The advent of digitalisation is a phenomenon that has led to a transformative change in nearly every industry. While it has fostered increasing levels of efficacy and efficiency in the supply chain leading to reduced downtimes, inventory requirements and faster delivery; it has also brought to the fore concerns about security.
Digitalisation has also disrupted several established industries due to how it has changed the approach towards business dynamics. According to a recent DHL trend report; high-profile data breaches and hacking of data systems as well as even physical objects (such as cameras and self- driving cars) are a worrying reminder of growing security vulnerabilities in our digitalised world. With supply chains focusing on technology and visibility, eliminating security risks has become a key area of concern to avoid harmful attacks that could bring operations to a standstill.
The emphasis on security has also led to an a certain reluctance by organisations in adopting cloud based logistics solutions owing to the security threats that it poses. Despite the fact that cloud based logistics can lead to commensurate cost benefits in the supply chain while enhancing the overall efficiency.
Apart from these concerns, digitization has impelled a crucial need to exchange information across multiple platforms which delineates into a significant risk exposure potential. For instance, a solitary shipment may involve on an average a data transfer between nearly 10 stakeholders during the entire process of transportation. Each stake-holder shall espouse varied back-end systems that offer different degrees of protection. The nature of information as such would be significant and can be misused by anti-social elements if they were to gain access.
Furthermore, significant money transfers take place that involve various players in the supply chain; depending on the mode of transportation. As such, it is pivotal for organisations engaged in the supply chain to maintain clarity in goals, strategies, objectives and tactics to ensure logistics integrity. Since the more frequent use of goods tracking systems and real-time control applications with web interfaces also opens up a growing number of weak points to be managed across a large supplier base.
And while building systems to prevent cyber breaches is not easy or intuitive; a framework comprising of tiers of risk based implementation could circumvent supply chain information breach problems to a great degree.
According to the DHL report; to help raise the level of security and resiliency in logistics, innovative digital identifiers that allow unambiguous, tamper-proof identification of items and individuals could be deployed.
Ergo, as logistics technology evolves, major infrastructure operators must ensure that new technology frameworks are not implemented unless there is complete control and protection. There is a need for collaboration among supply chain stakeholders and the government to create robust and tenable solutions.