At some point in the next five years, your business is likely to face serious disruption. This could be anything from major IT failure, high levels of staff absenteeism for unforeseen reasons, failure in the supply chain, even relocation caused by flood or fire.

Waiting for the unexpected to happen is not an option. If you haven't already done so, then you need to take action now - and think the unthinkable. By following best practice as outlined in the internationally recognised standard for Business Continuity Management (BS 25999), you will reduce your risk and be fully prepared should your key business activities be disrupted.

Business Continuity Management is based on the principle that it is the key responsibility of an organisation's directors to ensure the continuation of its business operations at all times and this necessitates having suitable plans, processes and practices in place to meet most eventualities.

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is something that your stakeholders, including print buyers, will expect you to have, and your insurer will almost certainly want you to provide as part of your responsibility toward risk management. 

Research has shown that when faced with an incident, 94 per cent of organisations with Business Continuity Plans said these had effectively reduced the disruption. Can your business afford to be without one?

If producing an effective Business Continuity Plan seems daunting, BPIF Specialist Services can help. Our experts have helped many print and packaging companies to assess critical aspects of their processes and to develop structured BCPs. Each plan is developed with the specific needs of the company in mind, while implementing best practice from across the print and packaging sector.