Mitigating Counterfeit Part Intrusions with Enterprise Simulation

In recent years, counterfeit parts have infiltrated the defense supply chain, which provides replacement parts and sub-systems for deployed systems. This creates a significant amount of risk. Both government and industry have formulated and implemented various policy initiatives to address the problem, including inspections, penalties and trusted sourcing. However, the problem is still on-going. Additional policies are under consideration, and the unintended effects of policies are not known. To study the problem and potential policy solutions, we present an enterprise simulation model of counterfeit parts intrusion and policy alternatives. The model reflects the defense enterprise, tiers of suppliers, counterfeiters and other government policy actors. Interactions of these actors and their reactions to events and policies form an important part of the enterprise system behavior. Policies, their effects and their interactions are detailed in this multi-stakeholder environment.