Why business continuity planning has become integral to respond during the crisis?

The ongoing crisis induced by COVID-19 has taken the world by storm. It has disrupted all socio-economic aspects from the bottom. Further, uncertainties surrounding the crisis have prompted businesses across every industry to revisit and upgrade their business continuity plans and enterprise resilience during the pandemic. Typically, business continuity planning reflects the time and effort an organization has put forth. 

As organizations are taking crucial steps to navigate the effects of COVID-19, they need to think about a number of key issues. They also must take steps to not only respond to business shocks, but also redefine their business and plan for a new normal.

In the United States, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has already issued interim guidance for businesses and employers to plan and respond to the disease. Many organizations now are stated planning to improve their business continuity and response plans to lower the COVID-19 impact. Already, businesses have enacted work from home model to prevent the spread of the virus, while keeping up with the changing ecosystem in the time of crisis.

Robust Business Continuity Plans

As most businesses are still struggling with the effects of the pandemic, many are responding to the challenges by bringing innovative changes in place. In first, companies must ensure the safety and wellbeing of their employees in the workplace or remotely. They also must address their concerns openly and transparently that will help go a long way to engage them and reassure the business continuity. Additionally, business leaders or executives should establish regular communications with both people inside and outside. 

Keeping up with government and health authorities’ current policies regarding safety and prevention from the COVID-19 crisis will certainly assist companies and employees remain engaged.

Manufacturing and supply chain networks are the spots that are heavily impacted by the pandemic. As the crisis has forced traditional manufacturing ecosystems to be more agile, flexible and digitally-enabled, most businesses are likely to undergo significant disruption to their business-as-usual operations and will witness business deficit. Despite this, a Forbes article opines that manufacturing will experience five years of innovation in the next 18 months. This is largely credited to the adoption of digitization and automation solutions.

In order to sustain this scenario, businesses must assess short-term liquidity. They will need to instil short-term cash flow monitoring system that enables them to envisage cash flow pressures and address them on time. Companies also must supervise direct cost escalations and their impact on overall product margins that will help them evaluate financial and operational risks and enable steps to respond quickly.

In the end, business leaders must review their business continuity plans regularly. If not, the potential gaps in their plans and processes can easily develop, ultimately causing their organizations and pulling them again behind the development.