Set against the backdrop of Hurricane Helene sweeping across Florida and the onset of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) dock workers’ strike that same morning, our recent SCRIPS (Supply Chain Resilience Issues, Problems and Solutions for the Homeland Security Enterprise) Workshop welcomed a diverse group of experts from various sectors to address the supply chain resilience challenges confronting the homeland security enterprise. Hosted by the Center for Advanced Operational Efficiency (CAOE) at Arizona State University, the Command, Control and Interoperability Center for Advanced Data Analysis (CCICADA) at Rutgers University, and the Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense Center (CBTS) at Texas A&M University, and with support of the DHS Supply Chain Resilience Center, this event fostered collaboration and innovative solutions.
The workshop was organized as an invitation-only event to ensure a focused and collaborative environment. Researchers, industry leaders, and government representatives were invited based on their expertise in areas like agriculture, semiconductor manufacturing, and maritime operations—key sectors critical to supply chain resilience. Invitations were extended after a thorough review of submitted white papers, which outlined research needs, models, and potential solutions. These contributions set the stage for rich discussions and helped shape the agenda, making the SCRIPS Workshop a highly targeted effort to develop actionable strategies for homeland security.
Ron Askin, Executive Director of the Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency at Arizona State University, played a pivotal role in organizing the SCRIPS Workshop. With extensive experience in industrial engineering and a commitment to enhancing operational efficiency, Askin’s leadership set the tone for the two-day event. At the workshop, Askin welcomed everyone and opened with a comment on the importance of supply chains, quipping that he caused the recent hurricane and strike disrupting global supply chains to get his point across. He emphasized that, in actuality, the current events were part of an ongoing cycle of disruptions that consistently affect and disrupt supply chains worldwide. Askin’s insights struck a chord with attendees, many of whom are focused on supply chain resilience, reinforcing the workshop’s critical relevance and the need for meaningful strides in the development of resilience strategies.
Askin advised participants to approach the workshop with a goal in mind, sharing advice he has carried for some time: “Never leave a conference without the idea of the paper you’re going to write and the person or people you’re going to write it with.” He also encouraged government attendees to leave with the names of the academics who could assist in addressing their challenges, underscoring the collaborative effort needed to improve supply chain resilience.
Guest and Keynote Speakers Share Insights Gleaned from Experience
Ross Maciejewski, Director of the Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency, welcomed attendees at the start of the workshop, setting the tone for the collaborative and forward-thinking discussions that followed. Beth Jones, Managing Director of CAOE, was also in attendance, further emphasizing the strong CAOE leadership presence that contributed to the event’s success.
The workshop featured two distinguished keynote speakers: Professor Anna Nagurney from the University of Massachusetts and John Caton from the Supply Chain Resilience Center. Their presentations highlighted the complexities and challenges inherent in supply chains, particularly in light of recent global disruptions.
Dr. Anna Nagurney, a leading authority in supply chain network systems, delivered the opening keynote at the SCRIPS Workshop. As the Eugene M. Isenberg Chair in Integrative Studies and Director of the Virtual Center for Supernetworks at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, she brought her extensive expertise to the topic of supply chain resilience and global challenges. Her talk drew from decades of research encompassing global supply chains, transportation logistics, and the intersection of network systems with economic, social, and environmental factors.
In her keynote address, Nagurney emphasized the importance of resilient supply chains in the agricultural and food sectors, especially considering recent global challenges such as climate change and geopolitical conflicts. “The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically and vividly demonstrated the importance of supply chains and their resilience as shortages from PPEs to paper and lumber products, cleaning supplies, high-tech products, and various foods were experienced, including baby formula,” Nagurney said. “Major challenges and opportunities for research continue due to climate change, different kinds of threats, wars, violence, and increasing strife and unrest.”
A significant portion of Nagurney’s talk focused on the critical role of labor in supply chain resilience. She introduced a model based in game theory that integrates labor dynamics into activities such as production, processing, and distribution. Using real-world examples like the 2020 labor shortages in the U.S. blueberry industry, she demonstrated how labor availability directly impacts the efficiency and profitability of supply chains. “Ensuring worker health and labor availability is essential for preventing further disruptions, especially during crises,” she said, highlighting the need for a balanced approach between productivity and worker well-being.
Nagurney called the SCRIPS workshop “prescient” and emphasized the critical need for resilience, stating, “The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically demonstrated the importance of supply chains and their resilience as shortages were experienced across various sectors.” Nagurney’s work during the pandemic, especially on the blood supply chain, highlighted the real-world implications of her research. “Within weeks, national policies changed based on the research and recommendations we put forward,” she shared during an interview after her keynote, demonstrating how modeling and prescriptive analytics can inform critical decisions during crises.
