The contribution of business continuity management (BCM) to supply chain resilience: a qualitative study on the response to COVID-19 outbreak

PurposeThis paper investigates the relationships between the core elements of a BCM system and SCRES constituents, i.e. visibility, agility, flexibility, velocity and collaboration. An explorative multiple case studies methodology was adopted, consisting of organizations in the retail, manufacturing and humanitarian sectors that had to withstand the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (January to June 2020).Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts an interpretative approach to understand organizational behavior through observations. The source of data comes from in-depth interviews as well as the scrutiny of available official documents for triangulation. The unit of analysis is the organizations internal supply chain with a specific focus on their BCM system and SCM arrangements.FindingsThis paper shows how core BCM practices have a direct impact on supply chain resilience constituents. Specifically practices such as establishing a crisis management committee and risk assessments boost constituents such as agility and flexibility. This advances the theoretical discussion on supply chain resilience, while providing practical examples for organizations to build a response to pandemic incidents.Originality/valueThis paper validates the contribution of business continuity management to supply chain resilience, a concept that has mainly been linked to practices such as risk management. In this regard, this paper enriches the discussion. Secondly, the analysis explains how specific BCM practices worked during the first wave of the pandemic and how they were implemented, providing a clear path for supply chain resilience.

Health Management Challenges of the Pandemic - A Case Study from Recent Pipeline Repair Campaign

Avoiding an offshore COVID-19 outbreak while executing an urgent and intricate pipeline repair campaign is a significant challenge, especially in a country that is experiencing a COVID-19 positivity rate of more than 20% on daily basis. Any minor mismanagement of health management on the DSV (diving support vessel) may lead to a COVID-19 outbreak with the risk of shutting down the campaign and significantly impacting the business continuity objectives. Therefore, the major health management challenge is to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak on the DSV to ensure the well-being of personnel during campaign and to achieve the necessary pipeline repair. The approach taken was to deploy the DSV with team and tools/equipment as soon as possible to avoid a prolonged platform shutdown due to the pipeline leak event. In order to carry out the project, a detailed risk assessment taking account of medical, logistics and security considerations was undertaken in order avoid a COVID-19 outbreak on the vessel. The risk assessment enabled an adjustment to the quarantine requirements for the pipeline repair team before departure to the work location. A contingency plan was also developed to manage a scenario in which a member of the offshore team was infected with COVID-19, and in order to comply with applicable government regulation. Through the effective implementation of a detailed risk assessment, the company was able to complete the pipeline repair campaign without any offshore COVID-19 outbreaks. On the DSV there were 65 personnel working on multiple activities to execute the pipeline repair works on time and on budget. The site team made a diligent effort to follow the mitigations identified in the risk assessment, under the direction of company Business Continuity Management Team (BCMT). As a result of this effort, the company was able to resume production from the offshore platform in a timely manner. This paper discusses the effective implementation of detailed risk assessment on a DSV as part of company business continuity management amid COVID-19 pandemic in the country, including medical, logistics and security considerations. This project was implemented in a year-end period, beyond normal conditions and in a tight schedule.

Strengthen the Security Management of Customer Information in the Virtual Banks of Hong Kong through Business Continuity Management to Maintain Its Business Sustainability

This article looks at studies on how to use business continuity management for Hong Kong’s virtual banks in order to reduce customer information risks, so as to maintain business sustainability. Firstly, the development of virtual banks in Hong Kong were investigated, the laws and regulations and regulatory policies of Hong Kong and the Mainland were benchmarked, and the main risks that may occur and be harmful to the bank business sustainability were analyzed. Considering the characteristics of virtual banks, the main concerns of public customers about the IT risks of virtual banks through questionnaire surveys were collected and analyzed. Moreover, the importance of business continuity management to virtual banks was drawn. Secondly, in the case studies, via understanding the overall situation of WeBank, its performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the regulations of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the practice standards of virtual banks in business continuity management were further clarified. At the end, three suggestions for virtual banks in Hong Kong were put forward to reduce customer information security risks through business continuity management, thereby maintaining its business sustainability.

PENERAPAN BUSINESS CONTINUITY MANAGEMENT PADA MASA PANDEMI COVID-19 DI PT BRANTAS ABIPRAYA

Abripraya telah menerapkan Business Continuity Management (BCM) sebagai upaya agar proses bisnis tetap berjalan dengan baik dalam kondisi risiko apapun, termasuk saat terjadi pandemi virus Covid-19. Namun, di Abipraya, masih ada risiko bisnis yang perlu diselesaikan yaitu pelanggaran SOP terkait pencegahan Covid-19. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kelompok risiko mana yang berisiko tinggi untuk menerapkan Business Continuity Management di Abipraya selama masa pandemi Covid-19. Metode pengumpulan data digunakan melalui observasi lapangan, dokumentasi kegiatan, dan wawancara yang berkaitan dengan objek dalam penelitian. Hasil penelitian menemukan enam risiko dengan level sangat tinggi, satu peluang dengan level tinggi, dan level sedang akibat pelanggaran implementasi BCM oleh pihak eksternal Abipraya. Pelanggaran pelaksanaan BCM mayoritas dilakukan oleh pekerja proyek periode tertentu seperti vendor dan subkontraktor, pengunjung yang berkunjung, dan pengemudi ojek online. Kesimpulannya, sekitar 75% kelompok risiko dengan kategori risiko sangat tinggi untuk BCM Abipraya selama pandemi Covid-19. Implikasi manajerial adalah mensosialisasikan regulasi, terutama kepada pihak eksternal, dan mengimplementasikan rencana mitigasi secara berkala untuk mengurangi risiko tinggi.

Sustainability and Resilience Organizational Capabilities to Enhance Business Continuity Management: A Literature Review

Although organizational sustainability and organizational resilience are critical dynamic capabilities for business continuity management, especially in times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, there are few studies that analyze the relationship between these three concepts to understand risks management. For this reason, our study analyzes these relationships to contribute to a better understanding of the subject and to propose future lines of research. We use bibliometric and content analysis, based on the Web Of Science and Scopus databases, during the period between 1998 and 13 May 2021. Main findings indicate that there is a bidirectional relationship between organizational sustainability capabilities and organizational resilience capabilities, but there is not enough evidence of their relationship with business continuity management. Additionally, results allow us to infer that there are four groups of relationships between them: (1) From Risk Management to Business Continuity Management and Organizational Resilience; (2) Resilience and Business Continuity practices; (3) Business Continuity contribution to Innovation and Sustainability; (4) Dynamic Capabilities for Organizational Sustainability and Organizational Resilience to enhance Business Continuity Management. Moreover, different stages were identified to understand the impact of organizational sustainability capabilities and organizational resilience capabilities on business continuity management facing disruptive events.