Words No ITAR Program Should Ever Hear
Here’s a scenario that happens more often than it should:
A customer needs ITAR-controlled parts. They use an instant quote tool. It matches them with a supplier based on price and capability. The quote is accepted, PO placed, committed delivery date confirmed.
Then the date comes. And goes.
Two weeks later, the customer finally gets a status update:
“Oh, it’s in Customs. We’ll have an update later today.”
Customs. For an ITAR-controlled part.
That single sentence means the part — or the technical data behind it — crossed a border it was never legally allowed to cross. That’s not a shipping delay. That’s an export control violation, and by the time you’re hearing about it from a support rep, it’s already happened. No walking it back.
ITAR isn’t a checkbox. It’s federal law, with real consequences — fines that can run into the millions, loss of export privileges, and in serious cases, criminal liability for the customer’s program, not just the supplier who got it wrong.
An algorithm matching on price and lead time has no idea what ITAR means. It just knows the supplier clicked “yes.”
Here’s what should happen instead, every time:
✓ ITAR registration and compliance confirmed before a supplier is ever introduced — not after
✓ Domestic-only sourcing verified for controlled programs, in writing, up front
✓ A real person accountable for knowing which programs require it — never guessing
✓ Zero tolerance: if a supplier can’t prove compliance, they don’t get the introduction
Speed is worthless if it comes with a compliance violation attached. Some mistakes don’t have a “we’ll fix it in the next release.”
Partnerships. Transparency. Consistency. That’s the H&A difference.
It’s Who You Know.
~ Lori