FP7-project SAFEPOST (2012-2016)

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fp7_safepost“Reuse and Development of Security Knowledge Assets for International Postal Supply Chains”.

Grant agreement no: 285104. Date: 1.4.2012-31.3.2016
SAFEPOST URL: http://www.safepostproject.eu/

Summary:

SAFEPOST is a four year Integration project addressing the FP7-SEC-2011.2.4- 1 International Postal Supply Chains.

SAFEPOST will provide a highly innovative solution for postal security to:

•     assist stakeholders involved in postal services to achieve enhanced security without cost penalties

•     facilitate the sustainable development of increasing level of postal security across Europe

After making an inventory of security gaps starting from the perspective of the partner postal operations, the project will develop generic postal security models which will be integrated into a Postal Security Target Operating Model. This will enable postal operators, customs and other relevant actors to understand how to securely exchange information related not only to security but also to the optimisation of postal flows.

To support the implementation of the Postal Security Target Operating Model, a Postal Security Platform will be developed which will  provide a ‘Common Postal Security Space’ with a view to create in the future a European/World Postal Security standard information sharing system.

 

Publications and presentations:

Forthcoming:

FP7-project CASSANDRA (2011-2014)

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fp7_cassandra“Common assessment and analysis of risk in global supply chains “.

Grant agreement no: 261795. Date: 1.6.2011-31.5.2014
CASSANDRA URL: http://www.cassandra-project.eu/

Summary:

The CASSANDRA project aims to make container security more efficient and effective. The project addresses the visibility needs of both business and government in the international flow of containerised cargo by developing a data sharing concept that allows an extended assessment of risks by both business and government. The CASSANDRA concept will improve supply chain visibility, efficiency of trade compliance and effectiveness of border control and supervision by combining E-Freight and E-Customs. CASSANDRA builds on previous EC FP7 projects INTEGRITY, SMART-CM and ITAIDE.

With increasing flows of containerised traffic and growing emphasis on (national) security, businesses and government are struggling to find efficient and effective means to ensure full supply chain control and security. A large number of research studies have been conducted to investigate supply chain dependencies, vulnerabilities and resilience. Supply chain security frameworks have been developed to support businesses in improving resilience and security. Governments are launching security programmes to involve in development of security standards and procedures.

Publications and presentations:

Hintsa, J. and Mohanty, S. (2014), “A literature-based qualitative framework for assessment of socio-economic negative impacts of common illicit cross-border freight logistics flows”, Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics, September 18-19, 2014, Hamburg.

Urciuoli L., Hintsa, J., Ahokas, J., 2013. Drivers and barriers affecting usage of e-Customs — A global survey with customs administrations using multivariate analysis techniques. Government Information Quarterly, Volume 30, Issue 4, October 2013, Pages 473–485. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740624X13000658

Hintsa, J., Männistö, T., Urciuoli, L., Granqvist, M., 2013. Future development of e-Customs: a survey study with Swiss companies. International Journal of Electronic Government Research, Vol.8, No. 4, pp. 1-13.

Heikkurinen M., Appleton O., Urciuoli L., Hintsa J. 2013. Federated ICT for Global Supply Chains – IT Service Management in Cross-Border Trade. The 8th IFIP/IEEE International Workshop on Business-driven IT Management, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, May 27th 2013.
Abstract available at:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6573176&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fiel7%2F6560458%2F6572961%2F06573176  [Accessed 6 September 2014]

Hintsa, J., Männistö T., Urciuoli, L., Ahokas, J., 2012. Does better visibility help mitigate security risks in cross-border supply chains? – Case FP7-CASSANDRA. In: e-Freight Conference 2012, Delft, the Netherlands, May, 2012.
http://www.efreightconference.com/uploadfiles/papers/efreight2012_submission_32.pdf [Accessed 6 September 2014]

Urciuoli L. 2012, Adoption of QRA and RBD techniques for estimation of investments in transport security, Proceedings of Production and Operation Management Society, Chicago (US, Illinois), April, 2012.

