Issue:
A large electrical products distributor was concerned about significant potential loss to the business that could result from a natural or man-made disaster. Having witnessed other companies flounder or fail after misfortune hit, the company’s owner wanted to protect his own business — and the jobs of his employees — by taking steps to prevent such a loss from occurring in the event of fire, flood or other unexpected catastrophes.

Resolution:
The company sought the business consulting advice of David Anderson, who recommended a comprehensive disaster recovery plan be established to safeguard both electronic and paper records; address step-by-step procedures for reacting to various types of disasters; and develop contingency plans to continue operations should one or more of the company’s locations be severely damaged or destroyed. The company then engaged David Anderson to manage development of the plan. In a twist of fortuitousness, shortly after the plan was put into place, the distributor’s headquarters and main operating facility were hit by an F2 tornado. The comprehensive disaster recovery plan enabled the business to resume operations at a new site in less than a week and minimized the company’s financial loss.