3 Tips para Evitar Rupturas en tu Cadena de

Suministros

(NOTE: See here this article in English)

Imagnate por un segundo, como se te quedara la cara si una maana de camino
a tu negocio de textiles, escuchas en la radio del coche, que una inundacin en
Bangladesh ha causado una elevada mortandad en la poblacin y cuantiosas
prdidas materiales. Llegars a tu oficina e intentaras contactar con tu proveedor
Banglades y resulta que si logras hablar con l. Lo haces solo para enterarte de
que su plantilla est reducida al 10% y que tu pedido se lo llev la marea junto
con lo que falta de la estructura de su almacn y los 50 kilmetros de carretera
que separan la fbrica del puerto ms cercano. Algo que es perfectamente posible,
sobre todo si tenemos en cuenta que solo en el 2015 en Asa se produjeron
prdidas materiales por valor de 35.5 mil millones de Dlares causa de
inundaciones, incendios y terremotos.
Si esto no lo tenas previsto, ya puedo ver como te sudan las manos. Como
dedicaras los das sucesivos a pensar que decirle a tus clientes para ganar tiempo
mientras empleas an ms tiempo y energas en buscar un proveedor alternativo.
Y a estos ltimos, ya los imagino multiplicando los precios de manera exponencial.
Y t, alternando llamadas entre ellos y tu compaa de seguros. Sin contar, que
durante este lapso la actividad de tu negocio, se ver sensiblemente afectada.
Cuando no, interrumpida.

UF, tu cadena de suministro ha saltado por los

aires!
Aqu van mis tres consejos para evitarte contratiempos.
1. Pre establecimiento de proveedores alternativos
Si por el contrario, tu Plan de Continuidad de Negocio prev una ruptura de tu
cadena de suministro, anticipndose al evento con un proveedor alternativo que
incluso con algn diferencial de precio que reduzca tu margen habitual de
beneficio, pueda garantizar el funcionamiento de tu negocio, te permita mantener
la confianza de tus clientes y reducir significativamente el tiempo de cambio de
proveedor en caso de falla de tu proveedor principal.
2. Conocer a profundidad a tu proveedor/s
En tu Plan de Continuidad de Negocio, tambin tienen cabida acciones
encaminadas a estrechar la colaboracin e intercambio de informacin. Es sabido
que con internet y otras formas de comunicacin muchas veces el vnculo no va
ms all de un clic sobre una foto de un sitio web o una conversacin, no muy
fluida con un callcenter. Estas acciones terminan relegando a la invisibilidad

aspectos importantes como la fiabilidad de la continuidad de suministro de tu

proveedor. Sin embargo, al contactar con tu proveedor y solicitarle informacin
sobre su cadena de suministros y eventual Plan de Continuidad de Negocio, podrs
obtener un conocimiento global de todos esos factores que afectan tu actividad,
ampliando tu percepcin de riesgo y capacidad de respuesta ante eventos
extraordinarios.
Y si adems incluyes a tu proveedor/s en tus simulaciones peridicas de
desastre (Leer tip #6) tendrs muchas oportunidades de identificar los vacos de
tu Plan de Continuidad de Negocio en lugar de encubrirlos y posponer su aparicin
hasta la ocurrencia de un incidente real.
3. Pre establecimiento de un plan de comunicacin alternativo
La apertura de canales de comunicacin complementarios con tu proveedor/s
durante el da a da es muy importante. Ya que en momentos de crisis estos
cobran importancia capital. En situaciones de cada de Internet o telfonos, contar
con datos de contacto de personas claves es ms que la luz al final del tnel. Un
telfono mvil, un email personal, un contacto de Whatsapp, un Yammer site,
una herramienta VOIP o hasta un grupo cerrado de Facebook pueden hacer de
tabla de salvacin durante un vaco de comunicacin. Y estas opciones son de muy
bajo costo y por lo tanto viables tambin para organizaciones pequeas y
medianas. Y creme cuando digo, que cuando el agua te llega al cuello, hasta las
seales de humo son vlidas.
Estos son solo tres ejemplos de como un oportuno Plan de Continuidad de Negocio
puede hacer de tu negocio una fortaleza anti desastres y no dejarte colgado de la
brocha cuando menos se te lo esperes.
Nosotros quedamos a tu disposicin desde www.businessasusual.net.au para
asistirte en tu Plan de Continuidad de Negocio y tambin para informarte acerca
de nuestros cursos (ISO22301, ISO31000, ISO27001& ISO28000).