CASSANDRA Compendium:
http://www.cassandra-project.eu/userdata/file/Public%20deliverables/Cassandra%20D1.1%20-%20FINAL%20-%20Compendium-public_update%20July%202012.pdf

FP7-project FOCUS (2011-2013)

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fp7_focus“Foresight Security Scenarios: Mapping Research to a Comprehensive Approach to Exogenous EU Roles”.

Grant agreement no: 261633. Date: 1.4.2011-31.3.2013
FOCUS URL: http://www.focusproject.eu/

Summary:

FOCUS (“Foresight Security Scenarios – Mapping Research to a Comprehensive Approach to Exogenous EU Roles”) helped shape European security research to enable the EU to effectively respond to tomorrow’s challenges stemming from the globalisation of risks, threats, and vulnerabilities. FOCUS concentrated on alternative future EU roles to prevent or respond to incidents situated on the “borderline” between the internal and external dimensions of the security affecting the Union and its citizens. It did so by elaborating multiple scenarios, based on IT-supported foresight, in the form of alternative futures. These were rooted in threat integration and a comprehensive approach to future missions to provide security to the Union and its citizens.

FOCUS identified and assessed alternative sets of future tracks for security research in FP7 and subsequent programmes that will support the EU to adopt new roles in dealing with external threats, risks, and vulnerabilities. The main contribution of the FOCUS project was the development of an effective long-term prediction and assessment tool at EU level, populated with analyses done in the project. The time frame of scenario foresight in the FOCUS project was 2035.

FOCUS provided studies, security scenarios, roadmaps, and an IT-based Knowledge Platform for scenario foresight, with the latter offering a large number of practical tools such as scenario wikis, reference wikis, and a curriculum matrix for educating future security researchers.

New stakeholders of security research will comprise security forces other than military, for example public entities such as national and possible emerging EU customs and border protection, other national and international security agencies, as well as private entities. Stakeholders will moreover come from the banking, finance, economic, and health sectors. Other international organisations and NGOs will be stakeholders in European cross-disciplinary security research. With the concept of societal security increasing in importance, national and international non-profit civilian organisations will develop increasing stakes in security research.

Security research will contribute to improving an EU-specific legal compliance framework to collectively support and protect the security and safety of EU citizens against external impacts. Progressive standards and codes of conduct will be critical for enabling the EU to implement responsible technology governance. At the same time, multidisciplinary mapping of fundamental rights enforcement and the acceptability of security technologies and interventions will become paramount across the EU Member States.

Becoming both a more policy-informing and societally embedded enterprise, future security research will always face the problem of having to meet larger expectations with fewer resources. Discussions of effects-based approaches to comprehensive security, as applied to home affairs, will result in a more politically than strategically defined level of ambition on the side of the EU and its Member States, with capabilities developed that sometimes have limited effects on the real security challenges at hand.

Investments in the field of big data information management and information integration will be needed to ensure sustainable cooperation between all actors involved. Moreover, additional investments in interoperability and coordination related to information and communication technology, – between and within international organisations – will be required. Investments will also be required in the sector of non-military instruments for EU power projection, such as financial instruments, as well as on industrial strategies and identification of vulnerabilities and gaps of resilience.

 

Publications and presentations:

Männistö T.,  Hintsa J., and Urciuoli L. (2014) Supply Chain Crime – Taxonomy Development and Empirical Validation. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 238 – 255.
Abstract available at: http://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=60784  [Accessed 6 September 2014]

Urciuoli L., Mohanty S., Hintsa J., Boekesteijn E., 2014. The resilience of energy supply chains: a multiple case study approach on oil and gas supply chains to Europe. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 19 Issue: 1, pp. 46 – 63
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=17103426

Urciuoli, L., Männistö, T., Hintsa, J., Khan, T., 2013. Supply chain cyber security – potential future threats. Information & Security:
An International Journal. Vol.29. http://dx.doi.org/10.11610/isij.2904

Tagarev T., Georgiev V., and Ahokas J. 2013. Evaluating the Cross-impact of EU Functions as a Global Actor and Protector of Critical Infrastructures and Supply Chains. Information & Security:
An International Journal. Vol.29.  http://dx.doi.org/10.11610/isij.2903

ADD Presentations:
http://www.risk.boku.ac.at/WP/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/FOCUS_Winter_school.pdf

FP7-project LOGSEC (2010-2011)

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fp7_logsec“Development of a strategic roadmap towards a large scale demonstration project in European logistics and supply chain security”.

Grant agreement no: 241676. Date: 1.4.2010-31.3.2011
LOGSEC URL: http://www.logsec.org/

Summary:

Global supply chains and logistics systems are threatened. Theft, trade and customs law violations, counterfeit products, organized immigration crime, sabotage, cyber-crime, sea piracy, terrorism and other illicit acts generate direct losses, logistics delays, damage to reputation, and other costs for the private sector, particularly for cargo owners and logistics companies. The 2001 terrorist attacks in the USA (“9/11”) triggered an avalanche of governmental programs and regulations to mitigate the risks from terrorism such as those from large scale destruction in the supply chain system itself and/or upon specific targets and locations. Consequently the cost of preventative security for the private sector has increased.

LOGSEC, the 12-month EU FP7 Roadmap project for Supply chain security (SCS), formulated the following main research questions: “What should be done in the future to enhance SCS in a cost efficient manner, in the European context?”, and furthermore, ”Why and how should these enhancements be carried out, while avoiding unnecessarily high investments and operational expenses?”. LOGSEC began by taking a broad view on the various crime types and terrorism (defined commonly as “man-made illicit acts”) taking place in supply chains, while appreciating the fact that Supply Chain Security (SCS) is highly context dependent (manufacturing sectors, transport modes, geographies etc.).

The LOGSEC overall approach and methodology consisted of the following four main stages:

•    Setting up the LOGSEC approach, with the overall framework, detailed scope and study objectives;

•    Identifying and prioritizing issues, weaknesses and gaps in Supply chain security today;

•    Developing and assessing relevant Clusters for the LOGSEC Roadmap, addressing the gaps; and

•    Converting the SCS Clusters into tangible recommendations, suitable for future Demonstration(s).

The primary outcome of the project was a set of recommendations to enhance supply chain security. These were encapsulated within three Clusters of individual project areas.

Cluster A comprised sub-project areas relating to security awareness and risk management, increasing knowledge of crime trends, awareness of security measures, SCS compliance management and the economics of SCS, building a culture and approach that more proactively and successfully responds to security risks and threats.

Cluster B focuses on areas relating to the authentication and certification of people, companies, documents and data in the supply chain. With improved assurances that the people and information in the supply chain are trustworthy, deception may be filtered out, uncovered and fraudsters deterred.

Cluster C centres around sub-project areas aimed at protecting cargo, vehicles and drivers during transportation, logistics handovers as well as during breaks / stops / parking: in essence, it is a cluster of sub-projects focused on the physical transportation security and on cargo monitoring.

Each cluster therefore comprises a number of tangible sub-project areas. Each could be undertaken as an area for demonstration projects in their own right, however the LOGSEC team believe that in total they would address all the issues and gaps in logistics and supply chain security which the project uncovered.

The LOGSEC project also sought to ensure the overall importance and relevance of the Roadmap to current security issues, programmes, initiatives and regulation was maintained; the project included multiple assessment steps, concluding that:

•    The study population represented the interests of actors throughout supply chain communities, including manufacturing, logistics and retail;

•    From security management and crime prevention theories and other perspectives, the Roadmap covers the key security management layers, as well as tackling the relevant crime types;

•    From the perspective of EU ‘administrations’, the Roadmap supported improved compliance with regulatory programmes, and complements much of current EU research and other initiatives in the area of guidelines and standardization;

Finally, the Yemen bomb plot in October 2010 showed that the SCS arena is an ever changing, dynamic scenario: our responses must be sufficiently adaptable to respond to the new paradigms.

