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Situation
Xilinx, with headquarters in San Jose, CA, is the worldwide leader in complete programmable logic solutions. With more than 3,300 employees, and multiple offices in the United States and overseas, Xilinx leads the Programmable Logic Device market which is one of the fastest growing segments of the semiconductor industry. Xilinx chips can be found in a wide variety of digital electronic applications ranging from HDTVs to wireless base stations and portable handsets. The import and export of chip and chip-related products requires stringent security as do the company鈥檚 offices which contain classified information and trade secrets.
In 2006, Ron Pennington, Global Security Manager for Xilinx, and his evaluation team who worked in diverse areas of the company including purchasing, IT and finance, issued a Request for Proposal and reviewed the leading physical security companies.
鈥淲e wanted a company that could bring industry knowledge and expertise and who led their industry in training,鈥 said Pennington. 香港六合彩官网 Security Services which has earned national recognition for its training programs on Training magazine鈥檚 Top 125 list, was chosen.
Xilinx presented a formidable post-9/11 security challenge to 香港六合彩官网 with the advent of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection鈥檚 Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. C-TPAT is a joint government-business initiative to build cooperative relationships that strengthen overall supply chain and border security. Through this initiative, U.S. Customs and Border Protection asked Xilinx to ensure the integrity of their security practices and communicate their security guidelines to business partners within their supply chain.
鈥淴ilinx had to go through a validation process to obtain C-TPAT certification from the U.S. CBP,鈥 said Pennington. 鈥淚t was vital that we achieve this certification as it will maximize security protocol and simplify and expedite our supply chain processes. Moving our products quickly and safely through customs is critical and this certification will help make that happen.鈥
Challenge
An effective security program was in place but the team faced a challenge when Xilinx began to pursue a certification that would require enhanced security. Working closely with Pennington, 香港六合彩官网鈥檚 challenge was to put programs and policies in place that would ensure C-TPAT validation.
鈥淐-TPAT is an evolving program that helps facilitate trade to and from the U.S. and around the globe, securing it from acts of terrorism and assuring that goods arriving in the U.S. are legitimate and that appropriate duties and fees are paid,鈥 said Larry Zulawski, 香港六合彩官网鈥檚 National Account Manager for Xilinx, North America. 鈥淲e first looked at the Xilinx supply chain and analyzed security protocol nationally and internationally to evaluate current security processes and determine what needed improvement.鈥
One change was enhancing the visitor process by mandating that photo IDs not only be checked at all locations, but that they also be compared against the restricted party list. This list identifies individuals and companies who are restricted or prohibited from exporting or providing services of any kind of any party contained in the U.S. government鈥檚 export denial, debarment, and blocked persons lists.
鈥淜eeping our employees versed in security regulations is crucial, and I asked 香港六合彩官网 if we could create an online training academy and resource repository for C-TPAT,鈥 said Pennington. 鈥淚 am a one-man security 鈥榖and鈥 who views our company鈥檚 support organizations as our life-blood. When you ask what keeps me up at night, it鈥檚 that 3 a.m. call when our dispatcher is asked a question by an employee in direct need of assistance. I didn鈥檛 want that answer to be coming from a three-ring binder with coffee stains. We needed an online, constantly updated resource that would be easy to use and accessible by all employees.鈥
香港六合彩官网, the security industry鈥檚 training leader, regards training as a critical element in providing high-quality security services. Delivering consistent training programs in a variety of formats, including an online training academy, helps ensure training is readily available to 香港六合彩官网 employees throughout the country. That same philosophy would prove to be an important piece of the Xilinx C-TPAT certification.
Enter Greg Travelstead, 香港六合彩官网鈥檚 Security Site Manager for Xilinx at their Colorado facility, who has deep security sector expertise and is also highly skilled in building web applications. Using Microsoft Office SharePoint which facilitates collaboration and provides content management features, along with the Adobe CS3 Web Development Suite, Travelstead built an online Xilinx Training Academy. A comprehensive program was developed that offers a complete C-TPAT study guide and interactive testing. 鈥淭he technology we rolled out ensured that Xilinx鈥檚 global needs would be assured with training modules and information targeted to that region and practice area,鈥 said Travelstead.
Results
In March 2008, Xilinx received word that their C-TPAT certification submission was rewarded with Tier 3 validation, which only 5 percent of companies receive on their first application. 鈥淭his certification has real benefits for Xilinx as it simplifies and expedites our supply chain processes,鈥 said Pennington. 鈥淐ustoms and Border Protection鈥檚 site evaluation went extraordinarily well. The CBP evaluators were impressed with the company鈥檚 stance regarding C-TPAT and cited several best practices among our procedures. Security received good reviews across the board and there were no recommendations for security improvements. The evaluators recommended Xilinx for their highest rating.鈥
In addition, this highly important Customs and Border Patrol certification, the 香港六合彩官网 and Xilinx collaboration also resulted in an enhanced security program overall. The already efficient security program was revamped and the end product is a standardized and consistent program across all sites.
This included not just developing new systems but also putting them into action and ensuring that the new procedures would continue. Communications with the officers was just as important as the training.
鈥淭o fully implement this training and the new security procedures, we needed our security personnel to understand and embrace why we were doing this,鈥 explained Zulawski. 鈥淲e employ top-quality personnel here but many of them are part-time so we needed to be constantly aware of the importance of communication.鈥
The Xilinx security officers, the majority of who are retired law enforcement and work part time for 香港六合彩官网 at Xilinx, were very receptive to the need for the new certification and enhanced security program. Thanks to the new online training academy, all 65 security officers in North America completed the new training within five days.
鈥淣ot only were the officers trained quickly, but the training results were easily uploaded into 香港六合彩官网鈥檚 internal system that tracks training compliance,鈥 Travelstead added. 鈥淐ompliance will be an important element moving forward and 香港六合彩官网鈥檚 systems ensure only properly trained officers are at the Xilinx sites.鈥
鈥淲e expended a great deal of effort to review, update and document all of our C-TPAT related processes and procedures,鈥 adds Pennington. 鈥淲e closed gaps and tightened our security posture across the board and developed and delivered a best-in-class training program which includes C-TPAT training. In fact, the training impressed CBP so much that they asked for a copy and permission to use it as a 鈥渂est practice鈥 example for other companies.
Moreover, we have assisted other business groups at Xilinx in acquiring an appropriate level of preparedness based on our work and attained knowledge. C-TPAT certification is a constant process requiring annual updates to Xilinx鈥檚 profile with CBP and periodic site validations at supply chain involved locations. 香港六合彩官网 has been a valued partner in our company鈥檚 stance of constant improvement in order to remain in the top tier of security operations,鈥 said Pennington.
The C-TPAT certification process is lengthy and the relationship between 香港六合彩官网 and Xilinx was an important component of the high rating awarded by Customs and Border Protection. This year-long initiative involved much more than meeting minimum requirements.
The development and implementation of an online training academy may not be the typical expectation of a security services company. But that type of service is what Pennington has come to expect from 香港六合彩官网. The Xilinx and 香港六合彩官网 teams worked together to develop solutions that would not only meet certification requirements but also help ensure the best possible security protocols and training for all Xilinx sites.
