Business contingency and continuity plan by logistics firms in Singapore (part B : logistics arms of shipping companies perspective)

• Main Author: Duan, Ran
• Other Authors: -
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Business; Engineering::Maritime studies
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/149845
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The field of business continuity management has been changing throughout the past 10 to 20 years. Although business continuity management started as a methodology focused on keeping the lights on in the event of a cyberattack or natural disaster, it has evolved into an integrated discipline focusing on multifaceted approaches to risk assessment and remediation, as well as actionable strategies to resolve certain risks when appropriate. Singapore logistics gained traction in the 1970s, when she became a global hub for commodity trading. She plays a vital role in the global supply chain due to its strategic position and constant technical advancements. Fast forward a few decades, and Singapore has established itself as one of the region's logistics giants, with specialized capabilities in areas such as healthcare and cold chain, chemical, aerospace, craft, and wine logistics. To keep industries and business going, with the logistics industry being no exception, business continuity plans (BCPs) and daily business processes have to come hand in hand. Although there has been an increase emphasis placed on business continuity plans and management in recent years especially after the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, within the Singapore Logistics industry, there is still very little observations done on how the different tiers of businesses in the logistics sector implement their BCP and the challenges faced while executing it due to constraints faced. Therefore, this will be the main investigation in this paper. The methodology used in this study involves both quantitative and qualitative aspects which are surveys and interviews with logistics industry professionals respectively. Feedback and findings from every tier of the Singapore logistics industry were compiled to sieve out crucial contrasting and overlapping perspectives to have a comprehensive understanding of the implementation of BCPs among different players in the local logistics industry. This paper evaluates the BCPs of logistics arms of shipping companies and addresses the existing challenges faced during the implementation of BCP. In addition, this paper dives into case studies of how major logistics arms of shipping companies displayed business resilience in the event of crisis. Finally, this paper proposes recommendations to tackle the challenges faced as well as guidelines for how logistics arms of shipping companies can continue to prosper and revolutionize their BCP in the age of digitalisation.