“It is not a question of if but when” Building readiness and agility for the next pandemic or major crisis By David Primrose, Synergy Food Ingredients Ltd and Dr Paola Cane, Mia Solution
The strong bond between pet owners and their pets and the positive
A crisis might exhibit some common features e.g.
role pets play in supporting mental and physical health are not new
• People (including business management) have limited or zero
phenomena. Pet owners therefore look to the petfood sector to
experience of similar events forcing them outside their “comfort
keep our pets fit and healthy through supply continuity of safe, legal,
zone”
nutritious petfood that meets their quality expectations e.g. palatability,
• Businesses are taken into the “unknown”, with dynamic,
digestibility, texture, authenticity, and price. However, our business
unfamiliar scenarios outside their control, making decision
and personal lives have been severely impacted by effects of the CV19 crisis and the petfood sector is not immune from this. As seen in the human food industry, its effects are causing disruption to petfood manufacturers, suppliers (ingredients, equipment, packaging, logistics, laboratories etc) and retailers.
making difficult based on incomplete data and unknown risks • Stakeholders like decision makers experience “high” stress that can affect mental health • Increased consumer concerns e.g. Is petfood safe during the pandemic? Will there be shortage of petfood due to supply chain
I am sorry to disappoint you but it is not a question of if we will face
constraints (e.g. illness resulting in staff shortages or raw material
a future major crisis or pandemic but a question of when and survival
availability problems)? Will the shops be open and have supplies
(commercial and personal) depends on complex, diverse factors both
of petfood due to panic buying?
under and outside our control. This requires us all to be prepared and agile to adapt to dynamic challenges. Strong leadership and coherent, clear authoritative communication are also required. In April 2020, “The Grocer” (UK) magazine reported in a survey that 64% of respondents believe that worker sickness is the biggest challenge to continuity of food supply during CV-19. This is evidenced in June 2020, with temporary closure of a major UK chicken processing plant due to CV-19 worker sickness and cases in other countries including France, Germany, and the US. In the petfood sector, how would you cope with unexpected high levels of absenteeism due to sickness? It is business critical therefore that we exert control in a way that is positive to help us survive and offers potential business efficiency improvement through new ways of working. We can better prepare for future crises by looking now at what we are doing to combat CV-19 and taking the positives from this catastrophic experience.
Anatomy of a crisis Typically, a crisis (or major emergency) is defined as: “an unusual, predicted or unpredicted event, creating an imminent or future significant threat to the business (infrastructure, employees, product supply including raw materials), its products e.g. petfood and its stakeholders (employees, customers, community)” Threats might be “natural” (e.g. earthquake, animal and human
• Increased anxiety of staff e.g. Will I be unemployed? Will I be safe to work with other operators? A crisis typically consists of linked phases, each with different operational challenges e.g. 1. Preparation (“Normality”) – “Normal” stress and anxiety levels exist. Business uses risk management and business continuity plan (BCP) to mitigate against crisis. Planning helps mitigate against future crises and develops the mindset required to adapt to complex, dynamic crisis scenarios. 2. “Crisis” – Abnormal event e.g. earthquake, arson, CV-19 increases stress and anxiety levels to crisis level. 3. Response (“Crisis Relief”) – BCP implementation, leadership and communication start to reduce stress and anxiety from “high” level. Effectiveness depends on BCP preparedness, strong leadership, and communication. Crisis is dynamic requiring agility and ability to act on limited data. 4. Resolution – Depending on BCP effectiveness, leadership, communication, agility, and staff training further reduce stress and anxiety. 5. Recovery – Business continuity is ensured through implementing policies, procedures, and ways of working. For future preparedness and agility, the recovery phase must include analysis of the current crisis, how the business responded and how things could have been done better.
The importance of communication
diseases, crop failure) or “man-made” (e.g. war, food adulteration,
Clear, effective stakeholder communication from a skilled business
arson, cyber-crime etc).
leader is a key factor in maintaining trust and in managing mental
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Pet Food Supplement 2020