The LOGSEC project results and conclusions present a Roadmap which provides options to tailor future research and demonstrations to address the key issues and gaps in SCS which are present today and predicted for tomorrow.

 

Publications and presentations:

LOGSEC Roadmap (2011) at: http://www.logsec.org/images/upload/file/docs_logsec-roadmap-finalpublic.pdf  [Accessed 25 November 2012]
Kaikkonen, E. and Hintsa, J., 2011. LOGSEC develops strategic ‘Roadmap’ to fill gaps in supply chain security, Vigilant, TAPA EMEA, [online]. Available at: http://tapaemea.com/download/newsletter/TAPA_EMEA_Vigilant_April_2011.pdf [Accessed 15 December 2011].

Hintsa, J., Hameri, A.-P., Tsikolenko, V., Männistö, T. and Schaller, K., 2010. Crime and Security in Postal Supply Chains. In: EPFL, Trends and innovation for the postal markets conference. Lausanne, Switzerland, 13 September 2010.

Hintsa, J., Hameri, A.-P., Männistö, T., Lazarescu, M., Ahokas, J. and Holmström, J., 2010. Conceptual model for measuring benefits of security in global supply chains. In: Proceedings in CD-ROM, the 3rd International Conference on Transportation and Logistics (T-LOG). Fukuoka City, Japan, 6-8 September 2010.

Hintsa, J., Ahokas, J., Zaghbour, K., Männistö, T., Hameri and A.-P., Holmström, J., 2010. Conceptual model for assessing cost of security in global supply chains. In: EurOMA 2010 Proceedings, 17th International Annual EurOMA Conference. Porto, Portugal, 6-9 June 2010, Porto, Portugal: Catholic University of Portugal, European Operations Management Association.

Ahokas, J., Laiho, A., Hintsa, J., Männistö, T. and Holmström, J., 2010. A conceptual model for crime prevention in Supply Chain management. In: EurOMA 2010 Proceedings, 17th International Annual EurOMA Conference. Porto, Portugal, 6-9 June 2010, Porto, Portugal: Catholic University of Portugal, European Operations Management Association.

e-Customs study in Switzerland (2010-2011)

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e_customs_study_in_switzerland(2010-2011)

Summary:

Switzerland is a landlocked country surrounded by several EU member states. Customs regulations and cross-border formalities create administrative, logistical, non-compliance and possible other costs for Swiss enterprises when trading with companies located in EU member states and other regions of the world. This study explores the current state of play regarding cross-border trade and logistics operations in Switzerland, aiming to identify opportunities to reduce costs and to improve efficiencies in cross-border supply chains, covering procedures, tools and costs associated with import, export and transit procedures. The study was carried out by the Cross-border Research Association (CBRA), based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The study mandate was provided by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The study lasted from May to November 2010. In total 70 companies participated in the study, either through written replies and/or verbal interviews.

The report presents the following conclusions and recommendations: Interactive and user friendly e-Customs services which facilitate the preparation, filing, tracking and storage of customs declarations, amongst other functions, can help to reduce costs and improve efficiencies in cross-border supply chains. Design and implementation of e-Customs services need to be driven by tangible benefits for the private sector, including facilitating export procedures, improving flexibility when working with customs, reducing the need to re-enter any customs data during the declaration processes, and enabling a seamless flow of data between the parties involved. The actual private sector needs vary a lot depending on the size and sector of the business in question – for example, driving down the cost of compliance appears to be a particularly important goal for the micro enterprises (10 or less employees). Other aspects on improving customs administration service levels towards the private sector include: early briefings of upcoming changes in customs procedures and data requirements, possibilities to operate outside the traditional customs opening hours, the option to have dedicated key account managers and to receive training delivered by customs experts to the private sector. The role of e-Customs regarding such ´private sector wishes´ needs to be explored further.

