1 EurOMA 2010, Porto, Portugal , http://www.euroma2010.org/ Conceptual model for assessing cost of security in global supply chains Juha Hintsa (juha@cross-border.org) Cross-border Research Association, CBRA, Lausanne, Switzerland Toni Männistö Cross-border Research Association, CBRA, Lausanne, Switzerland Juha Ahokas Aalto University School of Science and Technology, Helsinki, Finland Kabi Zaghbour Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Brussels, Belgium Ari-Pekka Hameri University of Lausanne, HEC, Switzerland Jan Holmström Aalto University School of Science and Technology, Helsinki, Finland Abstract After the 2001 terrorist attacks, an avalanche of new initiatives to secure global supply chains have emerged. Government pushed SCS initiatives are sometimes perceived as costly by the private sector, thus calling for SCS cost modeling research. In the literature references with cost factors and values touching various aspects of cost of SCS are discussed, but no holistic model exists today. This paper aims to fill in this gap by first developing a three category SCS cost conceptual model, and then testing the model with a real life case company and supply chain. Keywords: Supply chain security, Cost management, Cost of security Introduction Before year 2001, designing, implementing and promoting various security measures in global supply chains while fighting against theft, smuggling, and other types of crime, was a diverse function of various supply chain operators, cargo owners and governmental agencies – each looking at crime risks and cost effective security measures from their individual perspectives. The ”9/11” terrorist attacks changed this paradigm towards government pushed supply chain security (SCS) programs, regulations, standards and security measures, through initiatives such as C-TPAT, CSI, 24 hour rule, ISPS, EU AEO, and many others (see e.g. Donner and Kruk 2009 for introduction to a large number of post-2001 SCS initiatives).