Not your average Easter weekend… I thought my days of family road trips were over. Turns out I was wrong. Over the Easter bank holiday weekend, my family and I escaped to the coast for a short break. And when I say “my family”, I mean Mandy, Riley, and Pia, plus a...

A few digital bits... and shout out to South Africa! Ok who gets excited about websites? I mean, it makes sense if you’re into branding or design. Or if you’re in the marketing game (hi, Scott). Or if UX is your jam, so to speak. But I’ve been part of a few website...

There’s a reason that some classics stand the test of time… It’s April in the Yorkshire Dales. The clocks have gone forward, and apparently it’s spring. Lambs are out in the fields, bouncing around like they’ve got no care in the world. Meanwhile I’m scraping ice...

And not everything has to land! April Fool’s Day came and went last week... And with it – a short film courtesy of myself and Jack. Based on viewership stats I'm going to assume you haven’t seen it, so let me tell you: this video sits somewhere between a product...

Across more than 2,000 installations in retail environments, we’ve never recorded a successful angle grinder breach of a Trellidor shutter... They did it! NASA’s Artemis II crew have successfully completed their historic fly-by of the far side of the Moon. The four...

What could possibly go wrong..? I assess risk for a living. It’s what I do, every day. And if I’m honest, it doesn’t switch off. It seeps into how I see the world. Spend long enough in risk, and it becomes part of your wiring. The professional lens doesn’t stay in...

All that energy... but where’s it going? It’s been a little while now since I got back from my holiday in Portimão. I’ve had ample time to reflect. Which basically means: my body and brain have had ample time to completely forget they’ve been on holiday at all....

From Sinatra to shoplifters… we all end up singing the same tune eventually… It’s not that often that the news makes me smile, particularly right now. But this week I read an article that bucked the trend, and I thought it was worth sharing. It was about a shop...

It’s been a week of progress in every direction... It’s been a really good week. The kind where things click into place, and you can feel momentum building again. One of the standout moments was a live drone demonstration and panel at Retail Risk – On The Move. Not...

From crisp crunchers to carriage colonisers, I’ve seen the full spectrum of behaviours… There was an old British Rail advert that said “let the train take the strain.” I’ve taken that quite literally. I take at least one two-hour-plus rail journey most weeks. Not...

Crime doesn’t repeat itself by accident, it repeats because the same people keep causing it... Early in my career, I remember standing in a store looking at footage of yet another theft. It was all very familiar. You reviewed the CCTV, logged the incident,...

An embarrassment of sporting riches awaits… The Six Nations may be over, but let us not mourn it too deeply. I prefer to think of it as the warm-up act. Because if you’re a sports enthusiast like me, I have good news: 2026 is shaping up to be a bumper year for...

Because all good things must come to an end… Coming to the end of anything meaningful has a way of sharpening the senses. It makes you reflective in a way that the day-to-day rarely allows. It encourages you to look back over your time in post and contemplate not...

We could all do with remembering that... Each week when I sit down to write these articles I think... alright then, what’s new? And then I think... oh god. ‘New stuff’ is ‘news’, isn’t it? News has a pretty bad rep right now, which is totally fair. Five minutes of...

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things." – Robert Brault It’s funny, isn’t it? You can do the same thing every week and barely notice it. You walk into the same meeting rooms, read the same reports, respond to...

A product long in the pipeline, people! If I’m being totally frank, last week’s piece about inconvenience was 73% about actual inconvenience (broken laptops, AI’s tech-hogging tendencies) and 27% about the heartbreak of a lost Guinness. Well, this week I’ve been...

From dolphins and diving in Zanzibar to a spectacular rib-crunching return home… I’ve been in holiday mode. Basking in sunshine with absolutely no responsibilities. Then I got home… and promptly broke two ribs. The timing could have been worse, I suppose. Zanzibar...

Retail crime may be evolving, but some security principles never go out of fashion… I had my first experience of “scan-as-you-shop” this week. I know what you must be thinking… yes, I am late to the party! But in my defence, this is a relatively new phenomenon for...

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at Retail Risk – On The Move, Coventry this week. From the packed sessions and insightful discussions to the energy across the exhibition floor, it was fantastic to see so many retailers, partners, and industry experts...

Suddenly those 5AM runs make perfect sense… There is a well-known proverb: "Fix the roof while the sun is shining.” It’s one of those sayings that sounds so obvious you almost wonder why it needs saying at all. Yet, in practice, it’s remarkable how often we do the...

Nearly 150 retired federal and state judges have filed an amicus brief on Tuesday supporting AI company Anthropic in its lawsuit against the Trump administration for designating it a “supply chain risk,” CNN has learned. The former judges, appointed by both...

Amid a steady diet of gloomy headlines, International Women’s Day sparks a moment of reflection for our writer... I like routine. It keeps the day honest and it keeps me moving forward. Travelling commitments permitting, I’m an early riser. On a good morning –...

Experts are warning the UK could face fuel shortages within weeks if disruption to Middle East oil flows continues. The UK imports a large share of its fuel and has limited storage capacity and Diesel prices have already surged, raising costs for haulage,...

Join Alex Brundle, Senior Business Development Manager – Europe & CIS at Garrett speaking on high impact, low cost employee security Internal risk remains one of retail’s most persistent and costly challenges. Yet budgets are tight, margins are under pressure, and...

