Disaster proofing business and its supply chain

A harvest of onions. In Malaysia, the production of vegetables in the country saw a drop between 15 and 20 per cent due to the hot weather caused by El Niño this year. Image: Asian Development Bank, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

According to the National Antarctica Research Center, this year’s El Niño phenomenon is as bad as it was in the year 1997 based on the low rainfall across the country. The combination of high temperatures and lack of rainfall is not only causing these farmers a decrease in their harvest and price rise due to the short supply of their product, but causing their crops to dry up and die.

While many in Malaysia welcome the rain to dispel the hot weather – too much of a good thing can prove to be a bane. We are getting clear indications that the hot spell caused by the El Niño phenomenon is withering away as we are seeing rainy days and spates of flash floods in the country.

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Surely with the current circumstances, businesses can now see a strong economic case for disaster proofing across its production and supply chain.

John Smith

Businesses in Malaysia are clearly not prepared to face El Niño or La Niña and lack the expertise to face such phenomena. But surely with the current circumstances, businesses can now see a strong economic case for disaster proofing across its production and supply chain. Perhaps, we can learn from some of these regional companies:

Aeon’s embeds its ‘Protection Strategy’ focusing on disaster prevention, also setting a target to make 100 of its stores across Japan as disaster-prevention facilities to serve as base of relief and rescue i.e. act as a local temporary shelter and to open a food department using its wide retail network and supplies in the event of a disaster.