Cover your bases and prepare your supply chain for the unexpected.
Supply chain disruptions come in all shapes and sizes – earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods and even power outages and labor stoppages. Whatever the flavor, disasters can create a variety of supply chain management challenges, from disrupting your power supply, grounding your fleet and diverting shipments to compromising the safety of your assets, your employees and local community.
Is your supply chain ready for the worst Mother Nature can dish out? The key to disaster-proofing your supply chain and being able to move swiftly and smoothly into response mode is preparation. To make sure you can swing your supply chain into action when the unexpected happens, be sure you cover these 10 bases:
1. Plan ahead: test your readiness and have a documented business continuity/disaster recovery/contingency plan in place that engages resources at every level. This might mean having a set of procedures outlining what to do, anticipating steps you’ll take and running different scenarios (best, average, worst-case) by your team.
2. Set aside funds: make sure you have budget set aside to cover extra drivers, trucks, emergency and relief workers if you need them, so you’re not scrambling for funds at the last minute.
3. Designate a crisis team: know who will make decisions and communicate them across your supply chain to launch an effective response.
4. Know who to call: what to do and when and where to go in the event of evacuation. Keep a list of disaster resources readily available:
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (www.fema.gov)
- American Red Cross (www.redcross.org) national and local chapters
- State disaster information (unique to your state, e.g. www.floridadisaster.org
- Public radio stations
- Hotel room availability
- Local, county and state Office of Emergency management
- The Weather Channel
5. Line up suppliers: nurture strong relationships with several suppliers to provide flexibility if/when disaster strikes and you need to secure resources from alternate providers
6. Diversify your transportation modes – have backup drivers, vehicles, and routes ready
7. Document processes: if you have to bring in extra people, documented procedures make it easier to get them up and running fast
8. Know what you’ll need: determine what components, materials and supplies will be in demand.
9. Anticipate demand: make sure your supply chain can flex to meet surges in demand
10. Be ready for detours: to move products through different routes, ports, waterways or railways
Stay tuned for our next step post in our Disaster Preparedness series about maintaining detailed policies, procedures and plans to be prepared for any disruptions caused by a natural disaster or emergency.
Written by Glenn Stept, Group Manager, Ryder Dedicated
Mr. Stept is a Group Manager with Ryder Dedicated. Mr. Stept has over 25 years of experience in the supply chain and logistics industry. Throughout his time at Ryder, Mr. Stept has implemented, operated, and supported numerous supply chain operations for customers across a variety of industry segments.
