Unsticking the Supply Chain.

BYLINE: By JACK KOHANE

We live in unpredictable times. Uncertain and turbulent markets are being buffeted by threats of terrorism, natural disasters and wars, creating additional strains on global supply chain networks already susceptible to a spectrum of serious disruptions. When an adverse event occurs, a "business as usual" approach is not an option.

That was the key message heard repeatedly by over 300 delegates attending the 41st Annual Supply Chain & Logistics Conference held in Vaughan, Ont. Hosted by Supply Chain & Logistics Association Canada, the three-day event dissected and discussed the changes and challenges confronting Canadian business and supply chain logisticians.

Addressing the sticky issue of Canada-U.S. traffic slowdowns at the 49th parallel, keynote speaker Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, offered delegates his views on how to construct solid Canadian foundations for global supply chain resilience, despite a thickening American border.

"The Canada-U.S. relationship facilitates the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world with approximately US$1.5 billion in two-way trade crossing the border every day," he said.

Spotlighting some of the ways to improve the flow of people and the movement of goods, Mr. Beatty emphasized that security remains everyone''s prime concern. "The security threat to North America is real, including the threat to Canada," he said. "Our physical security and our economic security are closely related. Too often, people speak of having to choose between security and trade - as if you can either have economic prosperity or freedom from terrorism. But you can''t have both. In my view, the truth is exactly the opposite. Our physical security allows us to focus on building prosperity and our prosperity gives us the resources we need to pay for our security."

Mr. Beatty cautioned that misallocating security assets to the 49th parallel can actually make North America less safe, as it takes away badly needed resources from other priorities. "Our strategy must be intelligence-based, using new technologies and systems to identify risky cargo and individuals," he stated. "This will be far more effective in finding terrorists or potentially dangerous cargo than random searches. We need to stop subjecting known low-risk partners to unnecessary inspections and direct our limited border resources at unknown cargo and travellers."