A playbook for disaster preparedness

Disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, or cyberattacks can disrupt your business with little warning. The difference between a quick recovery and a prolonged shutdown often comes down to preparation and having clear priorities when conditions change rapidly. But preparedness isn’t a one-time exercise, it’s an ongoing process that should focus on safety first, serving second, and then sustaining the business. That’s why it’s essential to develop contingency and continuity plans for multiple scenarios and test them at least once a year through tabletop or live simulations. 

Staying proactive matters. For example, at Walmart, we monitor weather patterns to anticipate how they might affect suppliers, carrier capacity, and fleet operations. That insight allows us to pre-position extra inventory in affected areas or adjust delivery promise dates to keep them accurate for customers.

Build a resilience plan

Effective planning protects what matters most. A clear continuity strategy, which includes measures to safeguard employees and assets, as well as recovery steps prepared well before an event strikes, can help reduce losses and restore operations faster. Here are some practical steps any organization should take to develop a continuity plan that will strengthen preparedness and minimize downtime:

• Start with a risk assessment: Understand the unique risks your business and workforce faces. Are your employees located in a hurricane zone? Areas prone to flooding or tornadoes? Conduct a hazard assessment based on your location, operations, and business model. This knowledge is the foundation of your business continuity plan.
• Develop and test your continuity plan: Your plan should address how operations will continue, who will lead each function, and how you’ll communicate with employees and customers during a disruption. Share the plan with your team and run regular drills or tabletop exercises to ensure everyone knows their role.
• Build flexibility into your supply chain: A resilient business is a flexible one, so diversify your suppliers and facilities, and ensure you can ramp production or sourcing up or down as needed.
• Leverage cost-effective tools: Preparedness doesn’t have to break the bank. Free and low-cost resources, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Resilience in a Box, offer step-by-step guidance for risk assessment and continuity planning.
• Account for digital risks: Just as you plan for physical risks, it’s essential to prepare for digital ones. When systems go down, that paralyzes operations. Identify which systems are most critical and need to be backed up first, and which can be offline for a day or more without significant consequences. It’s also worth having manual workarounds for key processes and keeping your leadership team’s contact information written down, in addition to storing it on your phone or in your email system.
• Stock essential supplies and plan for power outages: Maintain an inventory of essential supplies, including first-aid kits, flashlights, sanitation products, and batteries. Pay attention to products’ expiration dates and work with your suppliers to set up subscriptions for these items to ensure they’re on hand when you need them. Consider installing backup power sources to cover basic needs during an outage or disruption. These small investments can make recovery faster and less stressful when the unexpected occurs.
• Centralize procurement and communication: Use centralized platforms to manage supply orders. That will help you act quickly, coordinate responses across multiple locations, and maintain consistency in how you prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Recovering after disaster strikes

The priority after any disaster is to check on employees’ safety to ensure everyone is accounted for. In my work, I’ve seen how a clear set of priorities steadies teams during a crisis. At Walmart, we follow a simple order: safety always comes first, because protecting our people allows us to continue serving associates, customers, and communities. That structure guides decision-making when conditions change quickly and keeps safety at the center of every response.

Next, assess your facilities and document damage before cleanup begins. Photograph any damage and make detailed notes to support insurance claims and inform repair or replacement decisions.

Don’t forget to keep customers and partners up to date on your recovery efforts through prompt, transparent communication to manage their expectations and maintain trust.

The power of community

No business recovers from a disaster alone. Building relationships with local government, nonprofits, and peer businesses before a crisis strikes lays the foundation for a faster, more coordinated recovery.

Having trusted contacts in place ensures quicker access to critical resources when they are needed most. Partnerships also make it easier to share information and coordinate logistics during response efforts. Those partnerships can play key roles in helping communities recover faster.

Take action today

Disasters are inevitable, but their impact isn’t. By conducting a risk assessment, creating and testing your continuity plan, stocking essential supplies, and building your local network, you can take control of how quickly your business bounces back when the unexpected happens.

About the author:

Ashley Hubka is senior vice president and general manager of Walmart Business.

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