Suchergebnisse

This study characterizes and synthetizes reports that the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent government watchdog organization, has published on supply chain security (SCS) since 2005. The study follows a systematic and transparent protocol for examining the 25 identified GAO documents. The document review reveals benefits and drawbacks of US SCS policies, initiatives and regulations. The findings allow contrasting of the US government's approach to SCS to the one of the European Commission. This comparison reveals differences and similarities in supply chain security policies both sides of the Atlantic and allows the policy makers to benchmark their approaches to supply chain security. The comparative analysis also paves the road for further EU-US harmonization and mutual recognition of the SCS programs. The study is part of European FP7-Project CORE.

The illegal trade and disposal of electronic waste - known as e-waste or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) - is increasingly becoming a threat to global environmental health and security. To enhance the capabilities of governments in the EU and beyond to combat this growing crime, INTERPOL, Cross-border Research Association (CBRA) and five other partners launched the 2-year Countering WEEE Illegal Trade (CWIT) project in September 2013, funded by the EU's 7th Framework Program. The purpose of this paper is to present a new case study protocol for harmonized collection of detailed data on several dozen illicit WEEE cases across the globe. The CWIT case study protocol aims to capture multiple aspects of WEEE violations: (i) What was done wrongfully in e-waste trade and how; (ii) Which WEEE products and fractions, geographies, and transport modes were involved; (iii) Who was involved in illicit acts; (iv) What were / would have been the illicit economic benefits, and negative socio-economic impacts; (v) How was detection and inspection carried out; and (vi) What is the up-to-date situation with investigations, prosecutions and punishments? The outcomes of three preliminary illicit WEEE cases - with non-sensitive, anonymized data - are included in the paper. It is anticipated that the illicit WEEE case studies will play a central role in the development of policy, enforcement, technology, training and other recommendations to combat more effectively and efficiently the wide spectrum of regulatory violations in trade, logistics and disposal of WEEE in the future.

Global supply chains and freight logistics systems are commonly exploited in trafficking activities: for example cocaine may be shipped from Colombia to the Netherlands concealed in ocean liner structures while stolen cultural products may be hidden inside an air container, shipped for example by express courier from Egypt to Italy. In order to design effective and efficient governmental policies and corresponding regulations, enforcement priorities, inspection schemes and other countermeasures, one needs a clear picture of such common illicit flows - such an integrated research paper does not exist today. The objective of this paper is to capture and summarize some of the key characteristics, in particular socio-economic negative impacts, of following six common trafficking flows: trafficking in cocaine and heroin; counterfeit products; ozone depleting substances; firearms; stolen cultural products; and endangered species. The negative socio-economic impacts in this paper fall ultimately into following six categories: Increasing health care and social security costs; Increasing environmental damages; Increasing human suffering; Increasing market place distortions and/or unfair competition; Losses in tax revenues regarding indirect border taxes; and Losses in cultural heritage. The main outcome of this paper is an integrated matrix derived from both practitioner and academic literature to map the socio-economic negative impact -categories per each illicit flow-type. Finally, this qualitative paper suggests several quantitative research (sub-)topics for the future.

The same Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that have contributed tremendously to the productivity of supply chain companies and gov ernments alike, as well as to the global competitiveness of the European Union, ex pose modern societies to a range of cyber threats. ICT systems are fundamental to ensure that undisrupted flows of merchandise and critical supplies, such as oil, minerals, rare earths, pharmaceuticals and food are moved in and out of the EU ter ritory. Past events have revealed the vulnerability of global supply chains to crime and terrorism. However, previous research does not highlight how these threats may be affected with the support of cyber attacks. Hence, by means of a literature review and experts' validation, this study develops a set of three scenarios that outline how cybercrime could jeopardize security of supply chains and, consequently, the well-being of European citizens. Fi nally, implications for managers and EU agencies are discussed. ; QC 20190402

Illegal exports of waste electrical and electronic equipment -WEEE - from industrial to developing countries is a growing criminal phenomena posing serious threats to the human health and the environment. Several loopholes in the current jurisdictional systems along the supply chain in the European Union; deficiencies in law enforcement capacity, knowledge and training; and other supply chain related weaknesses prevent an effective response to such criminal activity. This paper identifies the vulnerabilities along the supply chain, the shortcomings in the legislative framework around WEEE, and its limited implementation and enforcement that facilitate leakages from the legal WEEE streams. An understanding of the weaknesses will enable the governmental bodies to develop appropriate counter-measures to improve the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of WEEE violations. This paper presents a comprehensive gap analysis across the EU member states, Norway and Switzerland. It focuses on the key issues surrounding the international and national legislative frameworks and the implementation thereof, law enforcement capacity, knowledge and training, information management, and penalties and prosecution. The study helps to identify the underlying problems and the key concerns faced by national authorities - and, this information will lead to a set of recommendations for the European Commission and the EU member states to address the problem of illegal e-waste exports.