Global Anti-Corruption
Corruption violates the public's trust, threatens national and international economic and social development, and substantially impedes fair trade. To combat corruption, most, if not all, of the countries in which Cisco conducts business have enacted anti-corruption laws and regulations.
Pursuant to these laws and regulations, it is generally a crime to give, pay, or promise "anything of value" in order to influence an act or a decision; obtain, retain, or direct business; or secure an improper advantage of any kind.
Policies
Cisco's Anti-Corruption stance is reflected in these policies:
Partner Due Diligence Process
As a part of its process to select and retain the most qualified business partners who share similar values, Cisco follows the legal due diligence steps outlined below. "Business partner" here means any Cisco reseller, systems integrator, distributor, sales agents, or sales-supporting consultant.
Step One: Business Partner completes Cisco's on-line questionnaire.
The questionnaire includes a certification that the business partner's representative has completed Cisco's Partner Anti-Corruption Training.
Step Two: Cisco completes an internal review.
Once the business partner has submitted its responses to the on-line questionnaire (including completion of the training), a Cisco due diligence team will receive notice of the submission and review the partner's responses. The due diligence team will directly contact the business partner if it has any questions about the partner's responses or seeks other information.
Separately, Cisco channel and other business organizations undertake to carefully review the business partner's business qualifications, certifications, sales, etc., according to Cisco's global channel partner program requirements. If the business partner is a distributor, Cisco's internal Distribution Review Board will review the partner's qualifications, etc.
Step Three: Cisco makes the final determination to bring the business partner onboard or renew its contract.
The last step involves Cisco's final determination whether to bring onboard a new partner and/or renew an existing business partner's contract. If Cisco elects to go forward with either a new or a renewing business partner, its channel or other business teams will work with the business partner to finalize and execute the appropriate contract.
For some types of contracts or renewals, Cisco encourages its business partners to accept the contract through an electronic "click to accept" tool as a quick and efficient way to complete the contracting process.
Training and Education
Cisco Internal Anti-Corruption Training
Cisco requires the following personnel to complete global anti-corruption training:
- Employees in sales, marketing, or services organizations who are directly involved in sales transactions with customers or channel partners or distributors who are located outside the United States
- Employees located outside the United States who are in the sales, marketing, or services organizations
- Legal personnel, except those who do not perform transactional work or provide compliance advice
The training is available in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese.
Cisco Partner Anti-Corruption Training
Cisco also requires our channel partners, distributors, and sales-supporting consultants to complete anti-corruption training. Direct partners and distributors will be required to complete this training (by direct invitation) on an ongoing basis in connection with their partnership lifecycle. Indirect (2T) resellers and other partner types may register and complete this training here
The partner anti-corruption training is available in Chinese (Hong Kong), Chinese (Taiwan), Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish (LATAM), Spanish (Spain), Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese.