LOG490 CA4

Supply Chain Management Security: Supply chain management security can be defined as the application of procedures, policies and technologies needed to protect the supply chain assets like the products, facilities, equipment, information and personnel. This protection is meant to be from theft, damage or terrorism. It also prevents the introduction of unauthorized contrabands, people or weapons of mass destruction into the supply chain (Sheffie 2001). Security oriented culture applied to the supply chain is of course good business in that it seeks to prevent supply chain assets from being the target of terrorism. It also prevents itself from being used as a method to facilitate terrorism through effective application of management procedures, policies and technologies. Supply chain protection does not stop at the point of securing facility through gates and locks, but extends further to protection of products and people. Therefore, it creates a continuous flow of information both internally and externally. It is as well a tool for preventing disruptions of supply chain operations. (Blanchard 2006). Due to interconnectedness of companies, products and transportation infrastructure in the global supply chains, there is concern that the disruptions may go beyond the individual firm and thus the need for broader supply chain defense framework. This helps in protecting the customers, the public and also the brand equity. The benefits of extending security issues beyond the individual firm then could be as follows: First loss of short term revenue which could have resulted from the customer delivery disruptions is prevented when terrorism is stopped. Brand equity is protected and thus preventing the perception by customers that the security failure was a result of neglect. Sale of equity investments is stopped when lead investors’ confidence is restored (Sheffie 2001). This also prevents unnecessary regulatory scrutinizes and as well prevents legal liabilities. Security also prevents the dissolution of the supply chain. It leads to increased automated handling of the imports by the company. The transit or otherwise the delivery time is also dropped drastically and this is coupled with the improvement of the on time shipment to the clients. The asset visibility in the supply chain is also improved tremendously since there is improved accessibility to the supply chain data by investing in supply chain security. Problems could also be identified very fast. The company gains insurance premium reductions, improved inventory management and customer service (Sheffie 2001). The acronym RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. It is basically a system that transmits the identity of an object or person wirelessly using radio waves. The identity is usually in the form of serial number. It does not require contact or line of sight for communication as in the case with the ubiquitous UPC bar- code technology. RFID is important in asset tracking. Companies put RFID tags on assets that are lost, stolen or under utilized. RFID is also very important in the manufacturing sector where it is used to track parts and works in progress. It reduces defects and manages the production of various samples of the same product. It can be used to track s...