Experts on supply chain security share their perspectives
In the first week of November, European traders gathered in Amsterdam to reflect on the impact of security measures on the international trading environment. The Securing the Supply Chain Conference, organised by a coalition of international trade organisations from across Europe was an opportunity to address the real concerns of traders about the proliferation of measures to secure the supply chain.
Conference organisers SITPRO, EFA (Germany), EVO (Netherlands) and ODASCE (France) welcomed an impressive list of speakers from business, WCO, the European Commission, EU Member States and academia. This meant that delegates gained the latest information available on the security landscape. A keynote address was also given at the dinner by Michael Schmitz, Director of Compliance and Facilitation at the WCO. The event was generously sponsored by Intertek, Bureau Veritas and Deloitte and also included a live case study of an international supply chain. Conference delegates visited Heineken's brewery and logistics operation, where a project called ITAIDE has produced notable supply chain benefits.
Delegates tackle the issues in one of the workshops
SITPRO's Chairman, Norman Rose, said, "This conference highlighted fundamental concerns between the need to increase security and the importance of trade facilitation. The value of using risk management techniques rather than blanket coverage is clear."
However, this was not just an opportunity to listen to the experts. The final sessions of the conference gave delegates an opportunity to set out their views and trade opinions by making recommendations on a number of key security themes such as mutual recognition, technical solutions, data chain management and security in developing countries. Through these workshops, the best way forward on these issues was agreed, including developing key recommendations to take to governments. As a result, the host organisations will use these outputs to further develop the messages and promote the views of business. Further information from the conference will be available from www.securingthesupplychain.org (Link to an external site - Disclaimer 
) shortly.
Return to SITPRO News: Issue 66, Autumn 2008
