F IDI B OA RD UPDATE Statement from the FIDI Board An update from FIDI Global Alliance on its activities and ongoing support for the industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic Dear FIDI Afliates, Many of you watched FIDIs rst virtual General Assembly last week, which was great to see. It was certainly a different way of communicating, reecting the different world we nd ourselves in today. Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to report on and discuss our activities and plans in detail before or during the session. To keep you informed of how and what your organisation is doing, we wanted to share a brief overview of some of FIDIs actions and plans of the past few months. OSAKA CONFERENCE We have had to take the difcult decision of postponing the 2020 FIDI Conference in Osaka to 2021, thus safeguarding the money already spent on the event. That was done swiftly and with the least possible nancial impact for the organisation. If another wave of the virus comes and shuts down the next conference, we will act accordingly and in the best interest of our organisation and the events attendees. We would like to thank everyone who has expressed their support and declared their intention to attend. FAIM AUDITS All audits were put on hold mid-March, as travel restrictions were put in place to safeguard the health of employees and auditors. Our FAIM audits will resume in September when and where it is physically safe to do so. Partnering with EY through weekly meetings to assess the security of auditees and auditors, our FAIM Coordination Centre is working hard on revised schedules for the remainder of the year. Rest assured, this process will be done with great care and understanding. FAIM quality is at the heart of our Afliates businesses and is the backbone of FIDI. Your customers, more than ever, are expecting to be served with the usual quality that is guaranteed by FAIM. 10 FF298 AugSept20 pp10-11 FIDI new statement page.indd 10 A FAIM audit is no longer simply a oneday event; it is a state of mind. A FIDI company should always be ready for an audit and the FIDI ofce is here to help you achieve that. FASI Your FASI programme continues to provide some nancial guarantee for inter-Afliate business, which is especially important during these times. The past years have shown the importance of our payment protection system, with the number of invoices reported and paid out reaching record levels. TRAINING Your FIDI Academys online training was made available free of charge to Afliates in April and May, and no fewer than 1,800 staff members made use of this offer to raise the quality of your services. COMMUNICATIONS In the past months, we have increased our communications on COVID-19 through regularly updated overviews, webinars and special feature articles in our magazine, to keep you informed as the situation evolves. A regularly updated Best Practices Business in a Post-Pandemic World document has also been published on FIDINET, to help your companies adapt to the new health and risk measures. FINANCIAL In light of COVID-19, the FIDI ofce and the FIDI Board have taken all possible measures to cut costs while maintaining all services with the same quality to Afliates. NEXT DELEGATES MEETING WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU Following our GA, we have decided to bring the next Delegates Meeting forward to 3 September. Once again, it will be a virtual meeting because of likely travel restrictions in various parts of the world. The Delegates Meeting is your channel to discuss any FIDI-related issues with the FIDI Board and other local/regional FIDI Associations. Make sure you voice your opinions and ideas to your FIDI Association. NAVIGATING THE FUTURE TOGETHER Unquestionably, FIDI must maintain a focus on the future. We all know things are changing, which means dealing with the impacts of COVID-19 and its ramications within the context of what FIDI provides for our Afliates. We believe most, if not all, FIDI Afliates are doing their best to have a plan in place, instead of relying on last-minute, hastily organised activity. We have learned to be adaptive through direct experience, knowing that plans can change dramatically. This is the transformation all industries, not only ours, are going through. That decision is not yet on our visual landscape, but alternative formats are being studied. Our industry thrives on personal relationships, with customers, suppliers and, of course, among movers across the world, with candid and open communication lines. At present, it feels like the foundations of our world have been shaken to the core. Many of our Afliates are experiencing the worst downturn in business ever, and everyone movers, customers, the supply chain, as well as FIDI is feeling the direct effects of this crisis. Relying on a network of trust and support becomes crucial in times of uncertainty. FIDI does not have a magic wand to solve all our industrys problems, but we offer you a structure of support to help you through difcult times. FIDI is here for you. You are the foundation of FIDI. FIDI GLOBAL ALLIANCE This is an abridged version of the FIDI Board statement. A full version can be found on FIDINET at https://dinet. di.org/services/di-membership/diassociations/board_update1 WWW. F I D I FOC U S . OR G 20/07/2020 15:23