At the same time, e-Customs should not be perceived as a silver bullet, as there are many policy-related, legislative, operational and technical issues and hurdles to overcome before relevant objectives can be achieved. Focused e-Customs service-prototyping exercises, as well as global e-Customs benchmarking initiatives, are recommended as important next step activities in Switzerland. The development process should be done in a highly collaborative and transparent manner with all relevant governmental and private sector parties involved. One should ensure the availability of adequate financial and human expert resources without taking out resources from the current developments. The outcomes should be fully voluntary for any Switzerland-based private sector actor to use (or not to use). And finally, any aspects supporting further cross-border trade and logistics harmonization, integration and automation between Switzerland and the EU should be taken into serious consideration.

 

Publications and presentations:

Granqvist M., and Hintsa J. 2011. e-Customs study – Private sector views on potential benefits of further electronic customs developments in Switzerland, SECO Magazine, February 2011. Paper is available at: http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-769/paper8.pdf [Accessed 2 April 2012]

Granqvist M., Hintsa J., Lazarescu M., and Tsikolenko V., 2010. e-Customs study – Private sector views on potential benefits of further electronic customs developments in Switzerland. Study for State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Lausanne, Switzerland on 6 December 2010. Available at SECO web-site: http://www.news.admin.ch/NSBSubscriber/message/attachments/21450.pdf [Accessed 2 April 2012]

Customs risk management study with WCO (2009-2011)

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wco(2009-2011)

Summary:

High volumes of trade, complicated structures of global supply chains, advances in criminal activities, and fear of terrorism, amongst other factors and trends, set challenges for Customs administrations worldwide, while aiming for high compliance rates and high degree of trade facilitation in their respective territories. One commonly quoted approach to assist Customs to achieve their objectives is the exploitation of Customs risk management (CRiM) – however, very limited research exists today explaining how CRiM is really being organized and put into practice at Customs administrations around the globe today. The goal of this study is to help to fill the gap in CRiM research, by proving a pragmatic framework for CRiM analysis and improvement purposes.

In particular, the study aims to answer the following three research questions, derived by the Cross-border Research Association study team:

•    What are the essential components and what is the state-of-play like regarding CRiM today, on global scale?

•    Which aspects of CRiM differentiate administrations located in high GDP per capita versus low GDP per capita regions / countries?

•    What can be done and how to improve CRiM on both strategic and operational levels, at various WCO member administrations?

The total of 24 out of the 36 invited WCO member administrations replied to the study questionnaire in due time, enabling the research team to provide solid answers to these three research questions. Based on the study findings, following two conclusions are drawn:

•    CRiM as a management system should consist of a balanced combination of policies and strategies; processes and procedures; human resources; tools and techniques; and data and intelligence. All the 24 administrations in the survey had at least some of these elements understood and implemented. But, no administration appears to have CRiM as a masterpiece of their management systems, neither on strategic nor on operational level.

•    Customs operating in less developed economies perceive the benefit potential as lower and obstacles as higher than their counterparts in the wealthier nations. Limited efforts to manage human resources, and lack of CRiM tools and data feeding into CRiM processes are key examples where the administrations in poorer countries are falling behind today.

Finally, twelve tangible recommendations on how to move towards next levels of maturity in CRiM are made, to be considered by Directors Generals, Heads of Risk Management and other Customs Management Team members, at all WCO member administrations worldwide.

 

Publications and presentations:

Hintsa, J., Männistö, T., Hameri A.P., Thibedeau C., Sahlstedt, J., Tsikolenko, V., Finger M. and Granqvist M., 2011. Customs risk management (CRiM): A Survey of 24 WCO Member Administrations. Study for World Customs Organization (WCO). Lausanne, Switzerland on 28 February 2011. Available at WCO web-site: http://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/enforcement-and-compliance/activities-and-programmes/ep_customs_intelligence.aspx [Accessed 3 December 2012]

Hintsa, J., Männistö, T., Hameri, A.-P., Finger, M., Thibedeau, C., Sahlsted, J. and Tsikolenko, V., 2010. Customs risk management (CRiM): a survey with 24 customs administrations. In: Proceedings in CD-ROM, the 3rd International Conference on Transportation and Logistics (T-LOG). Fukuoka City, Japan, 6-8 September 2010.

