Founded in 1997, TAPA (Transported Asset Protection Association) is a major supply chain resilience and security body. The association came into being to help supply chains across the world address the multi-billion-dollar challenges of cargo thefts.
From January 2020 to June 2022, in the UK, the EMEA Intelligence system of TAPA got reports of 5,751 incidents of theft from supply chains. During this period, an average of 100,000 pounds of goods were stolen in Britain from supply chains. Although this statistic is alarming in itself, a bulk of cargo crimes go unreported.
Cargo theft has a significant impact on the UK economy and is a major point of concern for UK-based businesses. Because virtually all (and not only luxury) goods are at risk of theft from supply chains. Everyday basic items including food, drinks, cosmetics, footwear, clothing, and hygiene products are at risk. In addition, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, household appliances, IT equipment, metal, car parts, and phones are also at risk.
These incidents take place through the theft of (and from) containers, trailers, and vehicles as well as rail, maritime, aviation, and road transport facilities. Culprits use online stores, pubs, markets, and less honest/small shopkeepers to sell stolen goods. Such items are even transported for overseas sales.
Around the UK, organized crime groups are already quite active in cargo crime. TAPA is also observing an increase in crime rate involving smaller quantities or low-value goods being stolen. This, in turn, could lead to more thefts by opportunists, first-time offenders, and small-time thieves across the EMEA region.
This evolution in cargo crimes comprises a significant increase in fraudulent pick-ups wherein vehicles and drivers with false documents and identities are used. Criminals are trying to win shipment deliveries by creating fake profiles on online freight exchanges and bidding lower. Then, the thieves outsource the loads they secure through online exchanges to legitimate transport providers. And after collecting the goods, the culprits send notifications about delivery address chances to innocent drivers.
Criminal attacks are also growing among last-mile deliveries. That’s because of criminals’ knowledge about drivers leaving vehicles unattended frequently plus less security assigned to smaller transport vehicles.
When such a cargo crime occurs, the costs go up and the consumer has to bear the same. This puts light on the scale of the challenge. While attackers are using more sophisticated and smarter attacks, supply chains are observed as lucrative and easy targets. However, a lack of due diligence is the prime reason for most such crimes. To tackle this, TAPA believes that adding resilience to the supplier network can help use existing solutions to minimize cargo thefts.
Available solutions comprise independently certified supply chain security standards of the Association for secure parking, trucking, and facilities. This should be combined with related training to enable standard adoption. TAPA EMEA enables its logistics and manufacturing service providers to use its “live 24/7 cargo crime intelligence” to observe and learn from the actual incidents of cargo loss. This, combined with data and digital mapping, supports the secure planning of routes and mitigates potential risks. In support of the National Police Information Sharing Agreement, TAPA is partnering with NBCS (National Business Crime Solution) in the UK. This is seen as a landmark in enabling the exchange of intelligence and information between all 43 UK police forces by the NBCS. According to TAPA EMEA, this step will likely boost resilience in supply chains and cargo security through enhanced cargo crime intelligence in the UK.
NSI now takes up a new role under TAPA wherein it serves as a regional EMEA independent audit body, covering the UK area. TAPA members and fully trained auditors of the NSI will work together to support the growth and adoption of three primary standards of TAPA including secure parking, trucking security, and facility security.
The FSR (Facility Security Requirements) Standard of TAPA EMEA is aimed at protecting theft-targeted, high-value products in warehouse operations, distribution centres, supply chains’ in-transit storage, and similar environments. This standard lays down the use of minimum acceptable security processes and standards, comprising what specifications service providers can follow to attain TAPA FSR certification.
The TSR (Trucking Security Requirements) Standard aims at securing products during road transportation by minimizing criminal attacks while making sure cargoes, vehicles, and drivers stay safe. In this standard, guidelines are laid down for driver security training, physical security, on-route protocols, tracking and tracing, and support and responsibilities.
The third one, Parking Security Requirements Standard covers trucks parked in unsecured and unclassified parking areas. More than 50% of the cargo losses happen with such trucks in the EMEA region, as per what the TAPA EMEA intelligence system reports. This is one of the major reasons for increasing crimes in the UK involving trucks.
NSI and TAPA share a common, non-profit remit with the skillsets of experienced auditors at NSI will be used to tackle growing cargo thefts while improving the supply chain resilience.
As of now, factors like a migrant intrusion, rising fuel prices, and driver shortages are creating more pressure on the supply chains. This brings an opportunity for third-party risk mitigation to square this vicious circle.