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Pinkerton

any business leader’ s mind. From economic fluctuations to geopolitical events, strategic planning and risk management are often needed to effectively navigate these issues.

After 175 years in the field, Pinkerton has experienced almost every form of disruption a supply chain can endure. Offering investigations, consulting and risk advisory, AI-powered knowledge products, and protection and response services, Pinkerton is well positioned to help organizations improve supply chain management, especially for importers and exporters, transportation organizers, shippers, freight forwarders, and start-up global logistics firms.

From the early days of the US interstate railroads, Pinkerton has been supporting businesses and protecting supply chains since its inception in 1850. Today, Pinkerton remains the industry-leading developer of innovative security and risk management solutions for national and international organizations.

Time for tech

As new technologies and global challenges emerge, Pinkerton’ s leaders believe that the principles underpinning effective supply chain security remain largely unchanged, even if the pace of disruption has accelerated.

This means getting the fundamentals right is more important than ever. The faster conditions shift, the less margin there is for error, and the more important it is to have resilient systems, wellvetted teams, and a steady focus on the underlying objective of maintaining continuity in the face of uncertainty.

Today, much of the conversation in the industry is dominated by technologies like artificial intelligence( AI), real-time tracking, and predictive tools. While these systems have their place in aiding decision-making, offering greater visibility and access to intelligence, they’ re no substitute for sound execution and operational clarity.

“ The objective of any supply chain is to get your goods delivered safely and on schedule,” states Pinkerton CEO Jack Zahran.“ Everything else – technology, intelligence, visibility – should support that goal, not distract from it.”

Return to fundamentals

Such clarity of purpose is something that Jack and his team believe the industry has drifted away from. Today, supply chain risk management strategies are often built around the tools available, rather than genuine needs. Instead of understanding the goal, defining the key priority, identifying potential obstacles, and designing a system accordingly, many organizations are locked into chasing hypothetical threats and irrelevant intelligence.

What Jack’ s team advocates for is objectivebased security design – a strategy that begins with a deep understanding of the specific supply chain being protected. What is being shipped? How critical is the cargo? What are realistic threats? By working from these questions, as opposed to starting with generic protocols or overly complex technologies, teams can create security systems that are both more focused and more effective.

People, processes, technology

While external threats such as geopolitical conflict or trade route blockages tend to draw the most attention, Pinkerton’ s experience shows that internal risks are more likely to disrupt supply chains. Poorly vetted vendors, gaps in handoffs, and a lack of internal accountability can cause just as much harm as a system outage or poor shutdown.

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