NOTE: Vea aqu este artculo en Ingls / See here this article in English

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3 Ways to Reduce your Exposure to Disasters in

your Supply Chain

(NOTA: Vea aqu este artculo en espaol)

Imagine this. Youre driving to work one morning, on the way to your textile
business, when you hear on the radio that theres been a natural disaster in
Bangladesh. A massive flood has caused considerable material damage and
disrupted the lives of millions.

You pull over and call your supplier in Bangladesh. Luckily you manage to get
through. But theres bad news for you. Overnight, your textile supply has been
reduced to just 10% of what you need. Your large order from your supplier cannot
be fulfilled because the warehouse of their supplier is flooded, along with a 50
kilometre stretch of road that connects your supplier to the nearest port.
This situation shouldnt require a stretch of the imagination. In Asia, in 2015 alone,
floods, fires and earthquakes caused material losses amounting to an estimated
$35.5 billion.
Without having planned for this scenario, the enormity of the problem, and the
work involved in overcoming it, hits you. During the next few days you try to
figure out to how to buy yourself some time so you can focus on seeking an
alternative supplier. But suppliers are already putting their prices up exponentially.
Youre spending all your time juggling phone calls between alternate suppliers,
your insurance company, and customers wanting to know whats going on. You
havent even had time to consider the impact on your reputation, and
on new business, once prospects hear about the problem.
Whilst your business may have nothing to do with textile industry, you will
certainly have some form of dependency on external suppliers.
Here are three tips for reducing your exposure to mishaps in your supply chain
1. Pre-establish alternative providers
Ensure your Business Continuity Plan (BCP) contains provisions in case of a
disruption in your supply chain, and an alternate supplier agreed prior to the
event.
Even if having two regular, ongoing suppliers (instead of one) causes higher overall
prices and slightly reduces your usual profit margin, this strategy could ensure the
continued operation of your business. In the event that one supplier is out of
action, you can significantly reduce the time to switch suppliers, honour your
existing customer commitments and maintain their trust.
2. Build a close relationship with your suppliers
In order to have full confidence in your Business Continuity Plan, strengthen your
relationship with your key suppliers.
We all know that business relationships rarely go beyond the exchange of emails or
the occasional phone call. But by exchanging more information with your suppliers,
and collaborating more closely with them, you will be able to improve the reliability
of your supply chain.
Discussing continuity with your suppliers, and understanding their BCPs, will
enable you to get an improved understanding of all the factors that can affect your
business. It will expand your awareness of risks and your true capability of
responding to extraordinary events.
In addition, include your suppliers in your periodic disaster simulations. In this way
you will be able to identify gaps in your Business Continuity Plan before those gaps
cause major problems when an actual incident occurs.
3. Pre-establish an alternative communication plan

Establish multiple channels of communication with your suppliers during business

as usual. This will provide you with confidence in a smooth flow of communication
in times of crisis.
In the case of internet or telephony failure, alternate contact methods for key
people can be used quickly. A mobile phone number, a personal email address,
a Whatsapp contact, a Yammer group, a VOIP solution or a closed Facebook
group can become your lifeline during an interruption to more traditional forms of
communication.
These options are inexpensive and therefore feasible for small and medium-sized
organizations to put in place. But the time to establish these alternate forms of
communication is now, before you need them. When it really hits the fan, you
may be clinging to any form of communication, including smoke signals!
These are just three ways in which an up-to-date Business Continuity Plan can
protect your business against disasters and ensure youre prepared to deal with
the unexpected when you least expect it.
If you want your BCP to work when you need it most, contact us
at www.businessasusual.net.au.
And if youre keen on training, you can also have a look at our upcoming courses
in Business Continuity, Risk, Information Security and Supply Chain Security
Management (incl ISO22301, ISO31000, ISO27001& ISO28000 certification
exams).

NOTA: Vea aqu este artculo en espaol / See here this post in Spanish

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