Different supply chains
respond to disasters in different ways. Some, like utilities (think telecom or
power providers), gear up and deploy assets to affected areas so that they can
ramp up quickly to begin recovery efforts. Others shift into lockdown mode,
securing assets and moving people, resources and vehicles out of harm’s way.
Whether your disaster
response plan takes you into the affected area or away from it, there are five
precautions every supply chain manager should take to weather virtually any
emergency situation:
Plan: identify and assess
all potential risks ahead of time. Have a documented business
continuity/contingency plan in place and procedures that enable your supply
chain to swing into action before, during and after the event. Understand where
your supply chain begins and ends – from the point of origin to the end
consumer and all of the components and partners that keep it running smoothly.
Know who to call and how to protect your people and assets.
Secure assets: this
includes all nodes in your supply chain: production facilities, distribution
centers, your fleet, terminals, suppliers and stores. In short, anything that
could be sidelined by a disaster. Make sure you have the products and supplies
you need when the disaster is over. If you’re a hospital, this might mean
water, backup power and medical supplies. If you’re a power provider, it might
mean staging sites, extra trucks, drivers and techs to go out and restore
power. Move equipment indoors or to higher ground if you’re in a flood-prone
area.
Collaborate: work closely
with third-party suppliers, key business partners, service providers and
employees to develop and execute a strategy. If you have strong relationships
in place, you’re in a better position to get the resources you need when
disaster strikes. If one supplier is knocked out of commission, you’ll have
another to rely on. Set up a crisis team and communications and information
channels and define roles and responsibilities so everyone knows how to
respond.
Have alternatives: if your
infrastructure or transportation modes are affected, have other options in
place, whether it’s backup power, backup, water supplies, vehicles, drivers,
alternate sites, routes or transportation modes or a redundant/backup IT
infrastructure.
Track and monitor: keep an
eye on the impending crisis and make sure you have visibility into other
threats that could disrupt your supply chain. In addition to natural disasters,
sources of problems run the gamut from terrorism and geo-political turmoil to
changes in political and regulatory environments, labor rates, vendor capacity
limitations, fuel volatility or work stoppages.
The secret to success in
all cases is to be prepared before disaster strikes. Protect your supply chain
and your business from crippling standstills or losses by taking steps now to
have a supply chain disaster preparedness plan in place.
http://blog.ryder.com/2013/09/supply-chain-disaster-preparedness/#sthash.z4MsiEiU.dpuf