The January 2014 print issue of Professional Security featured an interim official report into the horse meat scandal of 2013.
Meanwhile the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) recently called for procurement and supply chain managers to earn a licence to practise to protect the public. As CIPS said, this call came in the wake of recent supply chain and procurement failures which have seen food chain contamination and loss of lives, leading to a public outcry for change and improved accountability.
CIPS, a body representing purchasing and supply managers, has also published a policy statement setting out the guiding principles of the licence, launched at their 2013 annual conference in London. According to the institute, the licence to practise would ensure that senior procurement and supply chain managers would be required to have a professionally recognised licence, in a manner akin to the licencing of the accountancy profession. The licence is seen by CIPS as fundamental to the stability of the global economy as multinational companies are increasingly exposed to international risks which can cause seismic shocks to their earnings, reputation and share prices when a supply malfunction occurs.
The institute points to natural disasters such as the tsunami in Japan, to political unrest in the Middle East, not to mention fraud and modern slavery in corporate supply chains, showing the risk in supply chains. Each new, emerging risk affects consumers.
David Noble, Global Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply said: “Supply-side risk is getting out of control. There is an acute need for the procurement and supply profession to be formally licenced in order to protect the public. This was brought into sharp focus earlier this year with the horsemeat fiasco in the UK and the Bangladesh factory tragedy, which put a human price on the failure to understand and make provision for risk in the supply chain. The industry must now respond to these risks and ensure professionals managing supply chains are adequately trained to do so and ensure accountability which has been absent for too long. A licence for the profession gives it true professional standing and individuals the knowledge they are adhering to best practise.”
