Supply Chain Security 101

Protecting your people, products, intellectual property and your firm’s reputation, has become a white collar profession.

“Security is not a revenue generating discipline, according to conventional thinking,” says Chuck Forsaith. “And most see security and marketing as two functions in an enterprise that are furthest apart in the corporate space.”

“But security is marketing,” according to Forsaith. “We advertise a comfortable, secure feeling—as a result of being risk averse—so that our customers will confidently use, and will continue using, our products and services. Finally, you profit from good security.”

Forsaith’s remarks came at the Healthcare Distributors Alliance 2019 Distribution Management Conference and Expo, March 10-13 in Palm Desert, CA.

How do you create supply chain security? By minimizing risk, and that’s why the term “risk management” describes things much better than a vague term like security.

Risk is primarily reduced by means of control. You want to define and control your property, set boundaries, and control/filter the access of people into the property.

There are no formulas for achieving a desirable level of control. Each organization balances risk management according to their own level of concern, comfort, importance of assets, operational requirements, budgets and organizational identity.

One thing is for certain, the level of security is usually inversely related to comfort, convenience and openness.

So how do you get started establishing your supply chain security plan? The first step is to identify your assets—people, confidential information, property, products and reputation.

Threat is the potential harm to your asset. Risk is the likelihood of that threat being realized. Security solutions that mitigate risk are your preventive measures. Security solutions that mitigate threats (decreasing the severity of harmful incidents once they have started) are your reactive emergency measures.

A typical corporate security infrastructure should include a Chief Security Officer, an investigation unit, program management (guard contracts, audits, executive protection services), security systems (CCTV, access controls), a supply chain security/brand protection team, intelligence analysts and a cyber arm.

For smaller companies, the security function is often combined with other duties like Environmental Health and Safety, or facilities management.

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