Risk Solutions International LLC: Manufacturing

As the manufacturing sector strives to be increasingly “lean”, exposure to business interruptions increases. With optimized supply chains, new technologies, automated processes and fewer staff, business interruptions of any magnitude can easily cripple a company’s ability to produce and deliver products to its customers. Once considered purely an IT issue, business continuity has now become an integrated part of a company’s fundamental resiliency of operation.

In today’s uncertain business environment, you must be able assure your customers and business partners that you will be there for them. There is less tolerance for business interruptions. Protecting the complete value chain, by ensuring the continuity of vendors and suppliers, is of paramount importance, especially when the supply chain extends globally and suppliers often operate in regions with significant political and economic risk.

It is crucial that your organization ensure your own continuity of operations as well as those of your suppliers. Your organization may be capable of internal recovery strategies – depending upon the number of facilities and current production capacity levels – or you may need to team with business partners to ensure each others’ continuity.

Increased concern from customers about your operational resiliency
Increased regulatory attention
Customer service level agreements mandating business continuity plans
Competitive marketing advantage – “We will be there for you”
Lean manufacturing reduces ability to respond to an interruption
Understand and validate vendor and business partner recovery capabilities
Increased dependency upon enterprise applications
Single source or sole source supply arrangements may mean increased risk
Diversion, trans-shipping, counterfeiting, “grey” goods and supply chain “shrinkage” significantly impact globally-stretched supply chains

Has the Audit Committee/Board of Directors voiced concerns about the your “state of readiness”?
Are your customers asking about your Business Continuity Planning capabilities?
Do you have a history of business outages/disruptions?
Do you rely on business partners and other third parties in delivering products and services to market?
Are you in the process of implementing new systems?
Are you looking for ways to competitively differentiate yourself?
Do you have a formal internal business continuity planning framework?
Have there been recent changes to the organizational structure (mergers and acquisitions, divestitures)?
Have you tested all aspects of your business continuity plans?
Have you experienced supply chain tampering (diversion, grey goods, counterfeiting, transshipment or supply chain shrinkage)?
Have you tested all aspects of your business continuity plans?
Have you experienced supply chain tampering (diversion, grey goods, counterfeiting, transshipment or supply chain shrinkage)?

Risk Solutions International’s consultants provided an end-to-end business continuity solution for one of the word’s largest manufacturers and distributors of greetings cards. We helped define the critical business processes and functions for the corporate headquarters, business and operational units of the organization. We analyzed several alternate recovery solutions for their recovery of both facilities and systems. Our client’s goal was to ensure that employee safety and client commitments could be met by a recovery solution that could also support their demanding performance and capacity requirements. We created an ongoing testing, maintenance and education schedule to ensure everyone knows their role and responsibility during a disaster event. The project was well received by senior management, and is being rolled out as an enterprise standard across all manufacturing and distribution facilities, as well as subsidiary organizations.

For additional information on Risk Solutions International’s capabilities within the Manufacturing sector, please contact Geoff Carnes at GCarnes@rsi-llc.com.