E-Commerce & Security of your Warehouse

Anil Puri
CMD, APS group

Introduction

E-commerce has come a long way since Michael Aldrich created online transaction processing in 1979. The term refers today to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. From a customs perspective, it is used to refer to the sale of physical products online, including illicit ones (the risk of this is ever increasing). Driven by the increase in internet users worldwide as well as smartphone and mobile penetration, e-commerce has revolutionized the way businesses and consumers market, buy and sell goods and services, providing a vast choice of products as well as advance shipping, payment, and delivery options.

There are now even specific terms to refer to mobile-commerce (M-Commerce) and social media commerce (S-Commerce – which integrates social media into e-retail sites and adds e-commerce functionality to social networks. Approximately 18% of e-commerce takes place via social media). Today, it is widely recognized that the growing e-commerce sector is an important growth engine for economies, providing and developing new trade modes, driving new consumption trends, and creating new jobs. It has ‘enabled’ growth opportunities to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in terms of wider access to larger markets by lowering entry barriers and reducing operational costs.

E-commerce has become one of the largest industries in the world to function. Today, it is widely recognized that the growing e-commerce sector is beneficial to economies, providing new growth engines, developing new trade modes, driving new consumption trends, and creating new jobs.

The evolution of technology and the internet led to the opening of infinite ways to engage with consumers worldwide. But larger the business, the greater the risk and this is the case for e-commerce as well. As an organization, it becomes imperative to protect the organization from various and varied threats.

When you traverse along the Indian highways, every mile is dotted with mushrooming warehouses. Deploying security systems for the warehouse and logistics category can seem daunting to anyone outside of the security industry. Everything risk-related needs to be factored in, from theft prevention, access control, surveillance, fire and safety, to disaster recovery, data security. Environment monitoring has also become a part of the ‘security threat’ and needs to be continuously monitored and factored in. The days of the facilities manager simply contracting a single service provider or vendor (usually the lowest-quoted priced) for each risk category and hiring them to install and forget about it, are all but gone. ‘one or single point’ is an expression we in the security business use to describe the advantages of working with a single integrator to handle everything security-related. That way, when something needs to be addressed or fixed, there is only ‘a single point.’ The need for such ‘single point’ processes are gaining prominence as manufacturers, distributors and retailers look to optimize their supply-chain processes. Warehouses are evolving into highly automated centers equipped with the latest, cutting edge technology.

Identifying risk and threats

At its core, physical security refers to protecting people, property, and physical assets from the risk of physical actions and events such as fire, flood, natural disasters, burglary, theft, vandalism, and terrorism. Some of the most common processes for Security monitoring and prevention are the most basic – warning signs or stickers, fences, vehicle barriers, restricted access points, security lighting, etc. When physical security and ‘E-Security’ divisions operate in silos, they lack an overall and coordinated view of security threats targeting their enterprise. As a result, successful attacks are more likely to occur and can result in the theft of sensitive or proprietary information, economic damage, disruption of critical functions, or even loss of life.

Physical Security & ‘E-Security’ – an ultimate solution

Physical security integrates with ‘E-Security’ by limiting access to spaces where is needed and the reverse is also true. Physical security components connected to the Internet, such as RFID key card door locks, smartphones, and video surveillance cameras, are often vulnerable to cyber-attacks and are thus a security risk. Traditionally, physical security operations were run by professionals with expertise in maintaining the physical safety of a facility using solutions such as locks, cameras, guards, fencing, and alarms. While ‘E-Security’ was the exclusive domain of the IT department, which had responsibility for the computer systems and network. The two departments lacked an integrated approach to and in decision-making for security procedures.

Physical security is a vital business practice to give a ‘human touch’ helping prevent unauthorized persons from entering your business and causing harm, protect your intellectual property from corporate espionage, and mitigate workplace violence, amongst other concerns. A strong ‘E-Security’ strategy safeguards and enhances the sensitivity of physical security. This combo strategy on security will enable network devices, applications, and software that power smart, cloud-based devices and security systems as well as the people who manage, monitor, and make business decisions for these functions based on real-time threat assessment and prevention and last but not the least an ‘informed reaction.’

Principles of application of convergence strategy

Whether you are responsible for your organization’s physical security or ‘E-Security,’ you still need to apply the following principles:

1. Identify and classify your assets and resources (what to protect).
2. Identify likely vulnerabilities that threats may exploit (the likelihood).
3. Identify plausible threats (who to protect it from).
4. Identify the expected cost if bad things happen (the consequences).

The Benefits of Integration

The benefits of ‘E-Security’ and physical security integration can broadly be categorized as:

1. Cost Saving.
2. Incident response and management.
3. Risk reduction.

‘E-Security’ Helps Build a Physical Security Framework

‘ E-Security’ supports and enhances the physical security measures the organization decides to implement. In many ways, the type of ‘E-Security’ measures that a company seeks to implement will determine which kind of physical security barriers and deterrents should be utilized.

However, ‘E-Security’ systems have their limitations, which is why physical security should still exist to pick up the ‘slack’ and further strengthen business security.

