Supply chain security in the United States

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Supply chain security in the United States

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Abstract

A global supply chain links the United States and the rest of the world. Across the time, the focus has been put on reducing the costs of transport, and therefore resulted in a decrease of the ship crew, customs duty and requirements. However, Sept 11 posed a clear threat on global exchange, and required some precaution to be taken in order to ensure safe trade. In this report, we identified two major concerns in global supply chain security: theft and terrorism. Theft has been a scourge in the industry for centuries. It seems that no matter how drastic the security measures are, theft will always happen. However, the latest developments of the RFID technology are giving serious hope to carriers to reduce this issue. Most of the latest measures taken to secure the supply chain were related to the terrorist threat. The United States government has been a leader in the implementation of such measures, followed by other countries. Different initiatives are described in this report, such as Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), Operation Safe Commerce (OSC), Container Security Initiative (CSI) the Maritime Transportation Security Act, the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (VACIS) and the Bioterrorism Act.

Executive summary.
Pain points in global supply chains.
1. The organization of a global supply chain.
2. The security risks in a global supply chain.
US government initiatives.
1. Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism - CT-PAT.
2. Operation Safe Commerce - OSC.
3. Free and Secure Trade Program - FAST.
4. The Container Security Initiative - CSI.
5. The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002.
6. Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System - VACIS.
7. The Bioterrorism Act.
8. Automated Manifest System - AMS.
9. Other technological initiatives.
10. Antitamper Seals.
11. Radio-Frequency Identification.
12. Radiation Pagers, Portal Sensors and Remote Monitoring.
Other government initiatives.
1. International Maritime Organization.
2. World Customs Organization - WCO.
3. Regional Initiatives.
Efficiency of the measures implemented.
Appendix.

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Extract

[...] The major driver in customs security initiatives has been the United States. Countries such as Spain, United Kingdom and Sweden to name a few have signed the CSI agreement. The same case has been present in other regions of the world such as Africa, Asia and Latin America. These countries have followed the US initiative and complying with CSI instead of creating their own programs. Efficiency of the measures implemented Some improvement in securing the global has obviously been done is the last 3 years, but this should not be confused with real capability[19]. [...]

[...] Technology must be applied to find out if a seal has been broken The identity of drivers to transfer containers between supply chain points isn't always verified. Again, technology will be applied to verify driver's identity throughout the supply chain. Free and Secure Trade Program (FAST)[11] The Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program is a joint Canada–United States initiative involving the Canada Border Services Agency and the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). FAST supports moving pre-approved eligible goods across the border quickly and verifying trade compliance away from the border. [...]

[...] Much of the initiatives in terms of security are aligned with those of the CBP. This includes the use of pre-arrival information and risk management procedures with the use of information technology and partnerships between customs and trade. These actions are covered by the Kyoto Convention that has been ratified by 40 countries. The WCO has also developed a Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade. The Framework builds upon the revised Kyoto Convention document and on post 9/11 trade security initiatives. [...]

[...] The last part of the Cargo and Supply Chain Security Trends 2005 reports the solutions implemented by players of the global supply chain to improve security. It came up that most of them are already working with physical security such as locks, secure gates, fences, but less than a third is using recent developed technologies such as smart containers, ray or non-intrusive detection or RFID. However, between 2004 and 2005, it seems that many respondents implemented security solutions since when asked which one they are considering in the future, the percentages have significantly decreased compared to the previous year. [...]

[...] Before September terrorist attacks in the United States, global supply chain concerns on security had only been limited to shrinkage of cargo by theft or misrouting[3]. Goods are moved globally through a variety of systems comprising sea vessels, airplanes, trains, trucks and physical infrastructures (example: oil pipelines). Terrorists may use any of these systems to attack global economy in an attempt to cause effects similar to those of 9/11. Willis and Ortiz explain three layers of the global supply chain: - The transaction layer connects participants to each other legally through contracts, informationally through product specifications, financially through transaction records, and physically through the actual product. [...]

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