Supply chains took up to six months to recover after 2011 Japan, Christchurch earthquakes: case study

The length of time for businesses supply chains to recover from the 2011 Tohoku and Christchurch earthquakes varied considerably, with most taking between one month and six months to recover, and one business still struggling to recover one year later, according to a survey by the Business Continuity Institute.

BCI interviewed respondents who reported their supply chains had been interrupted by either the earthquake and tsunami in Japan or the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Seventeen organizations were interviewed between Jan. 23 and Feb. 2, 2012.

Twenty-nine per cent of the survey respondents reported that their supply chain was back online within a week. Twenty-four per cent said their operations were back on track within a month, and 41% said it took between one and six months for their supply chains to recover.

For the two respondents in the survey affected only by the Christchurch earthquake, they reported it took between one and 12 weeks to recover.

One respondent observed that “there was a difference between business supplies and consumer supplies in the time for them to get back to normal.”

Overall, 92% of interviewees said they had reviewed their supply chain strategy as a result of the earthquake.

In terms of changing their supply chain strategies, 70% of the respondents said there would be “some” changes made to their supply chains, whereas 12% said there would be “significant” changes.