Nagurney’s keynote resonated with the urgency of the moment, encouraging collaboration across disciplines and sectors to develop innovative solutions. “The work is creative, but it also seems particularly difficult because there’s so much unknown… that’s what you can do with modeling when you have codes and algorithms; you just do so many ‘what if’ scenarios,” she remarked, urging researchers to embrace the challenge of the unknown to drive forward-thinking solutions. As for Nagurney, the first breakout group already had her excited to begin modeling more abstract concepts with regard to supply chain resilience, like trust, and how that elusive but essential concept might affect potential plans and solutions when working collaboratively with others.
John Caton, MPA, MA, CEM, Policy Analyst at the DHS Supply Chain Resilience Center, provided some additional thoughts at the outset of the workshop. Drawing from his experience at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security, Caton emphasized the urgency of addressing supply chain challenges, especially during disruptions like Hurricane Helene and the dock workers’ strike and reflecting on the complexities of managing logistics in emergencies.
“Organizing logistics in an emergency is an immense task, but anticipating and mitigating future concerns is an even heavier lift,” Caton said. “In my line of work, we need solutions yesterday, which makes supply chain resilience and gathering bright minds like yourselves paramount.”
Caton explained that supply chain resilience is more than just maintaining efficiency—it is about foresight and preparedness for unexpected disruptions. “This is why bringing together experts to explore alternative solutions is so crucial,” he explained.
He encouraged participants to engage in vigorous discussion and debate, challenging them to find innovative ways to strengthen supply chain systems. “If I don’t hear passionate discourse, I’ll be surprised and might think we’ve assembled the wrong group. Let’s embrace the challenges and create solutions that make a real difference,” Caton urged. His keynote set a tone of urgency and collaboration, inspiring participants to delve into the pressing issues of supply chain resilience.
Workshop Sessions and Breakout Groups
The two-day workshop included breakout sessions focused on vital areas such as agriculture, semiconductor manufacturing, and maritime operations. Participants engaged in rich discussions that identified research gaps and potential solutions, highlighting the importance of addressing vulnerabilities within supply chains. During the breakout sessions, attendees discussed various aspects of supply chain vulnerabilities. The sessions covered topics like supply chain weaknesses, research gaps in data and methods, and the importance of labor availability in ensuring resilience. The success of the SCRIPS Workshop was bolstered by the invaluable contributions of student research assistants, who diligently documented breakout discussions. Special thanks are extended to ASU students Karthik Chitrarasu, Wenting Li, Digvijay Redekar, and Mobasshira Zaman for their exceptional work and support of SCRIPS.
One of the first groups focused on the intricate and often fragile nature of the semiconductor supply chain. Participants emphasized the complexity of production and the heavy geopolitical dependence that plagues the industry, with approximately 50-60% of the supply chain reliant on foreign nations, particularly China. This reliance raises significant concerns regarding the resilience of the semiconductor industry in the face of global instability. Labor and training challenges emerged as critical issues as attendees highlighted the urgent need for skilled workers and the limitations of current automation efforts. The group recognized the potential benefits of reshoring to reduce foreign dependencies while improving visibility through comprehensive assessment tools. Additionally, they explored the role of technological innovations, such as AI, digital twins, and agile manufacturing, which are essential for modeling and simulating supply chains, stress-testing vulnerabilities, and enhancing overall efficiency.
In another group’s breakout session, Greg Pompelli, Director of the Center of Excellence for Cross-Border Threat and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS) at Texas A&M University, led participants in a discussion of the food and agricultural supply chain. While the U.S. food system demonstrated notable resilience during the pandemic, vulnerabilities remained apparent due to dependency on imports, labor shortages, and a lack of traceability for food products. The group called for improved metrics and tools to evaluate risk thresholds, advocating for techniques like GIS for surveillance and a classification system for local and global food supply chains to help identify weaknesses. Participants stressed the importance of long-term solutions, emphasizing the need for strengthened global relationships and partnerships to build a more resilient agricultural system.
The ports and shipping supply chain breakout group highlighted both strengths and weaknesses during their discussions. They acknowledged the adaptability of ports in the face of natural disasters but raised concerns about labor strikes and lagging automation in U.S. ports. Participants pointed out the urgent need for infrastructure upgrades and better access to data for enhanced decision-making. Cybersecurity emerged as a significant concern, particularly regarding the potential threats posed by foreign-owned equipment in U.S. ports. The group underscored the importance of fostering trust and facilitating data sharing between government agencies and private sector partners to bolster security measures.
