Asaf Levy
Before GSX, I had connected with a fellow ASIS Member via LinkedIn as they are in Europe, and I am in North America. When I attended the GSX conference we connected and started talking about similarities between our business and how we have been mitigating losses.
One of the issues I had brought up to him was my difficulty selling a solution to my C-Suite. He told me about the true loss of theft versus product loss that occurs in supply chain and how simple oversight of true loss happens. He went on to explain that when we present loss or when loss is presented, a whole number around missing inventory or product is what is being presented. What information is left out of the presentation or glazed over is the associated cost; insurance premium pay-outs, labor to fulfill the order again, brokering of transportation, gas fees, insurance fees, GPS, putting mitigation in place and the list goes on.
The conversation enlightened me – I now present internally at my company product loss versus total loss, ensuring that all levels of the business understand how loss may affect their business and operations. By breaking down the loss by line item so that the business understands how they are affected and what the total cost of loss looks like, it has made it easier for me to present mitigation solutions and the cost associated with it. I now take a previous incident, present the dollar value loss, and compare the cost of the solution – typically the delta from the loss to the solution is a wash.
I go on to further explain that our customer will most likely look to us for a solution after an incident, which in this presentation regardless of if the solution washes out the loss, they will have to pay for the solution on top of the loss, which only increases the “actual loss.” I have now been successful in offering mitigating solutions with this process and really painting the picture for those who do not see the world from a security perspective and make it a dollar and sense decision.
The connections at GSX are just as valuable as the keynote speakers. As I coupled this conversation with a presentation that I had joined regarding “How to present to C-suite executives.” Although confident with my presentation and speaking as a former Toast Masters member, it was a refresher on how to keep the presentation engaging for your C-suite and ensure they get all the information they need to make that decision. GSX is an overall hub of information, and as long as you keep an open, learning mind, you will gain all sorts of new perspectives and thoughts.
Asaf Levy has attended the four most recent GSX conferences and currently serves as the ASIS Toronto Chapter Chair.