How to use business continuity as a competitive advantage in the supply chain

Reliability as a selection criterion

Companies are interdependent and digitally connected within the value chain. Supply chains today are global and highly complex and they are only as strong as their weakest link: even a single supplier failing to deliver can bring a production line to a standstill, delay a project or disrupt a service. The damage is not confined to the supplier alone, but ripples through the entire chain. Clients therefore seek to minimise this risk right from the stage of selecting business partners.

This is precisely why the resilience of partners is coming into focus. Today, procurement departments in large companies assess their suppliers not only on the basis of cost and quality, but also according to other criteria:

• How does a partner deal with exceptional situations?
• Can they resume operations quickly after an incident?
• Do they remain contactable?
• Are their processes documented and traceable?

A service provider that remains unreachable for a long time following a ransomware attack becomes an incalculable factor and risk for its client. Poorly managed cyber incidents can thus place a lasting strain on business relationships. Furthermore, one of the reasons small and medium-sized enterprises are such popular targets for cyber attacks is that their IT systems – which are often inadequately protected – can be used to reach other, larger targets.

This is another reason why clients are compelled to extend their influence over their suppliers’ security concepts and business continuity strategies. The resulting requirements become a condition of business relationships and are set out in contracts and security questionnaires.

After all, a supplier that remains operational even during a crisis relieves its customers of the burden of disruptions affecting the wider supply chain. That is why companies favour suppliers who can demonstrate that they have their business continuity under control. This development presents well-prepared organisations with an opportunity to stand out positively from their competitors.

NIS-2 reinforces the trend

With the NIS-2 Directive and its national implementing acts, many companies are now required to manage the security of their entire supply chain. As a result, they pass on security and business continuity requirements to their suppliers via contracts. And in our globally interconnected economy, this also applies to those who are not themselves covered by the Directive.

NIS-2, so to speak, formalises the need for reliable partners in business relationships. However, this need exists independently of regulations and laws for both clients and suppliers. Even when dealing with unregulated clients, robust business continuity therefore directly enhances your own appeal as a business partner.

What does business continuity management (BCM) mean?

Business continuity describes an organisation’s ability to maintain its most critical processes, or to resume them rapidly, even in the event of disruptions. This includes an analysis of time-critical processes, clear lines of responsibility in the event of a crisis, and defined recovery objectives.

For smaller companies, this can pose a serious challenge: whilst large corporations have well-staffed and technically well-equipped IT departments and dedicated business continuity management (BCM) officers, smaller companies have to make do with significantly fewer resources.

Efficient solutions for business continuity, security and cyber resilience are particularly essential for this type of organisation, if they are to continue to be regarded as attractive business partners under the prevailing conditions. It is precisely through organisational professionalism that you can stand out:

• Are there tried-and-tested security policies that also take your own role in the supply chain into account?
• Are there documented and robust processes for handling security incidents?
• Are there clearly defined and comprehensive responsibilities?

Small and medium-sized enterprises can prove themselves to be reliable partners by avoiding informal structures and relying on robust business continuity management (BCM). The BSI Standard 200-4 provides a practical framework for this.

Emergency communication is the most visible proof of reliability

IT security, in particular, is usually thought of in terms of prevention – that is, as a defence against attacks. However, resilience does not end with defence; rather, it is demonstrated by the ability to remain operational following an incident. The ability to communicate is crucial for a company’s public image: if email and collaboration tools fail simultaneously following an attack, even the best data backup is of little use as long as communication is impossible.

A company that remains reachable during a disruption and continues to communicate professionally demonstrates its reliability at the crucial moment. A prerequisite for this is a second communication platform that stands by in the background and can be activated at the touch of a button in an emergency. A robust emergency platform meets a number of clear criteria:

• It is independent of the primary IT infrastructure so as not to fail at the same time.
• It is ready for immediate use, because every hour counts in an emergency.
• In addition to email, it includes video conferencing and shared file storage to support day-to-day collaborative digital work.
• It is secure, GDPR-compliant and digitally sovereign, ensuring that sensitive data does not fall into the wrong hands, even during a crisis.

Turning resilience into a selling point

For the investment in contingency planning to pay off, it must be recognisable to potential clients. Three approaches will help you turn your own business continuity from an internal project into a sales advantage:

1. Provide evidence:

   The actual proof of business continuity is a documented continuity plan, based on relevant standards such as BSI Standard 200-4 or ISO 22301. In addition, recognised information security certifications such as ISO 27001 or a BSI C5 certificate demonstrate a mature security organisation.

2. Communicate proactively:

   Actively highlight your resilience in quotations, on your website and during sales meetings, rather than simply responding to it in a security questionnaire.

3. Practise for an emergency:

   Regular tests, such as tabletop exercises, demonstrate that your plans are not just on paper and will stand up to scrutiny in audits.

Conclusion: Business continuity is a precaution that pays off

The pressure to meet security requirements does not stop at organisations affected by NIS-2 and other laws and regulations, but extends throughout the entire supply chain. To ensure the stability of the supply chain, both clients and contractors must take into account the security interests and security risks of their partners.

Business continuity is more than just a safeguard against damage to one’s own company. Driven by regulatory developments such as NIS-2, demonstrable and robust resilience is not only an economic factor but is already a criterion for awarding contracts. For small and medium-sized enterprises, this presents an opportunity, as a well-thought-out business continuity strategy combined with a reliable emergency platform makes the company a preferred partner.