The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region has recorded its 1,000th Facility Security Requirements (FSR) certification as it continues to accelerate its activities to reduce cargo thefts.
The 1,000th FSR certification milestone in EMEA was achieved by DHL Express at the company's Dubai South facility, which was awarded the highest FSR Level A accreditation following an audit by SGS, one of the Association’s approved Independent Audit Bodies.
Developed by supply chain security professionals, the Association’s Facility Security Requirements (FSR) is designed to protect high value and theft-targeted products in facilities, such as warehouse operations and distribution centres.
It is reviewed every 3 years to ensure its effectiveness and to address new or emerging threats to supply chain security.
TAPA EMEA members are encouraged to select service providers which meet or exceed the Association’s FSR certification requirements and have full visibility of certified companies and locations via the password-protected TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS).
In the EMEA region, a total of 168 companies hold TAPA FSR certifications across 59 countries.
Adopting the Association's security standards as part of Manufacturers' and Logistics Service Providers' supply chain security programmes is recognised as one of the most effective responses to counter rising levels of cargo crime in Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
In the statement, TAPA EMEA noted that it while it continues to voice its concerns that intelligence on most cargo thefts is not reported to its TIS database, in the last three years alone, the Association has captured data on more than 24,000 thefts from supply chains in the region involving losses of products worth over €400 million.
And this loss value is based on only 31% of recorded crimes stating a financial loss figure.
It added that major cargo crimes involving cargo thieves targeted products worth €100,000 or more in a single attack, produced an average loss of €516,000 per crime in the last three years.
Thorsten Neumann, president & CEO of TAPA EMEA, said: "We are proud to record our 1,000th FSR certification in the EMEA region and congratulate DHL Express for achieving this milestone in Dubai South."
He added that with cargo security under "constant pressure" in the region, it is incumbent on the buyers of logistics services to look for partners which demonstrate the strongest commitment to securing their products throughout the end-to-end supply chain process.
"Working with companies with FSR certified facilities is one of these important safeguards. The losses we know about in EMEA are already substantial and, for some types of goods, the true cost of loss can be 5-7 times the value of the products stolen," Neumann said.
The TAPA EMEA chief added: "We acknowledge all of the companies with FSR certifications for recognising the value of our industry standards, but with cargo thefts being recorded in 90 countries in EMEA alone, we urgently encourage more companies to look at our standards to protect themselves against losses and to protect their client relationships and brand reputations."
