BD is a leading global medical technology company with a history dating back more than 110 years. We actively engage with a broad spectrum of stakeholders. The Company uses multiple channels and internal organizations to engage and work with interested parties. Most of these parties are already well known to BD, but these same multiple channels keep the Company open to identifying and fostering a dialogue with new and changing stakeholders.

Business and Industry Associations

BD is active in the following organizations, among others:

• Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed); Edward J. Ludwig, BD Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, is Chairman of the AdvaMed Board of Directors until March 2008.
• American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
• American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AmCham Korea)
• American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham Singapore)
• American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons Foundation
• AMID, Mexican Association of Innovative Industries in Medical Devices
• APIDIM, the French Association of American Companies supporting the Innovation of the Medical Devices
• APPAMED, the French National Trade Association of Medical Devices sold through the Pharmacy Channel
• Assobiomedica, the Italian association for medical devices
• Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI)
• Biotechnology industry Organization (BIO)
• British In-Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA)
• BVMed , the trade association of the Med Tech Industry in Germany
• California Healthcare Institute (CHI)
• EDMA, the European diagnostics trade association
• European Medical Technology Industry Association (Eucomed)
• Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS)
• Fenin, the Spanish Federation of Healthcare Technology Companies
• Healthcare Industry Distributors Association (HIDA)
• HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ)
• International Association for Safe Injection Technology (IASIT)
• Irish Medical Devices Association (IMDA)
• Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC)
• MEDEC, Canada's Medical Device Technology Companies
• National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
• Medical Technologies Council in Ireland (MTC)
• New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI)
• North Carolina Biosciences Association
• SNITEM, the French medical technology trade association
• VDGH, the trade association of the diagnostic industry in Germany

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Key Stakeholders

• Shareholders
• Individuals
• Institutions


• Associates
• Current
• Retired


• Customers
• Healthcare providers
• Patients
• Nonprofit partners
• Blood banks
• Medical and scientific researchers
• Basic research laboratories
• Clinical research laboratories


• Government
• Regulatory agencies
• Elected officials


• Business Partners
• Suppliers
• Joint ventures


• Non-Government Organizations
• Philanthropic organizations
• Service organizations
• World healthcare organizations
• Disaster and emergency relief providers
  


• Communities in which BD has operations
  


• Others
• Advocacy organizations (e.g., environmental, patient, healthcare, etc.)
• Media

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Engaging with Stakeholders: Customers

All three BD segments – BD Medical, BD Diagnostics and BD Biosciences – work closely with customer stakeholders, from understanding their needs, to developing products to meet those needs, to confirming their satisfaction through surveys and other forms of feedback. Specific actions the Company takes are:

• Focus groups with customers representing various market segments to understand their needs and preferences and to test product concepts

• Frequent visits to hospitals, clinics, laboratories and doctors’ offices where BD products are used to fully understand care providers’ needs, clinical procedures and clinical techniques

• Training and education for customers so that they know how to properly and safely use BD products

A principal competitive advantage for BD is intimate knowledge of customer needs and preferences. For example, BD Biosciences develops hundreds of new research reagents every year based on close contact with the research community. BD Biosciences is also able to respond to the needs of sophisticated government, academic and private research laboratories in large measure because of its own intellectual strengths, including about 200 Ph.D.s, 150 other scientists and more than a dozen M.D.s.

Similarly, BD Medical and BD Diagnostics design and develop products based on in-depth understanding of practices in thousands of doctors’ offices, hospitals and clinics. For example, BD developed the world’s broadest and deepest line of safety-engineered devices for reducing healthcare worker injuries – more than 230 safety-related U.S. patents. BD is also a leader in raising awareness of risks to healthcare workers and promoting methods for improving safety levels.

We use the Voice of Customer process to fully understand who our customers are and what their critical needs are. The process begins by following the customer value chain to the decision maker. Along the way, we determine what the needs of the other members of the chain are and how they can be integrated with the end user’s needs. Ideally, customer needs should be observed and discussed in the environment where the product is used, stored and disposed of. Most often, customers offer BD the solution that they feel is appropriate. Our approach is to ask why, until we reach the root cause of the need and can most effectively provide a solution.

For example, BD Biosciences recently opened a 2,700 sq. ft. state-of-the-art education center in Rockville, Maryland, to train customers on our cell imaging instruments, software and reagents. The Bioimaging Education Center is equipped with two training rooms, a conference room, a wet lab, a microscopy suite and an informal meeting area. It offers researchers a variety of technical cell analysis courses. Customers can also take advantage of instrument demonstrations, basic and advanced training courses, “getting started” courses and technical applications support for a variety of BD bioimaging technologies. This new training center complements BD Biosciences’ existing training facilities in San Diego, San Jose, Boston, Basel and Tokyo.

We also offer product training to customers and have a Voice of Customer engagement process.

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Stakeholder Issues

BD works with stakeholders to better understand their issues of concern. The most critical issues include those that we consider most material to our Company:

• Addressing underappreciated or emerging global healthcare needs
• Using natural resources responsibly throughout our operations
• Promoting a workforce that fosters racial, gender, religious and ethnic diversity
• Providing safe working conditions and promoting safe behaviors in the workplace, for our associates and customers
• Demonstrating ethical behavior by doing what is right, respecting individuals, always seeking to improve, accepting personal responsibility and complying with the laws of the land
• Providing great financial performance for customers and shareholders

When working with stakeholders, BD does more than listen and observe. We assimilate their concerns so we can design and develop new technologies to better meet customer needs. This responsiveness to stakeholders is demonstrated by our leadership in needlestick safety and reuse prevention technologies, including safety-engineered syringes and needles, closed IV catheters, antimicrobials and auto-disable and single-use devices.

In addition to customers, BD reaches out to engage stakeholders in various ways, including:

• Investor meetings, such as the Annual Meeting and quarterly calls with the financial community
• Quarterly “Town Hall” meetings for BD associates, including the ability to call in and ask questions of the CEO and other leaders from anywhere in the world
• Meetings with elected officials, including visits to BD facilities
• Regular interfacing with media regarding BD news and issues of importance

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