A new Blog on Supply Chain Security

15 August 2012 Just like an iceberg, the public’s image of the essence of Supply Chain Securit

Upcoming Events with Irvin Varkonyi

DC Metro APICS Sept 20, 2012 Professional Development Dinner Meeting – Excercise on the Extrem

Professional Development Courses

Workshop: Creating Competitive Advantage Through a Secure & Resilient Supply Chain Why managing

 

A new Blog on Supply Chain Security

July 23, 2012 in Uncategorized

15 August 2012
Just like an iceberg, the public’s image of the essence of Supply Chain Security, is intentional, malicious disruptions by global terrorists. The reality is that just like an iceberg which has 90% of its mass below the water surface, there are many additional possibilities for disrupting supply chains. One of these, the importing of counterfeit products, is getting increasing amlount of visbility from organizations. Counterfeit products are impacting many industries, though it is likely prodcuts of higher value or components within higher value products suffer this problem more frequently. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) estimated $260 million of coutnerfeit products were confiscated in 2009. It is believed this is growing. Among the most popular counterfeit items were Footwear, Consumer Electronics and Watches. How many counterfiet products were not confiscated? That estimate may run into the billions.

It is ironic that as nations watch their imports more closely, that counterfeiters are able to continue to penetrate the flow of imports. The task is how we can better use programs such as CTPAT to find counterfeits, as well as potential weapons of mass destruction or smuggling of illicit products.

3 August 2012
Is there room for a new blog on Supply Chain Security? Yes, because it continues to be a topic that calls out for clarity and consensus, neither of which is too often not clear. What does Supply Chain Security mean anyway? One of the first formal definitions was supplied by Closs and McGarrel, in 2004, in their research paper, “Enhancing Security Throughout the Supply Chain,” for the IBM Center for the Business of Government – “The application of policies, procedures, and technology to protect supply chain assets (product, facilities, equipment, information, and personnel) from theft, damage or terrorism and to prevent the introduction of unauthorized contraband, people or weapons of mass destruction.” What spurred this definition? The tragic events of 9/11, when the US was invaded by terrorists and the realization came upon some in the nation, that the US supply chain was vulnerable. Unfortunately for the nation, while 9/11 made us question our vulnerability, we had already seen serious disruptions in the 1980′s and 1990′s that impacted supply chain security. It just wasn’t cool to mention this to skeptics who called experts as “chicken littles, claiming the sky was falling in.” Read the rest of this entry →

Upcoming Events with Irvin Varkonyi

June 21, 2012 in Uncategorized

DC Metro APICS
Sept 20, 2012
Professional Development Dinner Meeting – Excercise on the Extreme Science of Supply Chain Management.

Fairfax, VA

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e6637a4x93bc91b2

Experience a catastrophic global logistics and production crisis….and work your way out of it with the help of your fellow attendees! Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Development Courses

June 21, 2012 in Uncategorized

Workshop: Creating Competitive Advantage Through a Secure & Resilient Supply Chain
Why managing supply chain risk optimizes your operational performance

Sept 21, 2012 – Marriott Courtyard, Dunn Loring, VA

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5s7nm0e357b4306

How well do operations professionals consider supply chain risk as they seek to optimize operational performance? Is risk a secondary consideration to operational efficiency? Do we accept more risk to save costs? Can you create competitive advantage through a secure and resilient supply chain? Read the rest of this entry →

Public Presentations

June 21, 2012 in Uncategorized

APICS Annual Conference
Oct 13-16, 2012
Denver, CO.

www.apics.org/sites/conference/2012/home

Irvin Varkonyi will co-present a supply chain simulation exercise with the popular Beer Game.

Our Mission

June 21, 2012 in Uncategorized

SCOPE offers a voice to supply chain professionals, a voice that must simultaneously address organizational efficiency and preparedness. We provide that voice through professional development courses, organizational consulting, research papers for government and private sectors and presentations for leading professional associations. The supply chain professional is charged with optimization of operational processes and tasked with the responsibility to minimize operational vulnerability. Balancing these trade-offs requires situational awareness, workforce training and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. The SCOPE team delivers these components for success to its clients.