A new post-coronavirus focus will lead to wider adoption of industry standards for the prevention of theft, according to the Transported Asset Protection Association.
An unprecedented focus on the resilience of global supply chains in the ‘new normal’ post-coronavirus world will lead to a wider adopting of industry standards that secure the movements of goods by all modes of transport and protect the reputations of international brands.
That’s according to freight security network the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) as it marked the launch last week of the latest 2020 revisions of its Facility Security Requirements (FSR) and Trucking Security Requirements (TSR) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The launch comes as a study of over 1,800 supply chain professionals by International Data Corporation (IDC), a global provider of market intelligence, identified supply chain resilience and agility will be the biggest priority for 48% of senior managers in the next 12 months. A report by consulting firm AT Kearney also indicated that resilience will be the key focus for the maritime industry beyond coronavirus, including for shippers, carriers, ports and other elements of the supply chain.
Thorsten Neumann, president and CEO of TAPA EMEA, stated: “TAPA has been delivering supply chain industry standards for over 20 years but these new and improved revisions of our Standards could not be coming at a better time for Manufacturers and Logistics Service Providers which are looking to enhance the end-to-end resilience of their supply chains. Our FSR and TSR certifications in the EMEA region already stand at their highest-ever level and we expect the growing need for certainty in supply chains to accelerate this growth in the next 12 months and beyond.”
Revised every three years, TAPA’s Security Standards are designed ‘by the industry, for the industry’ and play an important role in the risk management and loss prevention programmes of the Association’s global members.
The 2020 versions of FSR and TSR include new additions designed to better support supply chain resilience and produce cost efficiencies for companies adopting the Standards across their operations. These include a new FSR Multi-site option and a Modular approach for TSR to protect supply chains using vans, hard-sided trailers, soft-sided trailers and transporting ocean containers by road. TSR 2020 also provides optional additions covering monitoring, rail transfer/tracking, locking, information security, and security escorts.
As a leading security expert network for all parties in the supply chain, TAPA said it has ensured its new Standards support users’ compliance with other regulatory standards, such as C-TPAT, AEO and PIP, as some customs and border authorities recognise the TAPA requirements as complementing, or being compliant with, their own security programmes.
“COVID-19 has brought international awareness to the need for more resilient supply chains and ‘delivering as promised’ will be a pivotal factor in the recoveries of all companies involved in the production and transportation of goods,” Neumann said.
“It is, therefore, more important than ever to avoid unwanted disruption in any form. We are confident our new 2020 Standards will help more companies than ever before to build customer confidence in their supply chain capabilities.”
TAPA was formed in 1997 to tackle the multi-billion euro problem of cargo thefts from supply chains. It boasts over 800 member companies globally, including many of the world’s biggest manufacturers and logistics service providers as well as leading SME freight forwarding and transport operators, and other stakeholders.
Source: lloyd’s
