CARGO THEFT " smartphones, tablets and other high tech goods are still high on the target lists of cargo thieves but data shows that today they will find a ‘black market’ for just about anything they can lay their hands on. Food & Drink is now the TAPA EMEA IIS product category with the highest number of losses. Add to this Clothing & Footwear, Furniture/Household Appliances, Cosmetic & Hygiene \Products, Tyres, Car Parts, Tobacco, Tools/Building Materials, Metal, Pharmaceuticals, Toys/ Games, Cash, Sports Equipment … the list is now seemingly endless. RECORDING ACCURATE CRIME DATA One of the biggest challenges remains getting full and accurate cargo crime data. Even though incidents reported to TAPA’s Incident Information Service do not ask for the names of companies which are victims of attacks, there remains a clear reluctance on the part of many organisations to admit they have incurred losses. The association has successfully nurtured strong data sharing relationships with law enforcement agencies in the UK, Netherlands and, most recently, Sweden, in order to gain more intelligence. However, building a clear picture of the level of cargo crime remains
extremely difficult in other parts of the EMEA region. One thing is certain, it is significantly higher than the number of recorded crimes suggests. In 2016, the UK, Netherlands, Germany and Sweden accounted for 86.5 per cent of crimes reported to TAPA EMEA. In the first quarter of 2017, the UK and Netherlands alone represented over 85 per cent of the new crimes recorded in the association’s incident database, based on the willingness of police in those countries to collate data correctly and notify TAPA of freight thefts. Elsewhere, countries where companies are known to regularly suffer cargo losses are lagging behind in terms of intelligence sharing, increasing the risks to transportation and logistics operations and, many would say, their local economies. Q1 2017 data reported by TAPA’s IIS showed only a total of 37 cargo crimes in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia and Spain, and just nine in South Africa. There is general agreement among supply chain security professionals that this represents a fraction of the true picture. For companies that are victims of cargo crime – especially those that have clearly failed to take adequate precautions to protect their supply chains or their customers’ goods – the consequences can be substantial; lost
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES REMAINS GETTING FULL AND ACCURATE CARGO CRIME DATA. THERE REMAINS A CLEAR RELUCTANCE ON THE PART OF MANY ORGANISATIONS TO ADMIT THEY HAVE INCURRED LOSSES
business, damaged reputations, and higher insurance premiums to name but three. The impact is far greater than simply the cost of the stolen goods. One study involving the pharmaceutical industry put the true cost of loss at five-seven times the value of the goods stolen once the entire recovery process has been accounted for. And this only represents the challenges that exist today. WHAT OF THE FUTURE? The world is changing and those changes are being driven by technology. This October in London, TAPA will host its biggest-ever conference for global supply chain security professionals to discuss the impact of developments such as driverless trucks, drones, robots in warehouses and 3D printing. They are all emerging with increasing speed and while some welcome a reduction in the ‘human’ element of supply chains, thinking it will eradicate the likelihood of ‘inside job’ crimes, others fear these technologies will play directly into the hands of cyber criminals who will be able to hack into control centres and divert deliveries to anywhere they want. Criminals regularly demonstrate their ability to overcome the best laid plans of companies to secure their goods in transit. Simple GPS ‘jammers’ that can cost as little as €30 online, for example, are regularly used to block positioning signals from trucks to their very sophisticated security monitoring centres. They can make trucks ‘disappear’ long enough for their entire loads, and often the vehicles themselves, to be lost without trace. Today, cargo crime is globally regarded as a multi-billion dollar ‘industry’ and the level of threat is growing. The worst thing any company can think is that it will never happen to them. #
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FURTHER INFORMATION www.tapaemea.org
ISSUE 31 | COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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