A short history of the Alliance

From a single 4·30 a.m. phone call in 2014 to a thousand-member trade association.

  1. 2014

    A frustrated phone call

    After a frustrating call with CBP about an entry summary correction, Vasiliki Peroulas convened a Saturday-morning meeting in a Northbrook diner with seven Chicago-area forwarders. They agreed to file as a non-profit trade association.

  2. 2015

    First annual conference

    Forty-three attendees met in a hotel ballroom in Rosemont, Illinois. The first conference covered ACE adoption, the new ISF-10+2 enforcement period and the realities of independent NVOCC operation.

  3. 2017

    The Resources Library opens

    The members-only document library launched with 84 templates. It now holds more than 600.

  4. 2019

    First federal comment letter

    The Alliance submitted its first formal comment in an FMC docket on demurrage and detention billing.

  5. 2021

    Regional chapters launch

    Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and the New York/New Jersey region became the first four chapters, each hosting quarterly in-person meetings.

  6. 2023

    The training program is accredited

    The Alliance's continuing-education program was recognised under the CBP Triennial CE requirement for Licensed Customs Brokers.

  7. 2025

    One thousand member firms

    Member-firm number 1,000 joined in March 2025. Today the Alliance represents more than 1,200 companies across 47 states.