Build a Mobile Device Policy for Supply Chains

The age of BYOD isn’t near – it’s here. In 2013, 80 percent of employees said they use personal technology for business (Ovum) and 53 percent of organizations said they officially condone BYOD (Microsoft TechNet). In fact, nearly 80 percent of companies have implemented a virtual desktop infrastructure (Trend Micro).

But only about half of companies with a BYOD program require that devices either be pre-approved or have pre-approved security software installed (CRN). This tells us that security leaders still aren’t doing their due diligence to address employee mobile device security – a necessary process in the supply chain.

While mobility is important, security is equally important – especially in the supply chain where information can be sensitive and devices can be subject to compliance. The issue of device security can be solved by putting an employee policy in place that governs the use of mobile devices. After all, what affects you business’ security is not the device itself, but who is using it and what they’re allowed to do with it.

Here are few things to consider when putting together your mobile device policy:

1.       What is your level of risk?

In order to put a mobile device policy in place, you must consider the risks associated with your environment. Issues surrounding mobile devices in the supply chain include privacy governance, data protection, the “right to be forgotten,” employee monitoring, breach investigation, and data ownership and recovery.

To create your risk profile, consider all of the possible situations that could result from poor management of the above issues. For example, what could happen if your data were to be tampered with or fall into the wrong hands?

Policies differ from business to business depending on the level of compliance that is required by your business. A concrete risk profile can provide a foundation for your mobile security policy – and a solid reason to say “no” to certain requests.

2.       Which mobile devices will be supported?

It’s important to set boundaries and clearly define what’s allowed and what’s not. Too many organizations make the mistake of trying to accommodate any kind of personal device and platform that workers desire to use. This makes the task of supporting them all but impossible for an IT security team. With a wide range of mobile devices, a policy is likely to be spread to accommodate all of them – and therefore, less effective.

There has to be some sort of standardization. Make sure your employees know that you are not trying to limit their device options, but simply trying to set some sort of framework for your mobile device policy. An enterprise mobility consultant can help you select the ideal devices for your business needs.

3.       How will information be accessed?

How will you or your employees access business reports or inventory information? Will it be stored and accessed on the device? Or will it be stored elsewhere and accessed remotely? In other words, will your devices simply be viewing platforms, or will employees be able to directly handle data on them?

This will depend on your risk profile, or the liabilities are associated with viewing and handling your data. Keep in mind that, depending on your industry and business type, compliance and reporting mandates can come into play in this decision. If your devices are subject to compliance, you should consider limiting the ability to handle data on the actual device.

4.       Who will be able to access it?

Of course, business owners don’t want to believe that any of their employees could pose a high risk to the organization, but some might simply be more qualified to handle sensitive information than others. In that case, consider a role-based deployment policy in which you create risk profiles for each employee role and allow certain employees to access certain levels of information from their device.

Virtualization is a consideration in many compliance-heavy industries – it allows employees to work from a remote desktop where applications can be run, but information is not left on the device.

What will your mobile device policy include? As mentioned, a consultant can help your business select devices and set up a policy that will provide you with both optimal mobility and security.

Building a Strong Mobile Device Policy for Supply Chain Operations

Most supply chain operations run on mobile devices now. Warehouse scanners, delivery confirmation apps, inventory management tools, and real-time tracking all depend on devices that workers carry around, drop occasionally, connect to various networks, and use across multiple shifts every day.

That dependence is not going away. If anything, it keeps growing. Which means the question is not whether to have a mobile device policy, it is whether the one you have actually covers what it needs to cover.

A policy that was written three years ago and has not been touched since, probably has gaps. The technology has changed, the threats have changed, and the way teams use devices in the field has changed. Getting ahead of those gaps before something goes wrong is a lot easier than dealing with the fallout after.

Standardizing Mobile App Ecosystems

Left unmanaged, the app situation in a supply chain operation gets messy fast. One warehouse runs a slightly different version of the inventory app. A driver has a third-party tool installed that nobody approved. Two facilities are using different integrations with the ERP system, and nobody is sure which one is current.

