Dan Purtell, Senior Vice President for BSI’s Supply Chain Security Solutions, will speak on supply chain security at the Maritime Council’s June 16 -17, 2010 event to be held at the Organization of American States.  Entitled “Security of Global Trade and the Economic Impact on the Americas”, Dan joins other experts in supply chain security, including Todd Owen, Executive Director at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Rear Admiral Kevin Cook from the U.S. Coast Guard and Ambassador Albert Ramdin, Asst. Secretary General of the Organization of American States.  Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano has been invited to give the keynote address.

The maritime industry faces numerous security challenges within the Americas and around the globe, requiring a sharper focus on the movement of cargo.  This event, hosted by the not-for-profit Maritime Security Council, will explore supply chain security solutions that ensure transparency, accountability and increased security. 

Considered one of the top supply chain security experts, Dan Purtell has conducted transportation infrastructure risk analysis in more than 45 countries.  With over 25 years of experience, Dan is frequently consulted to educate corporations, government and insurance underwriters on issues threatening supply chains and ways to fortify security. 

BSI’s Supply Chain Security Solutions’ portfolio offers state-of-the-art supply chain security tools coupled with BSI’s extensive field-based network of supply chain security assessment professionals. As a leading global provider of risk-based solutions, assessments, and training programs, BSI’s solutions are geared toward improving corporate efficiencies and protecting corporate brand.  By incorporating proprietary global cargo tampering data and terrorism risk modeling to evaluate overall supply chain risk as well as the potential risk exposure of specific suppliers, BSI is able to provide maximum visibility and business intelligence to emerging markets and supplier practices worldwide. www.supplychainsecurity.com. 

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About BSI Group

BSI Group is a global independent business services organization that inspires confidence and delivers assurance to over 80,000 customers with standards-based solutions. Originating as the world’s first national standards body, BSI has over 2,500 staff operating in over 140 countries through more than 50 global offices. BSI’s key offerings are:

•           The development and sale of private, national and international standards and supporting information that promote and share best practice

•           Second and third-party management systems assessment and certification in all critical areas of management disciplines

•           Testing and certification of services and products for Kitemark® and CE marking to UK, European and international standards. BSI is a Notified Body for 15 New Approach EU Directives.

•           Certification of high-risk, complex medical devices

•           Performance management software solutions

•           Supply chain security solutions which identify and mitigate risks in supply chains

•           Training services in support of standards implementation and business best practice.

BSI Group America Inc. is the Americas’ division of BSI and the direct website is www.bsiamerica.com.

BSI, America

www.bsiamerica.com

Shereen Abuzobaa
Vice President Marketing
inquiry.msamericas@bsigroup.com

1800-862-4977

Businesses today are global with employees, vendors, and partners scattered across the globe. While the occasional business trip is unavoidable, collaboration using a simple, international conference call allows participants to stay put and avoid the hassles and expenses of international travel. Whether you’re working on a large-scale project with team members located in diverse locations around the world or part of a smaller team needing to collaborate with a few colleagues in different countries, the simplicity of an international conference call remains one of the best ways to share ideas.

The Importance of Conference Call Quality
One of the biggest challenges of hosting an international conference call is one of the oldest: getting everyone connected with a good, clear connection. While VoIP is becoming more reliable, it hasn’t fully reached its potential. Plus, depending on where your colleagues are located, VoIP may not even be an option. In addition, with so many workers using mobile phones, mobile users will need to be able to call into the teleconference via cellular networks. With these considerations in mind, a traditional phone line is the most accessible and reliable option.

The Importance of Conference Call Coordination
Another challenge involves coordinating the phone call. After all, your international conference call may occur in the middle of the night for some participants. While you can ask participants to call into the central phone number at a specific time, time zone confusion and human nature often lead to late callers (or worse, conference call no shows). To avoid time zone confusion, use a world clock tool to convert the international conference call time to local time for each participant. This ensures that each participant knows exactly what time, in local time, to call in.

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Additionally, consider using a service that allows you to dial participants directly. The ability to call participants allows you to catch anyone who may have forgotten about the scheduled teleconference as well as reach participants in countries that do not support calling into toll free numbers in the United States.

The Importance of Conference Call Recordings
Once you have all participants on the line, your international collaboration begins. If you’ll be collaborating with others who speak a different language, consider recording the teleconference. By recording the call, you can later share the recording with each participant or have the conversation transcribed and translated. This can help participants in several ways. For those who speak your language as a second language, listening to the phone call again or reading a translated transcription helps ensure that key points haven’t been missed. Recordings are also useful for participants who want to review the teleconference later or share it with other team members. Not only that, if a participant missed the phone call, having a recording available is invaluable.   

If you plan on recording the conference call, let the other participants know that the call is being recorded and how they can download a copy of the recording. Knowing that the phone call has been recorded frees participants from taking overly detailed notes during the call, allowing them to participate in the discussion more fully. If the recording is confidential, make sure to make it clear that it is confidential and not to be shared with anyone. Doing so avoids any misunderstandings and reiterates the importance of confidentiality.

If recording the call is important to you, look for an international conference call service that offers built-in MP3 recordings and session downloads. For example, American International Telephonics offers international conference calls with free MP3 session downloads as well as an emailed attendance report detailing who attended the conference call.

Collaborating across borders is a simple matter of choosing a time, communicating that time to teleconference participants (preferably expressed in local time), and conducting an international conference call with your team members.