DHL Exel Supply Chain’s green credentials have helped the company scoop the renewal of a contract with retailer TK Maxx for £100m. TK Maxx says the five-year deal – which represents the largest and longest contract it has ever signed – will help with its ambitious growth strategy for the UK and Europe. A spokeswoman [...]
From My-ESM: “The green sourcing wave has begun to roll with an increasing number of electronics companies beginning to catch on and ride the wave in an effort to proactively manage a new era of customer needs, environmental regulations and competitive realities that will ultimately impact their business. Far from a fad or feel-good initiative, [...]
SUMMARY Supply chain fraud can encompass the entire breadth and depth of an organization, and its impacts can have a ripple effect throughout both the internal and external supply chain. The techniques, methodologies, and tools to detect and reduce supply chain fraud are available – organizations must realize the value of being proactive versus the [...]
INTRODUCTION Few terms resonate so deeply with business these days as do “supply chain†and “fraudâ€. Individually, these two terms are a reflection of the evolving business world around us: the supply chain is truly global in nature, and it seems that fraud is being committed in both the public and private sector at alarming [...]
RELATIONSHIP TO SARBANES-OXLEY Documentation for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requires the organization to look at risks, control activities, policies, procedures, etc. across all operations. This investigation becomes an introspective look at how the organization conducts business from the inside-out, the outside-in, and strictly within (such as between departments, divisions, etc.).
COSO – SARBOX – SUPPLY CHAIN FRAUD The Committee Of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) internal controls framework highlights the following 5 key components which are a useful guide for the detection and reduction of supply chain fraud. Control Environment, Risk Assessment, Control Activities, Information & Communication and last but not least, Monitoring. In summary:
DEFINITION: SUPPLY CHAIN I hesitate greatly to offer any definition of the supply chain, as there are likely so many better ones to be found. However, knowing that there are likely a wide variety of definitions available, I do feel somewhat safe in adding a new one to the mix. The total movement of raw [...]
DEFINITION: FRAUD There may be fewer definitions of fraud available than those for the supply chain, but much like defining the supply chain, I feel that there are enough in existence such that adding one more for this purpose will not dilute or disrupt the other definitions out there. A purposeful deception, misrepresentation, or concealment [...]
WHO’S INVOLVED? Fraud, especially those related to the supply chain, will encompass internal, external, and mixed (internal and external) types of collusion scenarios. In brief: Internal fraud will be perpetrated solely within the organization, without the known involvement of an outside entity, such as a customer or supplier. This may involve an individual or several [...]
WHAT CAUSES FRAUD? There are many theories and psychological studies as to why a person commits fraud. Some of the different theories propose that fraud is committed due to: • The Western culture that emphasizes material goods in association with social status, where we are forced to “keep up with the Jonesesâ€. • External pressures [...]
WHERE IT HAPPENS With an understanding that the supply chain is both internal and external to an organization, supply chain fraud can occur at any link in the chain, for example: – Fixed Assets – Trigger Events – Purchase Orders – Picking – Returns – Packing – Distribution – Shipping – Receiving – Quality Assurance [...]
IMPACTS OF SUPPLY CHAIN FRAUD In the short-term, the impacts of supply chain fraud can include reduced cash-on-hand and lower profits. Small-time frauds may turn into big-time crimes. The more fraud is seen as being acceptable, and even profitable, by employees, the more fraud will be committed by more employees who may have been “on [...]
SUPPLY CHAIN FRAUD DETECTION The detection of supply chain fraud encompasses a variety of techniques and methodologies, processes and procedures, and relies on the availability of accurate data in electronic form. It is no longer possible to sift through mountains of paperwork in hopes of manually catching inconsistencies, though this is not to say that [...]
SHRINKAGE: BOTTOMLESS PIT OR GRAVE? Many organizations just write off losses – especially raw materials and finished goods – to shrinkage: a general ledger bucket of seemingly endless depth and widespread use for all sorts of ills that may plague an organization. As long as shrinkage is within some acceptable percentage range, no one typically [...]
ASSESS BEFORE THE AUDIT Many organizations find themselves at odds with the findings of their auditors about the organization’s risk mitigation policies and procedures. The cause of the conflict is likely due to the fact that the auditor requires adherence to standards and guidelines that are not cost-effective for the organization to implement. It’s not [...]
ARE YOU BUDGETED FOR FRAUD REPERCUSSIONS? If your organization is not budgeting for fraud detection, prevention, and reduction, then you better be budgeting for fraud repercussions. In much the same way as supply chain fraud cuts across the operations of the enterprise, the repercussions from supply chain fraud are just as far-reaching, (if not actually [...]
JDA Software Group’s Fundraising Efforts Help Build Home with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity – Ground Breaking has Commenced after $77,000+ Donation from JDA Employees and FOCUS 2007 Conference Attendees Scottsdale, Ariz. – October 25, 2007 – JDA® Software Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: JDAS) today announced that in partnership with New Orleans Area Habitat for [...]
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. and ATLANTA, Ga., Oct. 29, 2007 – Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) and UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced a joint venture to launch a new co-branded store in China. The new store format, co-branded Staples UPS Express, combines office supplies and document processing services from Staples, the world’s largest office products company, with packaging and [...]
