2 minute read
Executive Insight
This issue of the Retailer focuses on business continuity planning. I remember a quote from one of my favorite TV shows MASH when Colonel Potter said to Captain Pierce about a patient’s casualty – “To the other guy, you’re the other guy.” That quote resonated with me as we tend to think that disasters, or major disruptions to our business will not happen to us. But when it does, it’s too late.
We have seen the impact of floods, tornadoes, cyber-crimes, theft, online and offline fraud, and other perils that dealt painful blows to our dealers in recent times. The Red Cross reported that 65% of small-mid sized businesses deploy no data backup or have a weak backup plan. 58% are not prepared for data loss. 36% don’t have any kind of disaster recovery plan.
According to a 2023 survey by Mercer, 49% of businesses globally have a business continuity plan (BCP), which is about 163 million companies. This is down from 2020, when more than half of companies worldwide didn’t have a BCP.
A BCP is a written document that outlines how an organization will continue to operate during a crisis, such as a natural disaster, cybersecurity incident, power failure, or IT failure. It helps organizations resume operations without significant downtime and can minimize business disruptions. For example, a BCP might explain who is responsible for essential business operations and highlight tasks that need to be completed quickly.
According to Gallagher, more than 70% of companies without a comprehensive BCP fail to recover from a significant business interruption.
The time to plan for a disaster is not when you are in the middle of having one. Throughout this issue, please take the time to identify at least 3-4 items that you will do within the next 90 days to avoid being a casualty. And then implement them, rather than letting them go unfulfilled. As your association, we don’t want you to be the “other guy” where disaster strikes you. Take the time, and make the effort to take action.
