For some companies, the threat of cargo crime and its potential impact on their business only resonates when they become a victim of a loss from a supply chain facility or a mode of transport.
In the first instance, this impact is, of course, financial but the greatest consequence is often to a company’s reputation as a trusted service provider. It is often hard for a customer who is shipping goods to comprehend just how easy it was for criminals to steal their products or their supplier’s lack of preparedness for such an attack.
Cargo crime in the Europe, Middle East & Africa regions is still significantly under-reported. A handbag stolen from a private car, for example, can easily be recorded in the same category of ‘vehicle crime’ as an entire truckload of products worth hundreds of thousands of euros and sometimes more. So when we share crime statistics, these are only based on incidents directly reported to our industry association’s intelligence database.
What our data reveals, however, is a massive wake-up call to any manufacturers or logistics service providers who have yet to understand these risks and put measures in place to protect their end-to-end supply chains from an attack. The offenders could be an organised crime group, an individual member of the public, or someone within their own organisation.
In the last three years (2022-2024), the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS) has recorded 157,421 cargo crimes in 129 countries. Less than 6% of these reports told us their loss value but these crimes alone produced a total loss of €2.7 billion. This is equal to nearly €2.5m of products being stolen from supply chains in EMEA every 24 hours for three years.
A very large percentage of these crimes resulted from a lack of basic due diligence or simple complacency. This does not have to be the case. We have intelligence which helps companies to understand when, where and how cargo criminals are operating, the products they are targeting, their method of operating, and the values of goods being stolen. We have risk awareness training courses, secure parking options and, above all, TAPA supply chain security standards designed by our industry to prevent cargo thefts and to protect the safety and security of employees and assets.
TAPA EMEA now represents a network of some 1,000 member companies who are working proactively to increase cargo security and protect supply chain resilience. With the help of the tools, intelligence and benefits we offer, TAPA sits at the heart of their supply chain security programmes.
Crime levels are at an unprecedented high and with global events disrupting supply chains all over the world, criminal groups are finding more and more ways to target goods. Not just high-tech or luxury goods, but all products. Today, everything moving in supply chains has a value on the ‘black market’.
To anyone yet to contemplate these risks or looking to improve their supply chain security, we are ready to help. Please learn more about TAPA and what we do by visiting www.tapaemea.org
