More than price and service

WHEN it comes to requests for TMC proposals, in addition to proving you will deliver value for money and the required services and technology, companies are interested in knowing much more. Many are particularly interested in two areas: how you approach business disruption and what type of global corporate citizen you are.

Companies are increasingly savvy around the questions they ask with regards to how TMCs manage risk. They want to know you have a written business continuity and disaster recovery plan in place, and in most cases they want to see it.

They want to know you’ve identified potential risks, developed mitigation strategies and planned how to address an issue should it occur. They also want to know you’re constantly reviewing, planning and testing your processes and scenarios.

If you haven’t implemented steps to ensure continuity of service and to minimise disruption, then you’re a risk to their business. You’re also taking a risk with the wellbeing of your staff and, ultimately the health of your business.

Putting the right plan in place is all about prevention, preparation, response and recovery. Start by identifying the risks and build your strategy and plans from there. If you can prevent it from happening, do it. If you can’t, how can you reduce the chance or lessen the impact? How do you respond to an incident and then recover from it? Document it, test it and ensure everyone in the business knows what to do.

At the end of the day, whether you’re responding to a request for proposal or not, it makes good business sense to have a robust business continuity plan in place.

If you haven’t implemented steps to ensure continuity of service and to minimise disruption, then you’re a risk to their business.