Fred Roberts, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University, serves as the Director of CCICADA and a partner Center of Excellence (COE) hosting SCRIPS in collaboration with CAOE. A member of the steering committee for the SCRIPS workshop, Roberts also led the maritime breakout group, where experts gathered to address the complexities of this sector. In an interview, Roberts emphasized the importance of events like SCRIPS:
“Workshops like SCRIPS are crucial because they bring together people who might not otherwise meet, fostering a cross-pollination of ideas and setting the stage for long-term collaborations,” he said. “They help us identify the critical issues in supply chain resilience, giving us a better understanding of what future work needs to address—It’s about getting everyone in the same room to figure out what’s really at stake and where the research needs to go.”
In addition to his role in the workshop, Roberts is leading a critical research project with CAOE focused on the Marine Transportation System (MTS). This project, titled Modeling the Impact of Complex Disruptions on the Marine Transportation System, aims to develop a framework that assesses the consequences of multiple, overlapping disruptions—such as natural disasters, cyber threats, and social-political upheavals—on the MTS.
The fourth group tackled overarching issues that impact all supply chains. A central theme of this session was the critical need for improved collaboration between government agencies and the private sector. Participants suggested leveraging non-traditional data sources to enhance strategic decision-making. They also stressed the importance of developing predictive models capable of anticipating future disruptions, noting a historical tendency to address supply chain issues only after they reach a crisis point.
Key Takeaways and Future Directions
The breakout sessions underscored the fragile and interconnected nature of global supply chains, highlighting the critical roles of labor, automation, and data sharing in maintaining resilience. Participants identified numerous opportunities for improvement, including increased automation, reshoring efforts, and enhanced collaboration among government and industry stakeholders to address vulnerabilities and strengthen supply chain systems.
Rebecca Medina, Director of the Office of University Programs (OUP) at the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, warmly welcomed the attendees back on the second day of the workshop. Medina, who joined the OUP after her role as the Directorate’s Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in London, emphasized the importance of fostering partnerships between the Centers of Excellence (COEs). In a subsequent interview, Medina touched on the formation of a new headquarters group focused on supply chain resilience, reflecting on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. She also noted the critical need for robust partnerships and knowledge sharing to address future disruptions in supply chains, whether due to health crises or other challenges.
“One of the things that we really try to encourage is partnerships between centers,” Medina said. “I think the synergies between them can make our understanding of challenges like supply chain resilience that much more holistic, providing greater benefits to both industry and DHS.”
Medina expressed hope that the workshop would not only strengthen existing collaborations but also inspire new partnerships, allowing the centers to expand their consortiums and engage with more stakeholders. She envisioned the outcome of the session as a set of actionable insights that could better inform both operators and policymakers, helping to address unintended consequences that policies might have on supply chains.
The SCRIPS workshop featured a series of engaging breakout sessions by area, each designed to tackle distinct challenges and opportunities within various supply chain sectors. Participants delved into discussions that yielded valuable insights and recommendations for enhancing resilience across the supply chain landscape. On the second day, all four groups revisited the first day’s discussions to gather additional thoughts and comments from one another. Medina was front and center for this “super-group” morning. The final breakout provided each group the chance to summarize their key points and prioritize research opportunities.
As the workshop concluded, participants left with renewed insights and collaborative strategies aimed at enhancing supply chain resilience for the homeland security enterprise.
Acknowledgments
Led by Ron Askin, the SCRIPS Workshop Steering Committee played a pivotal role in organizing the event, ensuring a productive and engaging environment for all participants. We extend our sincere thanks to the members of the SCRIPS Workshop Steering Committee for their hard work and commitment to the success of this event. Their expertise and collaborative spirit have been invaluable. Thank you to Gregory Pompelli (CBTS), John Caton (DHS), Tracie Hanson (DHS), Maranda Kan (DHS), Fred Roberts (CCICADA), and Hilary Shackelford (DHS) for your contributions and support. Immense thanks also go to Amy Bennett, Assistant Director of CAOE, who oversaw the logistics of the workshop, along with Casey Lownes, CAOE Project Manager Associate, Zachary Spencer, CAOE Administrative Specialist, and Cynthia Gerber, CAOE Communications Specialist. We are deeply grateful to Matt Cochran, DVM, MIA, Director of Research for CBTS, and all the CBTS and Texas A&M University staff who contributed to making the SCRIPS Workshop a remarkable success. The collaboration between the CAOE, CCICADA, and CBTS underscored the importance of partnerships in addressing critical challenges in supply chain resilience. Financial support for the workshop was provided by the DHS Office of University Programs.
Special thanks to our DHS program manager, Hilary Shackelford and Rebecca Medina, Director of the Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Office of University Programs (OUP), Gregory Pompelli, Director of CBTS, the staff at CBTS, and Fred Roberts, Director of CCICADA for their support, which helped foster a collaborative atmosphere.
