ISMSs in Action (Japan) Case 1:
Ricoh Logistics System Co., Ltd.
Distinct Approach to Information Security
Ricoh Logistics Group is a comprehensive logistics company offering “arterial“ logistics services covering procurement, processing distribution, and direct shipments to users, and the “venous“ logistics services of salvaging and recycling, among others. Having transformed recycling-oriented “cradle to cradle“ logistics into a system, the company is expanding its business globally.
In the 1960s, it initiated a campaign called 5S+S, which stands for seiri (organize things in order), seiton (sort things out), seisou (clean up), seiketsu (sanitize), shitsuke (develop good habits through training) + shitsukoku (be insistent), and this has served as a code of conduct for occupational health and safety management. Since 2000 a renewed version of the campaign, in which the shitsukoku in the original version was replaced with “safety and security,“ has been in place to raise information security awareness.
Another distinct feature of the 5S+S Campaign is that information security activities are viewed as an integral part of corporate management, along with product quality and environmental actions. This is demonstrated by the campaign’s incorporation of quality, environmental and information security concerns into its CSR policies, by the implementation of integrated internal audits addressing diff erent concern areas and by other activities where an integrated approach is key.
Recycling-oriented logistics (conceptual model) 
Formulating Basic Rules to Achieve a Uniform Level of Security Across the Group
Keihinjima Logistics Center
About 85% of personnel working for Ricoh Logistics Group are engaged in duties directly related to distribution (employees in warehouses, drivers, etc). This makes it difficult to familiarize all employees with the requirements of ISO and other standards. But they are the very personnel who come into contact with items containing customer and business information, which must be properly protected and managed from information security standpoints.
To respond to this challenge, the Group has formulated a set of basic rules to address risks likely to arise in the course of duties, and this initiative has been further supplemented by the identification of employees, mutual reminding, patrolling, storing of customer’s items in locked places and other measures. For greater information security, Ricoh Logistics makes sure that a uniform level of security is achieved across the Group and that the basic rules are fully enforced.
Full Launch of the 5S+S Campaign to Firmly Put Management Activities in Place
5S+S Campaign poster
The full enforcement of entry/exit control based on the badge rule and others eff ectively prevents incidents caused by unauthorized entry. Unauthorized removal of documents and missing items are prevented by strict control of warehouses. At various locations on the warehouse floors, the 5S+S Campaign action rules and explanations are posted for increased awareness. The reason is that the 5S+S Campaign is the basis for activities to prevent the information leakage. The Ricoh Logistics Group is firmly putting information security management activities in place by presenting specificaction guidelines to employees at their worksites.
Familiarizing All Employees with Non-Conformity Information and Sharing Corrective Actions
Workplace patrolling
Establishing Security Management to Grow as a Competitive Logistics Company
With aspirations of becoming a logistics firm with top-level competitiveness, Ricoh Logistic Group is redoubling its efforts to further enforce its basic rules and to accelerate the spread of its information security management system.
Building an integrated management system for product quality,
the environment, and information security activities
INFORMATION SECURITY REPORT 2008
PDF download
