SUPPLY CHAIN
Test, Do, Learn, and Share
By Maurizio P. Scrofani, CCSP, LPC Scrofani is a well-known supply-chain asset protection professional with over twenty-five years’ experience in retail and manufacturing. He is a prolific writer and frequent speaker at regional and national conferences. Scrofani is a consultant and general partner with MPS Ventures. He was recently named vice president of supply chain security and intelligence for Grupo ALTO. Scrofani can be reached at maurizio@mpsconsultants.com.
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ver the years, enterprise needs for supply-chain asset protection (SCAP) have undergone a transformation from lock-and-key security operations to more integrated supply-chain security and facilitation networks. By taking advantage of the latest technology, this evolution is possible. However, too many organizations look to technology as a cure-all. This leads to a false sense of security and weaknesses in the network that are difficult to diagnose without the right team in place. As we look forward to the next frontiers in SCAP, we must think integration. The following is a roadmap, based on my experience, that integrates various business concepts from financial stewardship to organizational culture creation. You might also use it as an à la carte menu not only to solve short-term challenges but also to position your organization to succeed long term.
Connect the Network and Get Organized
Find the right operating and reporting structure to allow your team to thrive and you to spend your time where most needed. As I set out on my own roadmap some years ago, I quickly realized that to build on accomplishments, I would need a structure to institutionalize learning and tackle big projects. I focused first on collaboration and created regions supported by a network of project management teams (PMTs). This structure progressed and socialized ideas in the business and encouraged interfacility, interdivisional collaboration on such topics as audits, green initiatives, investigations, shortage awareness, technology, training, uniforms (yep, those too if you use them), and vendor vetting and engagement. Team leaders were encouraged to become subject-matter experts (SMEs) certified by the Loss Prevention Foundation, American Trucking Association, and International Association of Interviewers. From this experience, the PMT in charge of training enhanced our standard operating manual, which eventually became a digital interactive tutorial. Building on shared knowledge and a “pay it forward” attitude, the network became connected and focused on a singular vision—one team with one goal “to win at all we do.”
Capture Quick Wins
Once the right organization is in place, identify immediate fixes that will help your team gain traction and provide immediate financial benefit that could support funding for larger programs. We upgraded our SCAP network with technological enhancements
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to quickly connect qualitative (CCTV and Regiscope) and quantitative (business intelligence tool) information. The CCTV platform provided multiple advantages: ■ Remote access via PC, smartphone, or tablet ■ Thermal imaging and motion tracking technology ■ Advanced video review on an IP platform ■ Analytics with smart alerts based on a facility profile Maximizing network visibility coverage was invaluable. Capturing, storing, and being able to transmit small clips of video to the appropriate resources minimized time spent investigating. Instituting protocols that allowed off-site support teams to provide more-focused monitoring during high-awareness events allowed for a targeted focus on key assignments without any task interference for the talented team that needed to be “on” all day and every day. Introducing the Regiscope system provided an immediate improvement to a soft-target hardening program. At welcome centers (guard houses), Regiscope can record every inbound shipment, video capture, appointment, and bill of lading that enters and exits a facility. At facility entrances, it records the entry and egress time of every visitor and temporary employee as well as their purpose for visiting (and can flag them as a no return as well). The Regiscope helped crack a multimillion-dollar cargo theft investigation that connected specific suspects to high-shortage appointments within a very short window of deployment.
Examine the Field
With the right teams in place supported by core technology, turn your efforts to improving speed-to-market for your enterprise product strategies. Improvements such as 24/7 yard access and other risk-mitigated throughput initiatives for select facilities will move your merchandise closer to the consumer while maintaining or increasing security layers. Having a well-trained officer working the welcome center at all hours will make receiving inbound and outbound appointments more fluid and flexible while getting your freight one step closer to its final destination. In addition to the operating benefits, 24/7 yard access mitigated cargo theft risk by keeping our freight out of unsecured parking lots. More than 80 percent of reported US cargo theft occurs in unsecured parking lots. We focused on that risk as measured by the volume of freight held in our secured yards over weekends—a portion of which could have been parked in unsecured lots in the past. continued on page 68 LOSSPREVENTIONMEDIA.COM
