Last updated on May 29th, 2019

Back by popular demand, our next customs bond roundtable discussion is scheduled and will be live on June 6th!

This second event in our webinar series is designed to focus on the issues that matter most to you, our customers. Representatives from our Customs Bond Management Team will be your hosts, educators, troubleshooters and entertainers (well, maybe entertainer is a stretch!).

Mark Thursday, June 6th on your calendar, pick a comfortable seat and join us at 1PM CT for this exciting event!

In the past few years there have been 22 major shipboard fires on mega container vessels. Treacherous weather and other unplanned events also wreak havoc on shipments. Recently, one mega container vessel lost 517 containers. Another had 325 containers go overboard.

These unfortunate situations result in, potentially, millions in damage and months of lost productivity. Cargo owners and stakeholders are wondering what can be done to better protect their cargo and minimize supply chain disruptions.

Do you understand what to do when General Average occurs?

If you’re attending CONECT, the Coalition of New England Companies For Trade’s Annual Northeast Trade and Transportation Conference, then we have you covered. The 23rd annual conference is in Newport, RI, April 9-12, 2019.

Rick Bridges, Roanoke Trade’s Vice President, will be attending and sharing his insights and expertise on two panels at the 23rd annual CONECT conference.

Rick will be sharing his insights on Vessel Fires and Cargo Insurance in a discussion moderated by HC Starck’s Christa Hurley. Rick will also be sharing his expertise on basic supply chain risk management and cargo insurance, and he will discuss the intricacies of General Average.

Rick will be discussing the momentum that is currently building on safety management and how the industry can reduce the number of incidents. The big question is: will the industry be able to self-regulate before government intervention?

Joining Rick will be Captain Glenn Walker of Atlantic Marine. Glenn’s experience as both captain on container vessels and marine surveyor will give a unique perspective on how a vessel casualty unfolds along with the arduous task of salvaging cargo post-incident.

Rick is also participating on another panel focused on Import 101. The topics will cover the current state of importing into the US with discussion focused on the effects of the recent tariffs on several commodities. Rick will be speaking about how these tariffs are affecting an importer’s customs bond limits and what importers can expect in the bond underwriting process. Joining Rick will be attorney Paula Connolly and, from C.H. Robinson, Tara Iannelli and John Coogan.

Roanoke Trade is proud to participate in this important annual industry event. We hope to meet up with you there.

And be sure to sign up to KnowledgePort™, your destination for practical and relevant training courses to enhance the success of your business. These online courses are designed to enhance your knowledge about insurance, bonds, and ATA Carnets and are provided at no-cost to Roanoke clients.

Last updated on April 10th, 2019

Advancing Your Success in San Antonio | See You at the NCBFAA in April

More than 600 industry members will be convening in San Antonio from April 14-17, 2019 at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) Annual Conference. Will you be one of them?

Our theme for the conference this year is “Advancing Your Success.” The conference promises to be an amazing event full of learning, collaboration and the opportunity to build lasting connections in our industry.

Roanoke Trade will be playing an active role at the NCBFAA Annual Event. Monday will be a busy day as our own Karen Groff, President of Roanoke Insurance Group, presents the NCBFAA Scholarship Award during lunch, just after the keynote presentation.

The scholarship is available to high school seniors or undergraduates at an accredited college or university. This is the 26th year that the NCBFAA and Roanoke Trade have promoted this scholarship competition as a way to further education in the transportation and logistics industry.

Roanoke Trade is thrilled to announce that Ms. Irmak Sensoz is the proud recipient of a $5,000 scholarship for her essay titled “Impacts of the US-China Trade War.” Ms. Sensoz is the daughter of Gokskin Sensoz of NIT Logistics, Inc.

Colleen Clarke is also participating on a “Trade Wars & the Role of the Broker” panel. Considering the turmoil in today’s international trade landscape, this is sure to be a spirited discussion. Don’t miss it!

In addition, Roanoke Trade is hosting the Outdoor Hospitality Gatherings at the NCBFAA Annual Conference. Be sure to attend! Expect to have fun with old friends and new, and pick up a treat on us.

You have a range of times to choose from for the Outdoor Hospitality Gathering:

• • Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
  • Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

If you can’t make the gathering, you can find us in the exhibit hall at booths 22 & 23. Please stop by to say hello and spin the wheel for prizes that we’re giving away at the booth. You can also enter a drawing for a $100 gift card.

If you can’t make it to either the Outdoor Hospitality Gatherings or to our exhibit hall booths, we still want to see you – whether at the Annual Conference or online. We strive to provide resources, support and insights to our customers 24/7/365.

For example, if you miss the educational sessions at the NCBFAA, you can visit our Knowledgeport^TM online training course catalogue. Roanoke is committed to assist our clients in navigating the complexities of insurance and to produce and promote industry best practices, education, and Knowledgeport^TM is our web-based education platform dedicated to the needs of our clients.

We hope to see you soon, either online or in-person.

The highly competitive domestic 3PL marketplace offers opportunities for companies to set themselves apart not only through high service standards, but also by offering a portfolio of multimodal solutions.

However, knowing how to build intermodal expertise and who to partner with are complex hurdles along the path to success.

Fortunately, Roanoke’s David Pasco, VP of Sales, will be sharing his insights and expertise to help 3PLs at his presentation titled, “Building a Supply Chain Value Proposition” on Saturday, April 13.

The following topics will be covered.

1. How to provide value through risk assessment.
2. How to recognize the liability pitfalls assumed through contracts.
3. “Inspect it or don’t inspect it” setting KPIs for continued success.

