Research carried out by Crossword Cybersecurity PLC (AIM:CCS) and Liverpool John Moores University has revealed shortcomings to current supply chain risk assurance processes.
The findings were made in a joint research project undertaken by Crossword and Liverpool John Moores University to investigate the underlying problems and causes of failures in supply chain risk and assurance.
Between April and September 2021, the project team analysed 118,600 data points collected through 26 enlisted UK manufacturing businesses to underpin the new, original research, which includes an in-depth analysis of the nuclear and automotive industries, Crossword said in a statement.
The research found that businesses have not standardised what information they ask for, how they ask it, and how they share it, which leads to duplication and supplier assurance fatigue and a lack of supply chain transparency.
Prof Claire Hannibal of Liverpool John Moores University said: "The research delivered offers a contemporary investigation of current challenges to sharing information in multi-tier supply chains."
Lola Adeyemi, research project manager at Crossword Cybersecurity, said: "Imagine a single supplier receiving a request for information from multiple organisations, each using slightly different wording and slightly different methods. This requires a lot of effort. Standardisation is a great solution in this situation and can be the innovative breakthrough in quite a challenging space".
READ: Crossword Cybersecurity goes nuclear
As part of the project, leading third-party risk assurance thought leaders, Crossword and Liverpool John Moores University developed a new digital supply chain risk & assurance method that can address the underlying problems and causes of failures in supply chains.
Ken Fraser, product manager for Crossword’s leading cybersecurity software Rizikon Assurance, said: "The study shows that information standards to improve the efficiency of information exchange are the key to supply chain resilience. This is something we have designed and are adopting in Rizikon."
Liverpool John Moores University and Crossword Cybersecurity are currently writing up the complete set of findings for publication.