Manufacturers face stiffer global competition and rising geopolitical risks, forcing tighter operating margins. Every leader is under pressure to cut costs.
Manufacturing security can present an easy target for cost reductions. Many plants already work with facility management companies to run other on-site services. These companies can often bundle security into larger operational contracts as a cost management strategy.
While bundled services can help many manufacturing facilities, leaders sometimes make decisions about their complex security environments before considering another path.
What value can security add to a facility? And can it be done at lower costs?
Competitive pressures push manufacturers to bundle security
Over the years, manufacturing operations have expanded globally, with supply chains dependent on many suppliers worldwide. This shift has increased sensitivity to geopolitical instability and volatile international trade policies. Domestic issues like inflationary pressure or worker shortages further squeeze a facility’s operating margins.
Despite these challenges, leaders cannot withhold site investment. Market conditions are rarely ideal, and competitive pressure won’t simply vanish. Manufacturers need to build resilient operations that can weather marketplace and supply chain shifts.
This reality translates to disciplined growth strategies. Leadership scrutinizes every invested dollar. The pressure increases on finding ways to add value or reduce cost.
Under these conditions, security often becomes a cost management target. That framing is common with facility management companies that regularly bundle security into services they already conduct, like landscaping, janitorial, and maintenance. A comprehensive service provider arrangement offers an attractive path to reducing costs.
Sometimes, a bundled security service provides exactly what a manufacturer needs for their budget. But manufacturing site risk profiles are not created equal. Risks and costs can vary depending on what a plant manufactures, who it employs, and where it sits in the supply chain.
The hidden costly risks within bundled security services
Manufacturing sites must already plan for specialized risks, like sophisticated cargo theft, rising insider theft, workforce safety and violence concerns, increasing regulatory requirements, and global supply chain vulnerabilities. Specialized manufacturing security should proactively anticipate threats and mange risks:
- Access control to monitor entry and exit points, with trailer tracking and multi-point container inspections
- Inbound and outbound employee screenings for weapons detection and insider theft deterrence
- Remote monitoring to help protect workplace violence hotspots like loading zones and parking lots
- Security officers trained in manufacturing regulations and compliance to handle security operations and monitor shop floors for safety violations
- Corporate risk management and intelligence that analyzes larger supply chain concerns and helps leaders anticipate and resolve future risks
Bundled security services may or may not offer these measures. Even if they do, merging security into a larger facilities operation can introduce other hidden risks.
Imagine a contractor is found within a restricted production area without proper authorization. On-site security addresses the immediate issue, but deeper questions come afterward: How did the contractor gain access? Has someone mistakenly granted credentials? Is this happening in other facilities?
In a bundled arrangement, answering those questions usually requires multiple layers of communication. The facility management company, a subcontracted security provider, account managers, and site leadership can all be involved before corrective action begins. Each additional layer increases the risk of delayed or lost information.
Bundled services can also expand how many organizations help protect a facility, with facility management firms coordinating multiple specialized vendors. Every additional vendor introduces another place to manage information, responsibilities, and access permissions.
Security procedures and operational knowledge are often shared with people beyond the core security relationship to coordinate bundled services effectively. That’s an important consideration for manufacturers handling sensitive research. As insider threats and intellectual property theft become growing concerns, how many vendors – and how many people – need access to operational security information?
Bundled providers generally aim to deliver high-quality service, but the arrangement’s design itself invites these new risks – and potential costs if sites are unprepared.
Direct security partnerships can unlock greater value from services
Manufacturing leaders sometimes view security only as an operational cost. But top companies implement specialized security to drive value, with partners who analyze their site’s specific risks and tailor bespoke solutions accordingly. Many bundled service providers are simply not equipped to build programs that way.
A direct manufacturing security partner sets a facility’s protection as its only objective, not one among many. One partner offers direct communication lines where facility leaders can work with security leaders to resolve issues and maintain operational visibility and accountability. For manufacturers in sensitive industries, risk profiles stay contained within one relationship, helping better protect intellectual property.
The right partner can also integrate deeper into facility operations. Their expertise helps them more effectively target key risks while thoughtfully managing costs.
For instance: While most facilities have security officers on-site, a knowledgeable partner can determine where and when to deploy these officers, and how to leverage solutions like remote guarding or mobile patrol to extend coverage and optimize labor during off-peak hours. This tailored security approach can help significantly lower the overall security expenditure and improve site visibility and safety.
Collaboration with an experienced partner can help manufacturers cut costs and better protect their facilities, realizing more value for their budget.
Manufacturing invites unique risks – your security partner should meet that challenge
As with many services, the right security program depends on a facility’s risks and needs. Bundled services can be less costly upfront, and it can be easier to manage one provider instead of multiple partners. A subcontracted security provider can deliver quality services, even if it might add communication layers.
However, many manufacturing companies’ risk profiles have become larger and more complex. Lower costs and managing fewer partners may be less attractive benefits when incident response lags or leaders can’t readily assess risks within supply chains or regulatory environments.
If manufacturers are managing multiple sites or navigating complex compliance requirements, a direct security partnership can help build cost-effective responses to complicated threats and risks. Partners like Securitas can thoroughly evaluate a company’s site, people, and security risks and needs, and deliver the unique combination of measures a facility requires.
Competitive pressures and market instability will persist, and manufacturers need to protect their people and facilities. Leaders will regularly contend with security costs. But in the right hands, security transforms from just another managed cost into a strategic value driver delivering on every dollar invested.