Supply chain security standardization in Europe – case CEN (2008-2012)

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cen(2008-2012)

Summary:

One of the CBRA CEN-project reports presents the outcomes of a feasibility study on supply chain operator needs for a possible European standard in supply chain security (SCS). The study was commissioned by the European Committee for Standardization, CEN, and funded by European Commission Directorate-General Energy and Transport, DG TREN. The study was carried out by four researchers at a Lausanne, Switzerland, based research institute, Cross-border Research Association, CBRA.

The study process consisted of the following steps:

•    Literature review, where a large number of relevant publications were covered;

•    Expert interviews, with 21 experts in supply chain, security and/or standardization;

•    In-depth analysis of standards, covering four existing SCS standards and one regulation; and

•    Operator survey, where 86 European supply chain operators shared their views on various SCS aspects, including the feasibility of a set of standard ideas, derived from the expert interviews.

SCS is often considered to be a combination of crime prevention, security engineering, risk management, and operations management disciplines, i.e. part of social and engineering sciences. However, this study explores SCS in a broader context, covering some political and emotional factors, hypes and myths, some misconceptions and unrealistic expectations, and the interpretation of different schools of thought concerning priorities and most cost efficient ways to combat crime in supply chains. This study reveals relevant knowns and some unknowns about designing and implementing security in supply chains, including several concerns and complexities related to the development of SCS standards in Europe (and internationally). Aspects of anti-terrorism measures are considered and integrated into this study. Based on the outcome of the expert interviews, the research in particular focused on exploring the impact of crime (and terrorism) on European supply chains, and whether one or more new standards could help to mitigate such risks in a cost efficient manner.

In line with the mandate given, this study makes the following three main recommendations regarding the future of SCS standardization in Europe:

1. Develop a CEN standard for crime incident reporting in Europe. This standard can be exploited to harmonize the interaction between business and relevant authorities throughout Europe, in particular for reporting of crime incidents; and to streamline and speed up the process of collecting and sharing data on crime incidents, for the benefit of both supply chain operators and authorities.

2. Develop a good practice guidebook on SCS, sharing experiences between supply chain operators as to which security measures work (in which contexts), about the costs and benefits, and other relevant parameters, to be exploited in SCS design, implementation, monitoring and training.

3. Carry out a set of detailed cost benefit case studies. These focus on a holistic SCS label, targeted primarily for European small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the logistics sector, especially for companies which are not eligible for customs SCS programs (like EU AEO). Based on the outcomes of 20-30 case studies, this additional study suggests the final decision as to whether a SCS label type of standard will or will not work.

Finally, the study presents a holistic SCS framework to be exploited in any future SCS standardization projects. This is concluded with an emerging theory of ”Value Chain Security” (VCS) which takes into consideration several broader and deeper aspects of real crime prevention and security management: the proposed CEN standard for crime incident reporting provides the first tangible building block towards the future VCS management – as part of the continuous fight against the ”dark side of supply chains”.

 

Publications and presentations:

CEN/TR 16412:2012 – Supply chain security (SCS). Good practice guide for small and medium sized operators. CBRA team played a lead role in production of this Technical report. Available e.g. at: http://shop.bsigroup.com/en/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030258778

FprEN 16352 . 2012. – Logistics. Specifications for reporting crime incidents. CBRA team played a supporting role in production of this Euronorm.

Hintsa, J., 2010. Framework for Development of Supply Chain Security Standards. Journal of Transportation Security, 3(2), pp. 105-125.