David will delve into the topics of understanding how to build the internal expertise to offer intermodal, air or ocean solutions. He will work through a value proposition framework to help you chart the path to success. And, if partnering is a better option, you will get tips on how to find peers that are already active in those modes.

The opportunity is now. Every shipper has different service requirements, and 3PLs willing to invest in methods to help shippers manage their global supply chain will be in a strong competitive position and poised for growth.

Find Us in the Exhibit Hall

If you can’t make the talk, you can find us in the exhibit hall at booth # 111. Please stop by to say hello and also pick up some gifts that we’re giving away at the booth.

Also, we’d be happy to share key takeaways from David’s presentation. We hope to see you in Orlando.

Roanoke Trade, a division of Roanoke Insurance Group and part of Munich Re Specialty Group Ltd., operates as a specialty insurance broker focused on surety and insurance solutions for transportation intermediaries, 3PLs, customs brokers and companies with supply chains, and is a leading provider of customs bonds, marine cargo insurance and ATA Carnets for the industry.

In the dizzying heights above Bespin’s Cloud City, Lando Calrissian betrayed his old friend Han Solo in a deal with Darth Vader. This betrayal resulted in the framing of Han in carbonite for transport to Tatooine.

In the sunny climes of Orlando, Florida on March 25-27 at the ICPA conference, the Roanoke Trade team will be doing quite the opposite.

We’re capturing the fun by taking pictures with our friends and colleagues at booth #68. We’ll be mounting the photos in custom designed thematic frames for “Trade Wars, Compliance Strikes Back” so we can transport the great memories home for you.

The Roanoke team is thrilled to attend the ICPA conference as we frame the memories of our time together.

In addition to the cool photos, please come by the booth for a chance to win $100 — and to visit with our own ​Amanda Barlow​ and ​Patrice LaFayette​.

Amanda is our ATA Carnet expert and will be addressing anything and everything about ATA Carnets including the new ​KnowledgePort training module.

Patrice’s expertise is in customs bonds and will be ready to answer questions regarding current challenges for importers and customs brokers about bond sufficiency. She has a very handy one page guide of 5 steps to Bond Sufficiency in the Current “Trade War” Environment.

We’re looking forward to seeing old friends and making many new ones. Please be sure to find us in the Exhibit Hall or in the sessions. If you can’t make it, please CONTACT US to catch up.

5 Steps to Managing Continuous Import Bonds in Today’s Trade War Environment

Due to the dynamic trade environment, properly calculating the amount of a continuous import bond has never been more important. The higher tariffs have precipitated a spike in CBP-mandated increases to customs bond amounts.

Fortunately there are 5 steps to better manage Continuous Import Bonds in today’s trade war environment. If you’re interested in learning more, then please join us.

Roanoke Insurance Group is proud to partner with the Airforwarders Association (AfA) in delivery of a FREE AfA member webinar! The presentation is titled, Bond Sufficiency in the Current “Trade War” Environment. The presentation kicks off at 2:00 p.m. sharp on Thursday, March 14.

Representing Roanoke is Colleen Clarke, Vice President of Surety Trade Relations & Business Development as well as the President of the International Trade Surety Association.

If you can’t make the webinar but still want the information, please contact us learn more.

3 Risk Management Methods to Help You Avoid  E&O Claims | Free Webinar

Managing risk is just as important as managing the growth of your company. To learn more, join us Thursday, March 21 at 12pm CDT for a free webinar.

“How to Avoid E&O Claims Using 3 Risk Management Methods” features two leading experts in transportation liability insurance. Presenting the webinar will be Karen Rzeszutko, Vice President, Professional Liability with Roanoke Insurance Group, Inc. and Lenny Feldman, Operating Committee Member with Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg, PA.

Click HERE to register today.

If you’re a customs broker, property broker, domestic freight forwarder, international freight forwarder, or NVOCC then you’ll surely want to attend. Unfortunately you’re all aware of the substantial and costly legal claims that could result due to improper performance of your professional services.

Karen and Lenny will delve into actual claims scenarios to illustrate key risk management methods.

The webinar will kick off with a review of the most common E&O claims including:

• Negligent Selection of Carrier
• Improper Release of Goods
• Misdelivery of Cargo
• Misclassification of Goods

Next they will review specific risk management techniques to boost compliance and minimize financial impact. Anyone attending will learn:

• The proper use of TERMS & CONDITIONS
• How to maintain STAFF AWARENESS
• How to sufficiently VET CARRIERS

In addition to the key learnings, you will also earn NEI credits. This webinar has been approved for 1 CSS or CES/MES point.

We look forward to seeing you and your team on Thursday, March 21. Please contact us if you have any questions in advance of the webinar.

Last updated on March 14th, 2019

‘Step Toward Success’ with the Roanoke team in San Antonio for the 46th Annual NCBFAA Conference! This important, yearly conference brings together more than 600 of the international trade industry’s top representatives from around the United States. Roanoke is also hosting the NCBFAA Outdoor Hospitality Gathering. We hope you can join us!

Registration Information:

April 14, 2019through April 17, 2019 Grand Hyatt San Antonio San Antonio, TXUSA Earlybird Registration Deadline: March 8, 2019 Advance Registration Deadline: March 22, 2019

Last updated on March 14th, 2019

Join Roanoke at this years CONECT’s 23rd Annual Northeast Trade & Transportation Conference. CONECT is comprised of importers, exporters, customs brokers, freight forwarders, port authorities, NVOCCs, intermodal carriers, logistics providers, banks, law firms, cargo facilities, consultants and others active in international trade. We hope to see you there!