus this first article, however, on an issue that has often been overlooked in the development of supply chain security programs like C-TPAT: the lack of information sharing between the trade and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appears to be focused on gathering an ever increasing amount of ‘raw data’ through programs like 10+2 and the new proposal for a Global Data Exchange (GDX), what the government really needs is the expertise that can only be found within the operators of international trade. They just don’t know they need it...yet.

Hundreds of thousands of dedicated professionals go to work each day with one goal in mind: to keep America and the capitalist system safe from harm. These professionals work in the alphabet soup of federal, state and local agencies that have the awesome responsibility of homeland security. They are well-trained, well-funded and on a historic mission. More importantly, they have been very successful to date. They are missing one key element, however. That element is the ‘power of the people.’

The federal government has convinced the average American that they have nothing to fear. We should all rest safely knowing that the guards are at the gate. We simply need to leave the details to the experts. In the days, weeks and months following September 11, the President asked all Americans to do our part in the effort against terrorism and…shop. Not exactly the classic call to action of previous generations. Perhaps we can do one better.

In his most recent book, The Edge of Disaster, Dr. Stephen Flynn provides the most compelling argument for the power of intelligence in the hands of the right people. Dr. Flynn points out the remarkably different reactions of the passengers on the flights that were used as weapons on that fateful day in 2001.

The airplanes that struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had passengers aboard who followed the rules. They understand that the typical hijacking resulted in a landing at an airport and ended after negotiations with the proper authorities. It appears they waited for someone else to act.

The passengers aboard Flight #93 had different intelligence. By the time this plane had been hijacked, the people on this flight knew what had happened to the World Trade Center. They had the information they needed to act. These heroes waited for no one and acted. They saved untold lives and possibly the U.S. Capitol from destruction in the process. The power of intelligence in the hands of the right people can save lives and potentially even our way of life.

The same concept has worked on a local level for many years. From competitor loss prevention teams who have collaborated to bring down shoplifting rings to supply chain security teams who have worked diligently to provide intelligence and trend analysis to cargo theft task forces, intelligence sharing works. The prisons of America are full of folks who have learned the power of intelligence in the hands of the right people.

What if this concept was adapted to the efforts surrounding global supply chain security? A few years ago I was part of a private meeting with a senior homeland security official. As we discussed the concept of shared intelligence, he responded by stating “you would be underwhelmed by what we know.” I took that as an opportunity to mention that he might be overwhelmed by what the private sector knows.

The shared intelligence concept has been used on a global level as part of the State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC). The evidence there is quite compelling.

In the late 1990’s when Indonesia was engulfed in economic turmoil and riots were becoming an increasingly popular form of dissent, the power of intelligence in the right hands was again evident. While the US government was able to provide high-level intelligence to vetted OSAC members in the region, those same OSAC members were able to provide ‘on the street’ intelligence to the State Department. The result was a comprehensive view of a rapidly evolving situation. Decisions could be made by the U.S. government and the private sector alike based upon nearly complete knowledge.

The formation of Information Sharing & Analysis Centers (ISACs) is another attempt to share intelligence for the good of the country. Today there are 11 critical infrastructure sectors covered by a respective ISAC. Some have been incredibly successful while some have been dismal failures.

The next best hope for the shared intelligence concept may well be the newly formed ISAC for the global supply chain. The formation of the SC-ISAC is an effort to collect, analyze and disseminate actionable intelligence between its members and the appropriate government agencies.

This has been tried before, and it has failed before. The time is right to try again. The concept is sound and there are a group of highly qualified professionals dedicated to making it work. The SC-ISAC simply needs vast amounts of your intelligence and expertise to drive its success.

Most of us can agree that shopping is good thing. The President’s strategy in that regard is right on track. A greater call to action might be to join the shared intelligence effort, however. Check out the SC-ISAC home page and consider taking a leading role in securing global trade. You just might also discover the impact good security strategy can have on your own supply chain in the process.