Hintsa, J., Ahokas, J., Männistö, T. and Sahlstedt, J., 2010. CEN Supply Chain Security (SCS) Feasibility study. CEN/TC 379 Supply Chain Security, Final report, 15 January 2010. Available at United Nations (UNECE) website: http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/events/docs/inlandsecurity_forum11_relatingmaterial_01e.pdf

FP7-project INTEGRITY (2008-2011)

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fp7_integrity“Intermodal Global door-to-door container supply chain visibility”.

Grant agreement no: 218588. Date: 1.6.2008-30.10.2011
INTEGRITY URL: http://www.integrity-supplychain.eu/

Summary:

FP7-INTEGRITY was a research and development project to improve the visibility, reliability, and security of international intermodal door-to-door supply chains. The project was co-funded by the European Commission in its 7th Framework Programme and coordinated by the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL), Bremen/Bremerhaven, Germany.

During the project’s demonstration phase, SICIS – the Shared Intermodal Container Information System developed within the project – successfully achieved the goal to track more than 5,000 containers on their way from China to Europe. This tremendous success reflects the marvelous cooperation within the INTEGRITY Consortium, consisting of logistics providers, cargo owners, terminal operators, Customs authorities, software developers, and academic partners. No other research project has handled such a large number of containers, underlining the potential of this innovative system.

The aim of SICIS was to improve the visibility, reliability, and security of international intermodal door-to-door supply chains.  This was achieved by collecting all relevant information from several sources such as the factory or consolidation centre where the container is stuffed, the operating systems of participating container terminals, tracking the vessel by its AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponder, and, as an option, CSDs (Container Security Devices) attached to the container. SICIS consolidated this information and granted access for relevant stakeholders based on a sophisticated system of access rights and under strict control of the owner of the respective trade lane.

Robin Smith, representative of UK-based logistics provider BAP Logistics, a partner in the project, underlines that SICIS is a unique tool for the pro-active monitoring of container supply chains and for the first time allows a complete overview of a container’s transport.

The best level of monitoring is reached if the containers are equipped with CSDs, which acquire the container’s position using GPS and transmit this information to SICIS via cellphone radio. In addition, the CSDs detect the container’s security status and raise an alarm if a container is opened without permission.

During the SICIS demonstration, CSDs from the China-based supplier CIMC have been used. The sea-leg of the voyage was covered by tracking the position of the vessel using information from its AIS transponder, which was read by satellite-based or terrestrial receivers. As a consequence, the container’s position was known at any time during its voyage with an accuracy of a few meters. It is not expected that all containers worldwide will be equipped with CSDs in the near future, so SICIS did not completely rely on their use. Even without a CSD, the information from the other data sources is sufficient to considerably improve the supply chain transparency.

SICIS not only improved the logistics processes but also achieves a win-win situation both for industry and Customs authorities. The latter require reliable information about the containers’ contents in order to perform risk assessment in the best possible way. Very often, Customs receive ‘agent to agent’ transactions only. These contain no information about the buyer or seller, which is insufficient to allow them to perform detailed risk assessments. SICIS provided the opportunity to access consignor and consignee data, which is considerably more reliable.

The successful completion of the SICIS demonstration phase clearly proved these benefits both for the logistics world and authorities in real life situations.

 

Publications and presentations:

Hintsa, J., Männistö, T., Urciuoli, L., and Ahokas, J., 2011. Customs Perspectives on Detection of Deliberate Regulatory Violations in Global Supply Chains – the Role of Information and Data in Risk Identification. OSCE-UNECE Round Table/UNECE Inland Transport Security Forum in Vienna, Austria on 12 – 13 December 2011.  http://www.osce.org/eea/99852?download=true [Accessed 17 April 2013]

Zuidwijk, R., van Oosterhout, M., Urciuoli, L., Hintsa, J. and Veenstra, A., 2011. Adoption and effects Extended SICIS, INTEGRITY – intermodal Global door-to-door container supply chain visibility. In: HICL 2011 Proceedings, Hamburg International Conference of Logistics. Hamburg, Germany, 8-9 September 2011, Erich Schmidt Verlag GmbH & co.

