When it comes to logistics or any other industry, businesses need to constantly foresee and play in their heads adverse circumstances and plan accordingly for possible unexpected disruptions.
Due diligence always rewards those who take it seriously and by the end of a crisis, they are in a better position than those who did not have a strategy for the unforeseen.
The goal must always be, even though it may sound like a cliché, ‘to prepare for the worst and hope for the best’.
The UNSIDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) defines a disaster as “a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability, and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic and environmental losses, and impacts.” We are talking about a devastating incident that disrupts everyday operations in any given area that cannot be resolved by itself and for which multiple resources are required.
Disruption can occur due to several reasons, including meteorological, political, biological (such as what we are experiencing now with the current health crisis of COVID-19), hydrological, among others.
In any case, it is critical to have systems in place that can be activated swiftly and efficiently.
Create a Contingency Plan
Define potential threats to your business and draft the steps necessary to mitigate the impact of these threats if they become real. Think ahead and take the time to develop a course of action that you and your employees should refer to in the event of a major disruption. This arrangement is typically known as a disaster risk management plan. Here are some steps when creating your risk management plan that can help to minimize disruptions in your services:
- Assess Risk. While it is impossible to always plan disruptions, play different scenarios and possible outcomes. Determine where the risk might come from and determine what part of your logistics will be affected.
- Prepare in Advance. You should never wait until a major disruption strikes to attempt to evaluate what you need or don’t. Visualize ahead of time and have the necessary resources in place. Just to mention a major player in today’s business is data. How is important data being preserved, either in the cloud or stored at an off-site location can help in the event of physical damage to your location?
- Discuss a Plan of Action. The mitigation process will essentially decide how your company reacts to a disruption or unexpected halt. Details such as how will you communicate with employees? How will you notify your customers of potential delays or complications? Will your suppliers or your shipments be affected? Ask yourself questions that you may have to consider in such a situation.
- Response and Recovery. Once the situation has been resolved you will need to go into a recovery response mode. This phase also required planning in order to allocate any necessary resources and get back on your feet as soon as possible in the most cost-effective way.
Protect Yourself with Premier Logistics Services
At Promptus LLC, we have a dynamic team of logistics professionals assisting companies to move their goods around the world. With 20 years in the industry, we have a profound understanding of preparedness, response, and recovery. We employ the most advanced technology to continue to service our customers before, during, and after being impacted by any disruption. Call us today!
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