An approach based on FMECA methodology for a decision support tool for managing risk in Customs supply chain: A case study

Risks such as smuggling of drugs, weapons or commercial fraud highlighted the vulnerability of the Customs supply chain. In fact, the economic, political and social impacts of those risks are highly detrimental to the countries, businesses and the public. Effective risk management in the customs supply chain could not only fulfill the safety requirements but also provide a competitive advantage in the commercial world. Making optimal decisions in this regard is not always as simple as it sounds, given the large number of actors, their complex structural links, and the interactions between them. The purpose of this paper is to develop a risk management approach enabling a structured analysis and an effective assessment of the risk in customs context. A Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis FMECA based methodology will be discussed to assess and analyze safety concerns for Moroccan Customs supply chain. As an input, it defines uncertainties in the system and it quantifies the risk using the criticality as a risk indicator. As an output, FMECA provides a list of most critical risks as well as some target mitigation actions. The proposed approach could be used not only to support the decision-making process, but also to provide a framework to better manage risks in Moroccan customs context.