Achieving Convergence

There are many steps which enterprise security leaders can take to achieve convergence. You cannot provide good ‘E-Security’ without good building security. Both aspects of security need to be integrated with IT department to improve the organization’s security and reducing the risk to security. There’s a lot to consider when handling risks – threats, scalability, reputational risks, disaster response, data privacy, etc.

Security should not be important to only one level of the organization – it needs to be important to everyone. Criticality of security across the Organization from top to bottom needs a complete ‘buy in’ with a development programme to understand what is expected from ‘one and all’ members of the organization into understanding security and how it can assist in the overall benefit of the organization.

Steps of Implementation

a) Don’t rely on manual data entry practices

With the technology available nowadays, it’s basically essential to use mobile computers with barcode scanners or RFID readers at the receiving dock of a warehouse in order to immediately identify products upon arrival. Manual data entry simply takes up too much time today and is fraught with the risk of errors.

The barcode scanners and RFID readers help get the product off the dock quickly and eliminate nearly all the errors associated with manual entry, including identification, counting and data entry errors.

b) Have an emergency response plan in place

Employers should have an emergency plan that describes what is expected of employees in the event of an emergency. This plan should include provisions for emergency exit locations and evacuation procedures; procedures for accounting for all employees and visitors; and the location of fire extinguishers and other emergency equipment. Warehouse operations need a lockout/ tag out program to prevent equipment from being accidentally energized, which can lead to employee injuries.

Since work place and environmental security are of increasing importance warehouse operations management should conduct a site hazard assessment to determine what personal protective equipment must be required based on the hazards present and put in place an Environmental Hazard Policy. They should also train warehouse employees on proper PPE selection, use and maintenance.

c) Communicate effectively and often

Clearly communicating your organizational goals and the necessary processes to achieve them is the key to effective warehousing operations. Failure of effective communication, results in loss of employee productivity, high turnover and wasted resources.

d) Central Monitoring Center

A professional security system provider will have a central monitoring center that operates 24/7, ensuring that your warehouse is always protected using a variety of ‘E-Security’ measures that send a signal to the control panel and the monitoring center (CMS) where the response gets integrated with Physical intervention.

e) Perimeter Protection

Perimeter protection is an extremely important aspect of warehouse security, especially if your warehouse has a large surrounding area. The vulnerability of your warehouse increases as the points of entry are harder to properly secure. However, there are aspects of ‘E-Security’ that can address this issue, “IP cameras, video verification systems, glass break detection and door protection are key elements of an optimal perimeter warehouse security system” which will need to be integrated into a CMS.

f) Glass Break Detection

A glass break detector is a sensor used in electronic burglar alarms that monitors any noise or vibrations coming from the glass, and if the vibrations exceed a certain threshold, the sensor will be triggered in the CMS. Warehouses can be very large and it’s hard to keep tabs on every corner of the building without the proper equipment. With glass break detection, you can know when a zone has been compromised in real time

g) Utilize Remote Notification Technology

Whether you’re looking to safeguard the exterior of your facility or secure high-traffic areas in your building, using remote notifications technology that goes straight to multiple devices and the CMS to warn when important points of entry have been accessed.

This acts as a force multiplier giving ‘control’ on the security situation on literally 24 by 7 basis.

h) Integrate Building Access Control into Your Security Plan

Integrate Electronic building access control technology for permitting and restricting access to your premises or secured areas and within the premises. This will allow only permitted people to enter your premises and limit the points on entry into your warehouse. Access control systems can be integrated into a number of other commercial security solutions such as CCTV, for maximum effectiveness. With an electronic access control system in place and integrated with a CMS and a response team a security head can easily control access to a facility or secured areas across geographies.

i) Integrate Environmental Control into Your Security Plan

Process and environmental monitoring is becoming very crucial for maximum protection of sensitive materials and operations. Environmental monitoring serves two very important purposes for your business – it can be a lifesaver in times of emergency and it can also increase operational efficiency and control costs. Whether processes need air conditioning, heating systems or need to maintain temperature in a critical area, environmental control provides you with added capability to keep and track, and alert you to changes in any of the various critical categories.

j) Regularly Test Your System

Scheduled testing of the security system is needed. As the old saying goes, better safe than Sorry. As far as day-to-day system maintenance and upkeep, there should be none “as long as the system is designed properly.” Consider equipping your warehouse with a state-of-the-art security system from a professional security provider. Remember, ‘single point’ It could be the difference between a well-run, synchronized operation and costly chaos or even devastation of a business.

Conclusion

Even though physical and ‘E-Security’ are inherently connected, many organizations still treat these security functions as separate systems. In the past, this was justified because the technology to integrate physical and ‘E-Security’ was not yet available. However, now the problem comes down to governance, making it a priority to create a single point approach for security policies and bringing physical security and ‘E-Security’ together to build strengthen an organization. An integrated security architecture offers a foundation for connecting the physical and cyber worlds through intelligence sharing, visibility, control, and automation. As more technology integrates into our daily operations, there is an enhanced need for Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) to help protect the organization from accidental and potentially malicious misuse of these systems, processes and resources to help in ensuring their intended missions are not disrupted or compromised.

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