Companies strive to provide the perfect service for the delivery of manufactured goods, foodstuff, high value cargo, or raw materials and other sensitive products, within a secure environment.
The supply chain can however, be an unknown and dangerous journey fraught with many concerns. The gap between goods leaving the protected boundaries of the production facility, to their successful and uneventful delivery to the customer, can often prove to be a stressful period for those responsible for the management of security, supply chain and quality assurance.
The journey – and the anxiety – only end after long, tension-filled days hoping that everything goes well.
The question being asked is: “Can your organization continue living with this uncertainty? Would it not be better to be in full control of the situation and identify any problems as soon they arise?”
For a better understanding of the significance of international shipping, here are some key facts:
· ITC (International Chamber of Shipping) states: “About 90% of world trade is carried by the international shipping industry. Without shipping, the import/export of affordable food and goods would not be possible – half the world would starve and the other half would freeze!”
· IMO (International Maritime Organization) – “Shipping is an essential component of any program for future sustainable economic growth…”
Security Concerns
Above all, there is the constant security threat to sea, land and air traffic, mainly for high value goods.
Primarily, there is a very strong connection between financial trends and crime. A difficult economic situation has a direct and immediate effect on the level and the magnitude of crimes (and the first to feels it is the owners of the precious goods). Secondly, today’s criminals, demonstrate impressive operational methods which would not shame any elite unit. They work along the following lines:
- Selecting/choosing a target – must be highly profitable and easy to dispose of.
- Pre-operating intelligence gathering – learning the routine and identifying weak spots
- Choosing the MO (Modus Operandi) – defining the attack plan, place, time, etc.
- Execution
- Distribution of the stolen goods
Back to the uncertainty: many organizations live with this reality until an incident happens and then complete chaos reigns. For some organizations, such an event can undermine organizational stability, causing huge financial damage through non-compliance with agreements and commitments, and ending with an activation of Business Continuity Plans.
In today’s technological world, there are many different solutions, but only very few unique approaches can provide a complete service that includes:
- Operational elements (highly reliable real-time monitoring);
- Supply chain (management, higher efficiency and cost reduction);
- Quality assurance (such as temperature and humidity) and
- Business Intelligence analysis (decision making platform).
