dealer advocacy & governmental affairs
Planning for the Worst can be an Opportunity for the Future
By WILL ROGERS, Director of Government Affairs [
willr@ineda.com]
For the third time in 26 years, the Missouri River and its tributaries have wreaked havoc on towns, farms and communities across Iowa and Nebraska. Several dealers, their employees and customers have had businesses, homes, fields and livestock wiped out by the most recent rounds of flooding. And there are still several months of potential flood risk ahead.
Natural disasters such as tornados, earthquakes, flooding, communicable diseases and wildfires all pose a risk to the continued operation of your business. Since 1990, Iowa and Nebraska have experienced over 60 events that rose to the level of a presidentially-declared disaster.
You never know where or when a natural disaster might strike, and that’s why it’s important to get prepared now for a “worst case scenario” event in the future so you can keep your business open during the worst of times. The best way to do this is by developing a Business Continuity and Resiliency Plan (BCRP).
A BCRP is simply a process of putting strategies and systems into place to help prevent and recover from risks and threats to your business.
1. Conduct an audit, assess and understand the risks and threats that your business faces. Start by asking questions about your exposure and what you are most likely to encounter. Ask “What are the greatest threats to my business?”
For example, if your business is 20 miles from the nearest waterway and you’re located on top of a hill, then your risk of flooding might be minimal and not worth much investment in terms of planning. However, it’s important to keep in mind that fires, tornados and cyberattacks on Information Technolo- gy (IT) systems are threats to almost every business.
2. Determine what would be the best solutions for making sure your business can continue to operate, even when disrupted by circumstances beyond your control. As part of determining your best solutions, make sure you focus on what is realistic and actionable. Having a plan to reopen your business in the same location a week from a disaster may be unrealistic and have no practical value.
34 | The Retailer Magazine | May/June
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