Is nothing safe from Izzy and her mischievous protégé? Some people like to collect vinyl records. Others are partial to fine whiskies or vintage watches. Me? I appear to have inadvertently acquired a rather impressive odd sock collection. No joke! Izzy, our beloved...

The Guinness, the laptop, and the great AI memory grab... Oh I do wonder what I could write about this week? Anything going on in the world? No? Nothing of note? Ok that’s grand. Keep it that way please. More of the same calm, soothing global atmosphere we all know...

Join Keith Bright and John Unsworth for an update on this critical industry collaboration. Last year at Retail Risk – On The Move, the Freight Crime Partnership was launched with a clear message: freight crime is too big, too costly, and too complex for any one...

Fruit and vegetable producers have warned they may be forced to stop production and end the season early because of the rising price of energy and transportation costs amid the war in Iran.

The best leaders are judged by what they deliver, not how long they stay busy... Last week barely touched the sides. I was everywhere doing everything. But there was one conversation that stuck with me… I was up in Scotland with a big group of our regional...

After months of planning, we’re just days away from welcoming you to Retail Risk – On The Move, Coventry… and the excitement is building fast. Next week, the CBS Arena will bring together some of the most experienced voices in retail, supply chain, and risk,...

A 400-year-old warning for a modern world… I believe it was William Shakespeare who said, “All that glitters is not gold.” I am by no means a literary expert, but I think the Bard hit the nail on the head there. In a world now dominated by AI and digital trickery,...

Newly-released research from Gallagher (AJG) and manufacturing analysis from RSM UK highlight a "protection gap" where business awareness of risk is high, but actual insurance coverage and financial resilience are lagging.

RFID by day, medieval dining by night... It's blog time again... And this one comes with a castle. I spent an excellent industry day the other day with the brilliant team at Zebra Technologies at Warwick Racecourse — fantastic hosts, great company, and a room full...

This study, led by the University of York and Anglia Ruskin University, maps out how the UK's "just-in-time" food system is vulnerable to a "perfect storm" of international conflict, climate change, and cyber-attacks.

You can always rely on a group of preteens to remind you how much you have to learn... As most of you will already know, my daughter wants to be a professional cricketer. From the age of four, it’s all she’s wanted to do. And, though I say so myself as a proud...

Why we must listen to the other side... Last week brought about one of the most eye-opening security conversations I’ve had in years. And I’m not exaggerating. We took the Smoke Screen van up to Nottingham Police HQ for a session with a group from the Open 2...

Escalating conflict around Iran is pushing oil prices sharply higher and raising fears of major disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors.

Two very different environments, one shared lesson about safety... I’ve just come back from Dubai – fortunately, I made it out before the problems started and flights were suspended... But still, like most trips, it left me with a few stories. And a few reflections...

The countdown is on for Retail Risk – On The Move, Coventry, and preparations are in full swing for what promises to be one of our most dynamic supply chain risk conferences yet. With a packed agenda, leading industry voices, and an audience of retail risk...

Sportswear brand On Running has opened a factory in Busan, South Korea using robots to make running shoes and plans more robot factories in the United States and Europe as it tries to speed up manufacturing and delivery. Tariff hikes imposed by the United States,...

Sometimes the only barrier you need to break is in your own mind... Aha! A good news story at last. I can’t be the only one who feels like the news is mostly gloom and doom these days. So it was refreshing to see a positive story among the headlines recently. The...

Pay any attention to the computer market these days and one thing becomes abundantly clear: RAM – or Random-Access Memory – has gotten pretty expensive. Memory prices have already surged approximately 90% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the fourth quarter...

Turns out calm is overrated… One week. That’s all it was meant to be. A short stopgap. Or so we thought. If you’ve been following my weekly reflections (and if not, why not?), you’ll know that our quiet world was turned upside down when my step-daughter, her...

Anthropic said on Friday it will challenge in court the Pentagon's decision to declare the AI firm a supply-chain risk, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump also directed every federal agency to stop work with the company.

I have loved watching the Winter Olympics over the past couple of weeks. Alongside the incredible display of sporting greatness, with Team GB securing an impressive five gold medals, the scenery has been equally spectacular. But beauty is a double-edged sword, and...

Yes you read that right... We’re looking for a rhythm guitarist. And by that I of course mean we’re looking for a salesperson. (But also, genuinely, a guitarist). Music has always had a funny way of threading through our work and team at Smoke Screen. Jack and I...

Though the conflict is centered on the Persian Gulf, shipping companies fear that the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen could resume attacks on vessels in the Red Sea hundreds of miles to the west.

With deployments growing fast, the focus is now on refining performance… Over the past few weeks, the drone deployments have started to bed in. The systems are live and doing exactly what they were designed to do. Now the focus turns to getting even more from...

The Retail Risk – On The Move speaker line-up brings together senior retail leaders, security specialists and risk experts ready to tackle the supply chain threats retailers face right now. Taking the stage this year: Harry Hughes (TAPA EMEA) on real-world cargo...

Royal Mail’s troubles raise uncomfortable questions about risk and resilience in a changing climate… The recent bad weather has certainly done its best to keep us on our toes. Last week, I wrote that the destruction following Storm Chandra had led to the discovery...