But how can organizations deal with those types of risks generally unknown and not predictable? The answer comes from a different kind of strategic vision that is not only based on the analysis of identified risks but looks at the possible modes of disruption of processes regardless of the cause. For example, once defined the logistics distribution as a key factor for the success of the business, you can evaluate how to recover any link regardless of the specific reasons of interruption.
The Business Continuity Management is an approach generally used in case of possible serious consequences related to crisis or emergency 1, 2, 3: an organization that evaluates the effects of damage to a warehouse caused by a sudden storm or defines actions following the failure of a partner is performing risk management; when it arranges structured actions related to the unavailability of a warehouse or a provider moves up to the level of Business Continuity Management and its main features:
- analysis and identification of the elements of the organization that may be subject to interruption, unavailability and related effects;
- definition of action plans and programs to be implemented when an element is missing, to ensure the continuity of material and information flows or recover as quickly as possible;
- monitoring of processes to anticipate possible crises or to start emergency plans;
- establishment of systematic test of recovery plans;
- once recovered, structured analysis of events to evaluate the success of the initiatives, the efficiency of the plans and their revision.
The Business Continuity Management accompanies organizations during disaster recovery of unexpected risks, particularly rare and with high magnitudes of the effects, where the operations must be carried out with the utmost speed and effectiveness. Events such as the earthquake in Kobe (Japan) in 1995, that caused more than 6,400 deaths, 100,000 demolished buildings, closed the major ports of the country for two months, having a general impact on industries for more than 100 billion dollars, can easily be presented for examples of disasters. At the same time, also much smaller events can be recognized as a disaster for small and medium-sized enterprises, such as the loss of a key customer, a huge credit not collected, a wrong industrial initiative, a failure of the production system or the breakdown of a relationship with a partner.on dollars, the other much smaller events also can be recognized as a disaster for small and medium-sized enterprises, such as the loss of a key customer, a huge credit not collected, a wrong industrial initiative, a system failure or breakdown of a relationship with a partner. In the same way, any loss related to a failure of an infrastructure can generate adverse effects as well as an incorrect definition of strategic processes or the indiscriminate and uncoordinated introduction of new methods such as just-in-time: the majority of negative events come from managerial mistakes that could be avoided rather than from the effects of real and unexpected emergencies.
A recovery plan must therefore meet the following requirements:
- ensure the physical integrity of employees, customers, visitors and in any case all subjects interacting with current activities;
- protect as much as possible facilities and resources to ensure a rapid recovery;
- implement procedures to restore a minimum level of service, while reducing the impact on the organization;
- work with partners to redefine the appropriate services: once reorganized the internal activities, it is necessary to seek outside to assess the effects and consequences of actions taken;
- return all processes to performance standard in time and at reasonable cost: the speed with which the repairs must be carried out is balanced with the associated costs.
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