Video: Logistics Leaders - What is the Importance of Compliance for a Specialist Logistics Provider
By Vanessa Davey
When World Courier was acquired by AmericsourceBergen in 2012, it became part of a US listed company, because AmerisourceBergen is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. At the same time, AmerisourceBergen gained an instant global footprint, because World Courier has over 140 offices in more than 50 countries. Being part of a listed company brings with it certain responsibilities in relation to corporate governance and compliance, acquainted company has a responsibility to its shareholders. Part of that responsibility is the need to combat bribery and corruption, particularly for companies operating on a global basis.
Multi-national companies have to comply with the US Foreign Corrupt Practises Act and the UK Bribery Act. There are many other local anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws affecting our business. Failure to comply with those laws can lead to civil and criminal sanctions, not just for the company, but for our employees as well.
The AmerisourceBergen Code of Ethics and Business Conduct was designed to address this issue. It was rolled out to all associates globally shortly after the acquisition and is updated annually. For example, it was updated in 2017, for the requirements of the modern slavery act. The code is translated into 11 languages including Japanese, Chinese and Russian.
There is a need to ensure employees have a thorough in-depth understanding of the requirements of the code so that they conduct themselves on a day to day basis in a legal and ethical manner. They receive regular training on the code to ensure they're thoroughly familiar with its terms.
To operate on a truly global basis, World Courier has to use the services of international agents and other third party suppliers. We've introduced a third party vendor management programme to address this. Any company acting on behalf of World Courier has to do so with the highest levels of integrity and honesty.
