The Physical Assurance Gap in Third-Party Risk
A practical way to find the physical dependencies that supplier-risk registers miss.
Related evidence: Closing Asset-Accountability Gaps
Operational Risk & Supply Chain Assurance | Third-Party & Supplier Assurance | Governance, Risk & Compliance
Operational risk and supply chain assurance manager with 18 years in Royal Navy logistics and global movements, preceded by 12 years in critical national infrastructure. Seeking operational risk, supply chain assurance, and supplier and third-party risk roles.
Available for civilian roles from April 2028, and open now to early conversations and structured transition programmes.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022, 42001:2023 & 27701:2025 Lead Auditor · MIT MicroMasters, Supply Chain Management & Advanced Network Design (coursework complete) · MSc Supply Chain and Logistics Management (Defence Logistics Staff Course), in progressISO 27001 · 42001 · 27701 Lead Auditor · MIT MicroMasters SCM · MSc (in progress)Full CV with direct number → request here
Newsletter
Chain of Custody
Practical supply chain assurance, every week.
I draw on 18 years in logistics to examine where supplier evidence, ownership and operational controls break down. In Chain of Custody, I share case studies, practical questions and lessons you can apply to your own assurance work.
Selected Case Studies
What changed, what it delivered and why it matters in civilian settingsThree case studies most relevant to civilian assurance roles
Nine engagements, one recurring question: does the record match the physical reality, and what breaks first when it doesn't? These three are the most directly relevant; the diagnosis never changed across any of them.
Case Study · Process Improvement
Restoring Control to a Failing Account
I took over an unsatisfactory supply chain account and designed the first-line controls that restored it to full compliance. Three control artefacts were adopted, creating a process that did not depend on one individual.
Result: Full compliance restored; three control artefacts adopted; process no longer dependent on one individual.
Civilian relevance: control design, audit remediation and process improvement that survives a change of owner.
Read the case study →
Case Study · Financial Control
Identifying £2.4M in Misallocated Funds
I identified £2.4M in misallocated expenditure on an adjacent account through a review of annual inventory demands, and led the root-cause analysis that supported its correction. The findings informed a proposed enterprise-wide policy instruction to prevent recurrence.
Result: £2.4M in misallocated expenditure identified; policy instruction proposed to prevent recurrence.
Civilian relevance: root-cause analysis, financial control investigation and evidence-based policy recommendations.
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Case Study · Capability Delivery
Building Cross-Unit Inventory Visibility
I took over a predecessor's incomplete build and reconfigured the spreadsheet feeding it, creating a single source of truth for tracking of inter-site stock transfers across maintenance sites. It was rolled out to an adjacent site, and inventory managers elsewhere in the fleet have since adopted it.
Result: Single source of truth for inter-site stock transfer tracking; adopted by an adjacent site and by inventory managers elsewhere in the fleet.
Civilian relevance: requirements ownership, data redesign, and completing a stalled build rather than starting one from scratch.
Read the case study →What Others Say
Professional recommendationRob Jones was Officer in Charge at a Royal Navy unit, where he worked directly with me on defence procurement and engineering support delivery. He has since moved into project management at Thales.
Of all the logistics specialists I worked with over 12 years, if I could select one to support my engineers on the ground, it would be Kelroy. His application of the defence procurement model and capability to network with all stakeholders to achieve the required outcome is second to none.
Target Roles & Availability
At a glance
- Current
- Role: Petty Officer (Supply Chain), Royal Navy
- Availability: Civilian roles from April 2028; open now to early conversations and transition programmes
- Previously
- Leadership: Section head level; responsible for daily operational output, managing 5 to 10 people
- Accountability: Tier 1 signatory (senior approver of record) for stock and inventory valued between £10M and £25M
- In civilian terms: First-line operational controls owner for high-value inventory and supply-chain records, accountable for daily assurance activities
- Studying
- MSc Supply Chain and Logistics Management (Defence Logistics Staff Course), University of Lincoln, accredited by CIPS, CILT and IEMA. In progress, due March 2027.
- Skills
- Operational Risk & Resilience · Supply Chain Assurance · Control Design & Testing · Third-Party & Contractor Assurance · Loss Investigation & Root-Cause Analysis · Governance, Risk & Compliance (Three Lines Model) · Customs & Movements Compliance · Security Management & Governance · Industrial IoT & Control Systems Security Awareness · Lean Six Sigma · ISO/IEC 27001, 42001, 27701 Lead Auditor · MSc Supply Chain and Logistics Management (in progress, route to MCIPS). Skills and certifications →
Where I add value
I help organisations restore confidence in supply-chain information and operational controls where inaccurate records, weak accountability or poor visibility create financial, compliance or resilience risk.
Owns the controls, loss position and financial integrity of accounts valued between £10M and £25M, leads teams of up to ten through concurrent operational commitments, and restores assurance positions to sustained compliance.
Best-fit roles
Primary focus: Supply chain and operational assurance, and operational controls and inventory governance.
Target roles: Assurance Manager, Operational Controls Manager and Supplier Assurance Manager, alongside relevant Consultant and Senior Consultant roles in the same domain.
Engagement routes: Open to direct recruitment and structured military-transition programmes.
Sectors and adjacent applications: Defence and aerospace, infrastructure, manufacturing and logistics; supplier assurance, third-party risk, internal audit and GRC.
Career in brief
1996 to 2008: national electricity utility (critical national infrastructure), from meter reader to GIS mapping and infrastructure planning. 2008 to 2026: Royal Navy logistics and global movements, from supply chain specialist to section head. 2025 to 2027: MSc Supply Chain and Logistics Management, in progress. From April 2028: civilian roles.
Location
Greater Portsmouth area, open to relocation, working office-based, hybrid or field-based.
Writing
What I write aboutWriting on supply chain assurance, operational controls and third-party risk, examining where documented controls diverge from operational reality.
Supplier Concentration Risk: Measuring It Tier by Tier
How to measure the concentration that a supplier count hides.
Related evidence: Third-Party Risk, End to End (framework)
The Enterprise Risk Management We Already Do
How operational judgement maps onto the enterprise risk approach PwC now describes.
Related evidence: Modernising Assurance Across Inspections