As the saying goes: "One does not get promoted based on cost avoidance." One of the reasons is that costs avoided do not show up on financial statements. On the other hand, costs incurred - including security outlays - are visible, and often become prime targets for the CFO's cost-cutting knife.

Many large, global organizations are concerned about the risk of serious physical disruption of their supply chains due to high-impact natural disasters, extreme weather or political turmoil. Over the past two years supplier risk has been receiving more attention from organizations as natural disasters, and their effects on global supply chains, have had wide media exposure.

Customer service and fulfillment excellence are highly prioritized strategies for competitive performance. Increasingly, organizations find that for more effective, resilient and reliable supply chain execution in the areas of warehousing, shipping and procurement, more gains are realized by integrating these previously unconnected processes.

With every crisis comes opportunity. The Great Recession, which choked off access to capital and placed suppliers around the world in economic jeopardy, triggered the growth of supply-chain finance programs, benefiting suppliers and buyers alike.

Movie heists often involve sophisticated tools and brilliant plans that depend on crack timing in order to succeed. Not so in real life.