Logistics and Supply Chain Technology Report 2021

中国电信（欧洲）有限公司 C h i n a T e l e c o m ( E u r o p e ) L t d .

The Case for Transparency

The shift towards a remote working environment and geographically distributed teams also prompts a wider need for secure methods of accessing, delivering and storing information away from business premises. Adapting to these changes requires not only well-informed and capable talent, but also the financial investment to be able to mitigate problems through proper procurement, rather than cobbling together a cheap solution from third-party suppliers with little oversight. Though cloud technology has remedied this problem by centralising assets on a shared infrastructure accessible from any location, the issue remains that choosing the right provider with the right architecture for your needs is equally as crucial to ensuring a smooth shift to a remote-first workplace. Thus, as the cloud develops into a key technology in logistics operations, businesses will require greater scrutiny over third party security policies and data handling procedures. Cloud centralisation may improve efficiency, but it harbours devastating consequences for businesses if found to be insecure.

How much is the security of your data a factor in your decision when developing your technology strategy? (0 being lowest factor, 10 highest factor)

100%

50%

Solution Providers

83%

Shippers

77%

Indeed, the security of data was judged to be a significantly contributing factor when developing technology strategy amongst businesses, scoring an average of 7 across those we queried. Improving transparency is one step the logistics industry can take towards managing security in the diffuse environment of third-party SaaS products, in-house solutions and legacy software that comprise the modern supply chain software stack. This comes not only from better training, but by improving the culture of transparency across the supply chain. To this extent, breach disclosures have been one source of contention across APAC.