1) facility management;
2) cargo management;
3) human resources management;
4) information management
5) business network and company management systems; and
6) crisis management and disaster recovery.
2.2 Container shipping supply chain security management
Assurance of security across maritime is the critical factor to facilitate international trade (Closs and McGarrell, 2004). Few studies specifically focused on security measures in the container shipping industry. Hawkes (1989, p. 9) defined container shipping security as “those measures employed by owners, operators, and administrators of vessels, port facilities, offshore installations, and other marine organizations or establishments to protect against seizure, sabotage, piracy, pilferage, annoyance, or surprise”. In container shipping supply chains the major risks leading to security problems include cargo, vessels, ports, people, information, and financing (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2003; Barnes and Oloruntoba, 2005; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2006; Lorenz, 2007). Thus, the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS), CSI, and 24-hour rule are maritime regulations specifically designed to enhance container shipping supply chain security (Banomyong, 2005). The C-TPAT program, a partial extension of the CSI, was implemented to increase container shipping supply chain security (Barnes and Oloruntoba, 2005; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2006; Marlow, 2010; Kim, 2011). Compliance with C-TPAT regulations requires that container shipping firms meet several criteria governing security procedures, container security, physical access controls, personnel security, procedural security, security training and awareness, physical security, information technology security, business partner requirements, as well as security assessment, response, and improvement.
A number of previous studies have identified the security issues related to container shipping industry. Banomyong (2005) and Yang (2010) examined the impact of CSI on container shipping supply chain. Frankel (2005) suggested that container shipping security measures include cargo security, ship security, personnel security, access control, communication infrastructure, human resources, and data security. Yang (2006) concluded that port security assessment plan should include personnel control, ship and environmental control, facilities control, and management training. Moreover, in today’s modern electronic commercebased marketplace, the container shipping industry has faced increased challenge with regard to information security and thus has to ensure the security of information in terms of confidentiality, availability, integrity, nonrepudiation, and authentication (McNicholas, 2008).
Recently, Thai (2009) applying quality management to study security in maritime transport, found the following 13 dimensions to be critical to successfully manage security: wellstructured security policy, security risk assessment, risk-based security mitigation strategies and plans, communication and consultation with stakeholders, security monitoring and review, continuous security improvement, use of specific organizational structures, senior management commitment and leadership, employee empowerment, employee involvement, security training, security design and process control, and security incident handling and response. Obviously, a container shipping firm’s capability to integrate the security management dimensions along the container shipping supply chains is crucial for it to ensure smooth performance and sustain its competitive advantage.
Compared with overall supply chain security with the previously-mentioned security initiatives and findings for container shipping specifically, container shipping supply chain security activities, as well as initiatives established to regulate these activities, are primarily designed to address the facility-related security, including ports, vessels, cargos, information, and people (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2006) (see Table II). It is important to note that container shipping firms are often not just involved in port-to-port transfer of cargo but are actually responsible for the movement of cargo along the whole distribution channel and provide door-to-door services (Marlow, 2010).
2.3 Container shipping supply chain security performance
Because supply chain security treats greatly affect the performance and safety of container shipping, an effective security performance measurement system might help organizations better understand how things are working and