Securing Your Organization’s International Supply Chain

Regardless of your products, your company most likely sources raw materials, parts, finished goods or packaging from foreign business partners. Leveraging business partners, as opposed to building their own foreign production capabilities, allows companies to shift suppliers to low-cost regions without worrying about their foreign investments. Every year the global supply chain and the flow of international goods continues to increase.

However, the global supply chain does not operate in a vacuum and can be disrupted by any number of factors including terrorism, theft, smuggling and natural disasters. Over the last decade, both the public and private sectors have worked in partnership to improve supply chain security while still facilitating trade and maintaining the flow of goods. Supply chain security programs like C-TPAT, PIP and AEO have been created to establish a standard for secure supply chains and give participants the benefits of reduced inspections and first-in-line privileges. While the physical security of a site has always been important, these programs also include the need to conduct supply chain risk assessments and evaluating the security of your business partners – two integral components of a secure supply chain.