None of that is unusual. It is just what happens without clear standards in place.

A solid policy addresses this directly:

• Approved applications are listed explicitly, so there is no ambiguity about what is and is not allowed
• Personal and unauthorized apps are restricted on devices used for operations
• Version control is enforced so every device is running the current, tested software
• Integration standards are defined for how apps connect to ERP and warehouse management systems

When everyone is working within the same digital setup, compatibility problems shrink, and the operation runs more consistently across locations.

Device Lifecycle Management

Supply chain devices take a beating. They get scanned thousands of times a day, dropped, exposed to temperature swings, and run through multiple shifts without much downtime. A device that was reliable eighteen months ago may be showing wear that is about to turn into real operational problems.

Without a lifecycle management approach, most organizations find out a device is failing when it stops working in the middle of a shift, which is about the worst possible time.

A proper lifecycle policy covers:

• Procurement standards so that new devices meet operational requirements from the start
• Deployment and configuration procedures that get devices set up consistently every time
• Maintenance schedules that catch problems before they cause downtime
• Replacement cycles are defined in advance rather than decided reactively when something breaks
• End-of-life procedures that handle data wiping and disposal properly

Managing devices proactively is almost always cheaper than managing failures after the fact.

Connectivity and Network Security

Mobile devices connect to a lot of things: warehouse Wi-Fi, cellular networks, Bluetooth peripherals, and IoT sensors. Each of those connections is a point where something can go wrong if there are no controls around it.

An employee connecting to an unsecured public network while on a delivery route. A Bluetooth pairing that was never audited. A device accessing operational systems over a connection that was not designed for that traffic. These are not hypothetical scenarios; they happen in operations that have not defined clear rules around connectivity.

The policy should address:

• Wi-Fi authentication requirements that go beyond just knowing a password
• VPN requirements for remote access to sensitive systems
• Clear restrictions on public or unsecured networks for work activity
• Bluetooth and peripheral device controls that limit what can connect to an operational device
• Network segmentation that keeps operational systems separated from general traffic

Good connectivity governance keeps the operation moving without leaving obvious security gaps open.

Incident Response and Device Recovery

Devices get lost. Sometimes they get stolen. Occasionally, something gets compromised. These situations are not pleasant to plan for, but having a clear response protocol before something happens makes an enormous difference in how the situation gets handled.

A weak response, slow to act, unclear about who does what, no remote wipe capability, can turn a lost device into a data breach. A fast, structured response limits the damage significantly.

The policy needs to define:

• Remote wipe and data lock capabilities that can be activated immediately when a device goes missing
• Reporting procedures so that lost or stolen devices get flagged right away rather than discovered later
• Replacement workflows that get the affected worker back up and running quickly
• Investigation and documentation steps for any situation that may involve a security breach
• Communication protocols for notifying affected systems and teams

In supply chain operations where timing matters, even a few hours of confusion during an incident can create disruptions that take days to untangle.

Continuous Monitoring and Policy Evolution

A mobile device policy is not something you write once and file away. The technology changes. The threats change. The way the operation uses devices evolves. A policy that was thorough two years ago may be missing sections that matter now.

Keeping the policy current means building in a process for reviewing and updating it regularly:

• Ongoing device and usage monitoring to catch issues before they become patterns
• Scheduled policy audits rather than waiting for a problem to trigger a review
• Employee feedback from the people actually using devices in the field — they often notice gaps before anyone else does
• Security performance reporting that gives leadership an honest picture of how the policy is working
• Updates for emerging technologies like RFID expansion, new IoT integrations, or changes in how the network infrastructure is set up

A policy that gets reviewed and updated regularly stays useful. One that sits untouched becomes a formality that does not reflect how things actually work anymore.

Also Read: The 6 Biggest Benefits of RFID Asset Tracking in the Supply Chain