| Business Continuity Plan
A business continuity plan is usually a
separate document, associated with larger organisations. It sets out a range of
procedures for dealing with issues, in the event of a major problem or disaster
situation, to minimalise interruption to the business. Such events would include: fire,
flooding, electrical or gas faults, accidents with hazardous materials, even terrorist
activity etc.
The relevance of this in the context of a business plan, whatever the size of
business, is that these issues should be considered and outlined in the Risk Assessment
and Health & Safety sections. Any potential investor would want to see that there
were satisfactory preventative procedures and contingency measures in place to reassure
them that their investment would be secure. Insurance on its own is not generally
sufficient, as some businesses do not survive a major disaster . despite being well
insured. The following covers some of the common key
business areas that might be affected . but it will vary from business to business.
Areas to be considered could include:
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Premises
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Human resources management |
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Production processes
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Quality control mechanisms
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Maintenance procedures and support services
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IT services & computer systems |
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E-commerce processes |
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E-mail communication |
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Customer service handling
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Sales and sales administration
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Accounting systems & financial records |
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Research and development activities
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Marketing and public relations |
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Transport & logistics |
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