 

World Bank Supply Chain Security Guidebook (2009)

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world_bank_group(2009)

Summary:

The guide addresses the following main topics:

•    What is supply chain security?

•    Is it important to know about it?

•    Who are the principal players / initiators?

•    What are ports and logistic operators required to know or do so as to be ready when the SCS initiative compliance becomes globally compulsory?

•    What is likely to happen in the field of SCS in the coming period of time?

•    What is the expected end vision?

Publications and presentations:

Donner, M., Kruk, C. (Hintsa as a technical contributor) (2009). Supply Chain Security Guide, World Bank. Available at World Bank website:  http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPRAL/Resources/SCS_Guide_Final.pdf [Accessed 9 December 2011]

The 21st Century Supply Chain Model study for WCO (2006-2007)

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wco(2006-2007)

Summary:

This report on “The 21st Century Supply Chain Model” has been prepared for the World Customs Organization (WCO), for the benefit of customs administrations worldwide. The broad research question behind the study is following: What are current trends in the international supply chain, what are the predicted or expected changes and likely future development of the next 10 to 20 years? The goal of the research team is to give well-reasoned, multi-layered answers to this question, giving priority to such international supply chain management aspects which are more likely to be of interest to customs administrations. In other words, the study aims to bring light on what kind of changes customs could expect taking place in international supply chain systems during the next 10-20 years, and why these changes may be of importance for customs’ strategic planning, including long-term human resource and technology planning. The study does not analyze how customs should prepare for the future – this remains a topic for future studies. In the study we identify a set of likely change drivers and study their potential impact on supply chain parameters, structures and risks in the future. By change drivers we mean general trends and factors related to politics, economics, sociology, technology, environment, energy, ethics and security issues, which all may have an impact on how supply chains are managed in the future. Supply chain parameters concern key decision items for supply chain decision makers working in manufacturing, trading, logistics and other service companies, including sourcing decisions (global vs. local sourcing etc.) manufacturing decisions (focused vs. general factories etc.), distribution decisions (direct deliveries vs. distribution centers etc.), transportation decisions (air vs. sea etc.) and so on.

The study methodologies used to derive and prioritize various change driver and supply chain components are widely used in academia. By starting with an exhaustive literature review and expert interviews, a survey is conducted to collect data from the field and all these inputs are complemented with an expert scenario workshop using the Delphi method to finally arrive to result triangulation through a change driver – supply chain parameter matrix leading to the 21st century supply chain model and conclusions. Naturally, the applied methodologies and the conduct of the study share several constraints and restrictions due to the tight study schedule, and to the basic nature of the research subject: looking to the future is always difficult and one can merely arrive to “best estimates” based on the underlying data collected and expertise available.

The most relevant conclusions of the study, with possibly strong connections to customs strategic and operational planning for next 10-20 years, are following nine:

•    Customers having more weight in international supply chain systems.

•    Manufacturing taking place in new countries/regions, and raw material sources and focused factories serving more global markets.

•    Product variety increasing while product life cycles becoming shorter.

•    Business-to-business and business-to-government networking and collaboration increasing in the future.

•    Supply chain service providers increasing their service offerings in logistics, technologies and finance.

•    Consolidation and mergers is increasing in logistics markets.

•    Sea freight growing possibly faster than air freight.

•    International trade, logistics and customs data standards increasing their role.

•    Risks and vulnerabilities increasing in international supply chains.

 

Publications and presentations:

Hameri, A.-P. and Hintsa, J., 2009. Assessing the drivers of change for cross-border supply chains. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics, 39(9), pp.741-761.

Hintsa, J., Abu Ayyash, F., Hameri, A.-P., Myers, P., Coulibaly, N., and Gutierrez, X., 2007. The 21st Century Supply Chain Model. WCO Council Meeting, Brussels, Belgium, 28 June  2007.