Meet TRG National Sales Manager, Gregg Cummings

The International Compliance Professional's Association just sent out an email on our very on Gregg Cummings.

1. Tell us about yourself, your company, and what services you offer.

My name is Gregg Cummings and I am the National Sales Manager for TRG. TRG is an import services provider with offices in Barrington Illinois and Bozeman Montana specializing in 3 areas: US Customs Bonds, Marine Cargo Insurance and TRG Direct, a web based application which allows an importer to direct file their Customs entry and ISF.

TRG was founded in 1991 by John Michel and provides US Custom's surety bonds directly to importers. In addition to the cost savings of buying your bond direct, importers with bonds under $1MM can also take advantage of a 3 year pricing strategy to lock in their low price for an extended period of time.
TRG Marine provides Marine Cargo insurance and has established relationships with several insurance companies enabling us to offer competitive rates for this important coverage.

Perhaps the most publicity for TRG this year has been our Direct Filing application which includes an ISF module. ISF has been a real challenge for importers to implement in difficult economic times and resource constraints and we have offered a "zero start up fee ISF only" approach to help importers learn how they can meet their ISF obligation by filing it in house and experience how bringing some of these processes in house can lower costs (only $5 per ISF) and increase control and visibility into their supply chain.

2. How did you get started in the business?

I came to the import services arena after spending 20 years in Chicago in the Brokerage industry. I sold short term securities and structured bonds to corporations which worked out very well right up until the entire industry vaporized in 2007. At that time my family had a home in Montana that we loved and took that opportunity to move here full time. It was at that time I met John Michel who was increasing the exposure of TRG in Montana and I viewed the challenge of starting something new, growing a sales force and expanding a business was very appealing.

3. What's the best piece of advice you would give a person starting in the business?

As far as advice for anyone looking to get started in this business, I would suggest that you do join an organization like the ICPA to meet a network of professionals that can be resources for your questions and growth.

4. Do you have any hobbies or hidden talents?

I don't know about hidden talents but I am quite active. My family has four horses and we all ride quite frequently. I have also run triathlon's for 20 years and just signed up to run the LA Marathon this coming March. Living in Bozeman also allows for an active ski season since I am only 8 miles from our local ski resort.

5. What's your favorite thing about ICPA?

TRG has been very involved with ICPA for years. We attend all the conferences and have many important customers and relationships with ICPA professionals. The blog is a particularly good resource for discussion and education on issues affecting an individual's import practices and supply chain.

The Renewal of Your US Customs Bond

When the time comes for your Continuous Customs bond to renew, make sure to compare your current rates with TRG's rates. We have updated our online application and every importer should look into TRG and see how easy it is to apply for the same bond direct.

“Applying for a Customs bond is already a simple process when handled by a professional company, but we need to go beyond simple. This improved application streamlines the process for the importer as well as the process for our administrative staff,” stated John Michel, TRG President. “Changes we are making internally not only relieve any sense of burden the importer may have, it also minimizes our costs to allow TRG bond prices to remain extremely competitive. In fact, we have not increased pricing on the $50,000 Importer Bond even once in our entirety.”

What is My Customs Broker Charging me for?

Quotations for customs brokerage services are usually dependent on a number of factors including the complexity of the entry, your anticipated entry volume and sometimes your level of experience in the business. The base entry fee broker’s charge is usually between $75-$100. What many importers fail to recognize is that even if they are quoted a dollar amount entry fee, that might not be all that they are paying for. If the invoice from your broker contains multiple lines of charges then this is what is commonly referred to as the laundry list fee schedule. As you can see in the chart to the right the entry fee was quoted at only $45, but the accumulation of fees resulted in an actual entry fee of $142. Many of the line items on the bill were for “out-of-pocket” payments to other service providers such as carriers, local truckers, Customs or a terminal. The remaining items on the invoice are considered revenue items or a component of the broker’s income for handling this transaction.

The bottom line is that despite thinking your base entry fee is only $75; if your invoice contains any one of these charges; your entry rate is more than $75. We recommend that you carefully review your broker’s invoices to ensure that the fees charged are consistent with the fees quoted and that the fees charged are also warranted.To access the tool TRG has created to help you decipher your own broker’s bill click here.

Certificates of Participation in TRG Direct's ISF Vendor Compliance Program

TRG Direct has released the first batch of certificates of participation in their ISF Vendor Compliance Program.

• Participants have received educational training in
  Understanding the background and the data elements of ISF,
  Awareness of the severity of penalties associated with non-compliance,
  Best practices for communicating with US importers on timely ISF data delivery,
  Ensuring policies & procedures are in place for future relationships with new US importers.

Participation in this program in no way insures the vendor/supplier will be compliant in delivery of Importer Security Filing information to the U.S. importer. Participation does however, demonstrate the vendor’s/supplier’s willingness to be fully educated on ISF and engage in ISF compliant practices.

Marine Insurance is a Hard Keyword to Crack

TRG Marine offers Marine Insurance. We have offered annual policies since 1991, when John and Laura Michel began TRG. However, keyword optimization for this product is TAXING! There are synonyms up the ying yang for marine insurance, let's see: marine cargo insurance, freight insurance, shipping insurance, cargo insurance, the list goes on and on.

With all these keywords and ALL these marine insurance providers, how do we possibly compete in the search engines for these keywords. OK, pay per click, ugghh we can only pay so much for a lead. Of course we do this, so how do we compete organically? I'm still trying to figure this out. You'll see us rank for "Marine Cargo Insurance", YAY one out of many keywords. Google us and let us know what you find!