June 9, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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ECIA Issues Guidelines for Safely Interacting with Customers and Business Partners Post Covid-19

Atlanta – ECIA’s Global Industry Practices Committee (GIPC) issued a document to provide areas for consideration and best practices for how manufacturers, distributors and manufacturer’s representatives in the electronic component industry can safely and effectively adapt their selling organizations in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The content in this document is derived from a combination of remote customer engagement policies and strategies along with guidance regarding face to face selling activities and other external stakeholder meetings.

“Over a matter of several weeks our SME (subject matter expert) group held multiple, in depth conversations to help the industry restart those in-person customer engagements suspended during the Covid-19 lockdown,” explained Russ Dzielak, Director of Channel & Key Accounts, Phoenix Contact and head of the group.  “Our team focused on the needs of organizations to maximize employee and customer health and safety.”

The document includes critical issues such as how to reduce face to face interactions, become more productive and effective using remote working tools, as well as a list of safety precautions for when face to face meetings are necessary and appropriate.

“The issues involved with restarting in-person business meetings are significant and changing daily,” noted Don Elario, ECIA Vice President of Industry Practices. “We want to stay close to these important interactions and assist the channel for selling components to get back to business safely. Our SME group will review this topic again in July and revise the document if needed based on how things are progressing.” 

The complete document is available on ECIA’s Coronavirus Resources page.

About ECIA

The Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) is made up of the leading electronic component manufacturers, their manufacturer representatives and authorized distributors. ECIA members share a common goal of promoting and improving the business environment for the authorized sale of electronic components. Comprised of a broad array of leaders and professionals representing all phases of the electronics components supply chain, ECIA is where business optimization, product authentication and industry advocacy come together. ECIA members develop industry guidelines and technical standards, as well as generate critical business intelligence. For more information, visit www.ecianow.org or call 678-393-9990.