Risk mitigation has always been a part of supply chain management and will continue to be of great importance, says Jamie Rutherford, director of sales, supply chain, for Vector Security Networks.

The traditional bedrock products of the industrial security industry, such as access control, protecting against illegal intrusion and fire prevention, are staples of any company. “They're not going anywhere,” Rutherford says. “They’re must-haves. What I have seen, specifically around the supply chain world, is ingenuity, creativity and innovation within each one of those areas. Quite frankly, it's hard to keep up with it because it's changing almost daily.” He says there are record sales in the area of video surveillance alone. 

The risk of supply chain disruption has caused companies to double down on investment in facilities management and loss prevention, Rutherford says. Warehouses and distribution centers are increasing the number and sophistication of their security and alarm systems. In fact, the increased number of cameras and access controls has placed a serious strain on systems networks. “If you're streaming video from 12 cameras, it's maybe not so much of a concern,” Rutherford says. “If you're streaming video from 120 cameras, now there's a big concern because the rest of the business is impacted. So network services and what that brings to the IT forefront have really kind of moved into the lead chair of the decision-making tree in a lot of situations.”

It's critically important to determine what a company’s pain points are, he says. And in a million-square-foot facility that contains extremely expensive conveyors, shelving systems, automation, robots and costly inventory, there are quite a few such points. “Lots of things can go wrong. There's a lot of moving parts in a warehouse. So not only protecting the human element, but protecting the product element, is of paramount importance to the decision makers.”