Out of all of the many major companies involved with the PPE supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps none have played a bigger role than 3M. The diversified technology firm has long been synonymous with safety products ranging from earplugs to goggles, but the company’s N95 respirators, face shields and other PPE have been critical in helping to contain the pandemic’s spread since it began.
Unfortunately, as-is with every major crisis, there have been plenty of bad actors out there looking to take advantage of the pandemic, and with PPE, that has been in the form of selling product that is either fraudulent, counterfeit, extremely price-gouged, or just doesn’t exist. We’ve provided news coverage of numerous major cases in which third parties have scammed governments and businesses out of hundreds of millions of dollars through such activity, and it’s forced 3M to play constant stringent defense on behalf of its products, while trying to produce enough to meet demand.
In this episode, I chat with Dan O’Connor, who is director and assistant general counsel for 3M’s Personal Safety Division. He’s one of the company’s leaders in its effort to fight COVID fraud, counterfeiting and price-gouging. He provides some great insight into what the pandemic has been like for 3M amidst numerous challenges. 3M customers can find useful resources on this topic at www.3M.com/covidfraud.
