The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) will mark its 20th anniversary with its biggest ever global conference to consider how new technologies, changing consumer demands and the responses of manufacturers and logistics service providers will impact on the future of supply chain security.
The two-day event in London on 25 & 26 October, 2017, promises to take its audience of more than 500 supply chain security professionals on a journey into the future, exploring how changes in the way companies operate will support the fight against cargo crime. Delegates will also hear how the increased use of technologies in the supply chain – such as robotics in warehouses, driverless trucks, drones and 3D printing – is expected to result in a growing threat from increasingly technically-advanced criminal gangs that continue to see goods in transit as an ‘easy target’.
Speakers already confirmed for the event will include senior executives from Amazon, Microsoft, DHL Life Sciences, DB Schenker, global insurers and international law enforcement agencies. TAPA also plans to provide live demonstrations of some of the new technologies being developed for use in the supply chain process.
Conference participants will hear, and be invited to debate, how companies and consumers will live, work and do business in a changing world, and consider the future challenges for supply chain service providers as well as global trends in cargo theft, cybercrime and data security.
Thorsten Neumann, Chairman of TAPA in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, said: “We all know the world is changing and the biggest driver of change is technology. In London, we want to help our audience learn more about the technological advancements we can expect to see in supply chains in the new few years and, most importantly, look at these from a supply chain security perspective to consider how we as companies and as an Association need to change to maintain the resilience of our supply chains and protect our global brands.”
Recorded cargo crime levels globally continue to escalate at an alarming rate, with trucks and drivers at greatest risk of attack. In EMEA alone in 2016, TAPA’s Incident Information Service (IIS) received reports of 2,611 cargo theft crimes, up 72.3% on the previous year. The total loss for the 43.5% of crimes reporting a value was over €77 million, while the average loss for major crimes stood at over €350,000. The latest EMEA data for Q1 2017 shows incidents rose 59.6% year-on-year to 709 recorded crimes. The crimes reporting a value resulted in a combined loss of €43.4m and the average loss for major freight thefts was over €683,000. Still, however, TAPA says the level of losses from supply chain globally remains significantly under-reported.
