BSI special reports

In 2021, the evolving supply chain landscape, characterised by a pandemic, an opening up of the economy, and shifting cargo crime, cumulatively forced companies to solidify their ability to adapt to new challenges. As goods travel through global trade hubs, like Los Angeles and Yantian, they are susceptible to a variety of cargo crime risks, including theft, insider participation, fictitious pickups, pilferage, and counterfeiting, to name a few. As global trade rebounds and freight rates stifle, adding yet another layer of risk to companies transporting goods throughout last year and carrying into 2022. In this report, BSI and NMU collectively evaluate cargo theft threats in 2021, comparing these to what was seen in 2020 and highlight key mitigation techniques that organisations can implement to mitigate these emerging risks.

BSI publishes this report in coordination with TT Club and TAPA EMEA. BSI Supply Chain Services and Solutions is the leading global supply chain intelligence provider, auditing services, audit & risk management compliance
solutions, and advisory services. BSI’s charter is to help corporations, governments, and associations identify, manage, and mitigate global supply chain risks and maintain world-class governance, risk, and compliance programs. BSI’s holistic supply chain risk management suite is designed to predict and visualize risk and develop robust risk mitigation and compliance management programs to protect global supply chains, brands, and reputation. BSI’s intelligence-infused supply chain solutions and global network empower the clients to understand global supply chain risk with unequaled precision.

In examining cargo crime in the Gulf countries, warehouse thefts and supply chain corruption stand out as risks to supply chains, with noted concerns in specifically the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) despite efforts by government officials to combat the issue. To understand both cargo crime trends and the methodologies employed by criminals operating in this region, this report also examines the role special economic zones play in the Middle East. This role includes liberalizing trade and normalizing diplomatic relations, but also potentially facilitating crimes affecting the supply chain, such as contraband smuggling.

In response to a survey distributed by RANE during Q4 2020, clients shared their concerns about—and approaches to—security and risk. The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on employee safety was the greatest concern. Most survey respondents have already brought at least some employees back to the workplace in either a full-time or part-time capacity and have instituted a number of new workplace health and safety measures at the majority of their facilities.

As countries contend with COVID-19 infections and impose or lift lockdowns and travel restrictions, organizations may feel like they are still in the middle of an ongoing crisis. Organizations should take this time to begin to assess their response to the COVID-19 pandemic and analyze which initial actions worked and which did not. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has already had a devastating impact on our business and communities, but as we view the impact of the pandemic through the lens of resilience to other disasters, it is clear the amplified effect of the pandemic, when combined with the impact of seasonal disasters, could be far greater. 

As 2020 began, the world experienced a unique threat to stability and supply chains as it grappled with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As companies guarded their supply chains against the added threats to resiliency and transportation of goods,  cargo crime continued to impact supply chains worldwide despite the spread of COVID-19 across the globe. BSI, through its Supply Chain Risk Exposure Evaluation Network (SCREEN) tool, continues to record thefts of PPE at increased rates as hospitals and manufacturers of these critical items are focused on addressing the increased need caused by COVID-19.