Tag: security

OM in the News: Protecting Covid-19 Vaccines from Theft

Health authorities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies are storing Covid-19 vaccines in secure, undisclosed locations and taking other steps to protect the shots against a looming threat: theft.

As the leading vaccine candidates advance closer to use, vaccine makers such as Pfizer are deploying GPS software for tracking distribution and plotting fake shipments in dummy trucks to confuse criminals. Glassmaker Corning  is equipping vials with black-light verification to curb counterfeiting. And some hospitals expected to be among the first vaccination sites are beefing up their pharmacies’ security systems.

Initial vaccine supplies are expected to be limited, with some shots gaining authorization as early as November.

The goal is protecting the shots against professional thieves who have a long history of targeting valuable medicines, and have pilfered Covid-19 tests, masks and other personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, reports The Wall Street Journal (Oct. 22, 2020).

The government has arranged for U.S. marshals to accompany shipments of vaccines, which are currently stored at undisclosed locations, once the shots are authorized for distribution. Despite such measures, logistics specialists worry the shots could be vulnerable to theft at weak links in the supply chain, such as distribution centers, truck stops and hospitals with lax security.

Though drugmakers have been producing doses, initial supplies are expected to be limited, making any shot a coveted commodity. Industry experts are concerned they could be intercepted by sophisticated criminals, foreign governments or individuals eager to get vaccines before prioritized groups. Over the past 5 years, world-wide incidents such as theft and counterfeiting of pharmaceutical products rose nearly 70%.

Classroom discussion questions:

  1. Why will this vaccine’s distribution be a significant challenge?
  2. Table 11.3 in your Heizer/Render/Munson text provides a list of 10 supply chain risks. Which apply in this case? How?

OM in the News: The Weak Link in the Supply Chain

In Supplement 11, we discuss the risks of natural disasters (such as the Japanese tsunami) to global supply chains. But as Supply & Demand Chain Executive (July 13, 2018) rightly points out, today’s supply chains, though increasingly efficient, are highly vulnerable to digital threats.  Since global organizations can support operations with partners in countries with varying infrastructure reliability, streamlining communications is a severe and sometimes impossible challenge to overcome.

In an era when real-time transfer of information between international stakeholders is critical to business, secure communications are the most important, and the most frequently overlooked, component to response planning. A recent survey found that supply chain managers are “very concerned” about data security, natural disaster and war. As mass-connectivity has made it easier than ever to source partners, most businesses now have touchpoints across the global supply chain, regardless of their location or the markets in which they serve. This connectivity has brought tremendous financial, productivity and efficiency benefits. However, it has also created a dependence on a globally-connected, real-time communication system that has fears of disruption proliferating among manufacturers that are adopting JIT supply chains. What might start as a little ripple in a supplier country on the other side of globe can turn into a wave of failure by the time issues reach a production facility.

So, in addition to natural disasters, cybersecurity is now a major concern. Partnerships with third-party cloud services, off-premises data storage providers, unauthorized mobile device usage, email phishing and aging infrastructure are all boosting risk. One in 5 firms in tech, defense and aerospace, for example, use outdated browsers that make them vulnerable to malware. Email especially, is inherently subjected to security threats. One survey found 77% of businesses expect to fall victim to email fraud in the next 12 months. Three-quarters also said that they have experienced at least one targeted email fraud attack in the past 2 years.

No entity within the global supply chain can prevent natural disasters and mass cyber incidents. But they do need to be prepared, as we point out in the text.

Classroom discussion questions:

  1. What can operations mangers do to prepare for these digital threats?
  2. What forms can the communications threats take?

OM in the News: The Humble, High-Tech Shipping Container

shipping containersAsk somebody to name the most important inventions of the second half of the 20th century, and you may hear of the silicon chip, the contraceptive pill, or the hydrogen bomb. Few would answer the shipping container. “Yet those humble, standard-sized steel boxes, invented in 1956, have changed the world,” writes The Economist (Mar. 1, 2014).  Some economists think the shipping container has done more for global trade than every trade agreement signed in the past 50 years.

Even revolutionary products can be improved, though, particularly after half a century of service. One idea just proposed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is to make containers out of carbon-fiber composites. Such containers would be easier to use, because they would be lighter and might be folded flat when empty, saving space. A carbon-fiber container would need to travel only 120,000km (three times around the Earth) to prove cheaper than its steel equivalent. It would also be more secure, because it would be easier to scan without being opened.

That is an important consideration. In 2006, Congress passed a law requiring all containers arriving from abroad into American ports to be scanned to make sure they do not contain drugs, illegal immigrants, or fissile material. Doing this has proved hard, though, and the deadline for compliance is constantly being pushed back. Scanning steel needs high-power X-rays, or even gamma rays. These are expensive and dangerous. Carbon-fiber could be scanned with “soft” X-rays, which are easier to generate and use.

Another way to improve containers’ security is to track them properly. At the moment, authorities in a given port are usually told only about a container’s most recent movements. Better to give each container a comprehensive history, recording every port it has visited and every ship that has carried it. Such data could be crunched to detect suspicious patterns.  Carbon-fiber containers, fitted with sensors, a travel history and the ability to talk to the authorities, may one day replace many customs officials.

Classroom discussion questions:
1. Why are shipping containers such an important operations tool?

2. How has shipping changed in the past 50 years?