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Supply Chain

Supply Chain Business Continuity

Supply chain resiliency in the face of unexpected disruptions is essential to meeting customer expectations for quality and availability. EMC’s Supply Chain Business Continuity Planning (BCP) program sets strategies to prepare for potential disruptions from environmental and social events such as natural disasters, civil unrest and pandemics. This planning makes our supply chain more resilient in the face of large-scale events that could create delivery, quality or production issues.

In 2011, EMC’s BCP emergency response planning was tested by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the flooding in Thailand. Our preparations enabled us to respond quickly to determine the impact and execute recovery plans where necessary.

EMC’s BCP program focuses on assessing suppliers’ vulnerabilities to disruptions and establishing plans to reduce potential impact. EMC expects all of our suppliers to incorporate business continuity practices into their operations, and we use the international standard of ISO 22399 as a benchmark against which we measure our suppliers' BCP programs. We also include BCP indictors in our supplier performance scorecard which guides purchasing decisions.

We work closely with suppliers to understand and improve BCP. In this regard, we:

  • Request supplier self-assessments of their business continuity plans;
  • Conduct on-site audits of strategic suppliers;
  • Work with suppliers to make improvements if weaknesses are discovered;
  • Engage in simulations of business disruptions to test suppliers’ ability to activate emergency response plans and crisis management; and
  • Continually measure against key indicators through on-site visits.

In addition, members of our BCP program and our Supply Chain Social and Environmental Responsibility program collaborate on risk assessment in and education of the supply chain, bringing a holistic approach to both preventing and managing risks.

We have established a 2012 goal to collect supplier self-assessments from 80 percent of our Tier 1 suppliers and managed Tier 2 suppliers. We will also integrate BCP more fully into the day-to-day operations of supply chain management, and incorporate BCP requirements and performance in our supplier quarterly business reviews.

Security Certifications

To sustain our global business, EMC must rely on secure and timely transport of international supply chain shipments. We work with governments to attain certifications for our supply chain security programs. These certifications allow for faster, simpler processing for our shipments through customs inspections, and help government officials with securing their harbors and borders.

Our supply chain security certifications are especially important for our manufacturing facilities based in the U.S and Ireland. In the U.S., EMC is a validated member in the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program. We employ best practices in the C-TPAT program to address and cooperatively develop solutions for potential vulnerabilities in shipments coming into the U.S.

EMC Ireland has been a certified European Union Commission Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) since 2009. In 2012, EMC Canada plans to apply for membership in Partners in Protection, the Canadian Customs/Trade supply chain security program.

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