Looking for a Few Good Corporations

The basic premise of supply chain security is easy enough to understand. If a cargo ship is carrying 300 containers and just one of those containers has contraband it's going to have ramifications on the remaining 299. I don't want an IBM product to be one of those 299, or the 1 container with contraband for that matter. Without posting any challenges to any "evil-doers" IBM is publicly talking about how we are trying to prevent this from happening, to share our best practices and experiences with both clients and competitors alike. But unfortunately we one of the only few.

As my basic example illustrates, whether your company ships products via truck, ship, plane or train, we all need to stand side by side as a united front. And in some cases standing side by side requires a public forum. Recently I was asking several large corporations to participate in a public roundtable discussion to discuss what they are doing to secure their own supply chain to share their best practices with others. One of the companies viewed their security strategy as a competitive advantage and the other two didn't want to be the poster child for supply chain security, because they were afraid of egging on attacks. While I can appreciate it, it doesn't make sense.

Obviously, the company that views supply chain security as a competitive advantage is missing the boat (pun intended). He could have the greatest supply chain security infrastructure in the world, but if his product enters the Port of Baltimore and his competitors shipment implodes at the Port of Long Beach, the US Dept of Homeland Security is going to close down both ports and his shipment is going to sit for days, maybe weeks.

While I understand not wanting to draw attention to oneself, it can be done subtly. I'm not asking anyone to host a contest inviting terrorist to attempt an attack, but speaking with a reporter or two or presenting at a tradeshow seems reasonable enough.

Therefore, I am looking for a few good corporations looking to join me publicly in sharing supply chain security best practices. If you are interested please post me a message or email me.