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Y2K Awareness at the International Business Forum
On October 12, 1999, Mr. Paul E. Litton, Manager of Ann Arbor Export Assistance Center at the U.S. Department of Commerce presented a program on the prospective impact of Y2K to the business community. He has had a distinguished career in commerce, working for the Detroit District Office, U.S. Department of Commerce as an International Trade Specialist. In this capacity, he was responsible for counseling technology based firms on international marketing, finance and risk assessment. Mr. Litton explained that any business that takes part in international trade will be vulnerable, as the efforts taken in the U.S. are not always matched in developing countries.
Y2K is normally associated with personal computers and mainframes systems. Mr. Litton clarified that the effects are actually much broader. It is now expected that a range of systems is now considered vulnerable, including alarm clocks, fax machines, traffic lights, VCRs, telephone and voice mail systems, elevators, vending machines, lighting and security systems.
Mr. Litton continued with a look at possible international failures, peppering his speech with media quotes and country-specific information. "Especially in finance and transportation industries, even some of the developing countries are not aware of the problem," Mr. Litton said.
To close his presentation, Mr. Litton presented a simple checklist to help businesses protect their interests:
- Tighten the credit terms.
- Use credit insurance.
- Check bank and forwarder Y2K Compliance.
- Analyze supplier and customer value chain.
- Develop contingency plans.
If you are interested in finding more information on this subject, please visit any one of the following websites:
- U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration
- U.S. Small Business Administration
- Presidents’ Council on Year 2000
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- UN Countries’ Year 2000 Web Sites
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Copyright © 1999 Michigan State University.
