DHL on having a Business Continuity Plan (BCP): Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best
DHL has always been ready with their own disaster relief process management plans in place to decrease adverse stakeholder impacts. Their personnel are well trained to manage the BCPs and related systems in the case of emergencies.
However, during the recent Japan natural disaster, DHL found that their employees in Japan had a particularly strong culture and readiness for responding to natural disasters. Within hours, employees were on the ground near the 30 kilometre disaster zone to assess what the situation was, determine which roads were functional, and how they could provide humanitarian aid.
Information technologies also made it easier to reach out to employees and customers to identify that they were safe within three hours of the earthquake. The IT infrastructure that DHL had in Japan quickly allowed them to ascertain the on the ground situation, and to keep employees and clients informed on the evolving situation.
Unexpectantly, the natural disaster actually improved parts of DHL’s business. There were increases in their express shipments where people urgently needed to get supplies that could not be moved by other means, or that were delayed, and replenishment goods needed to be moved quickly to disaster areas. Therefore, while in the initial four to six weeks, business was negatively affected, it appears that the subsequent erratic volumes and surges of activity that the region will go through to get back up to speed in subsequent months will only further contribute to business.