Natural disasters like Hurricanes Ike and Gustav have stretched resources and supply chain operations to the breaking point over the past few weeks. How can you possibly be prepared when a disaster is bearing down on you?

At the top end of the preparedness scale, you’ll find logistics and trucking company Ryder System Inc.

Ryder has an emergency communications systems that tracks employees and keep them up to date. The system collects contact information on individuals.

When it comes to planning your own disaster-reaction plan, experts advise, assume the worst. That way, you’ll be ready to adapt to the worst-case scenario, should it occur.

One of the most universal and likely hardships you can expect is loss of electrical power. Determine now how your company handle this: Wait for power to be restored? Use generators for core operations?

Electricity, natural gas and most fuels are the most basic building blocks. Without power or mobility, most businesses remain shuttered until the lights go back on.

A quick recounting of the impact of Ike on logistics illustrates a few of the other impacts you might want to consider in your planning:

• Most area trucking companies held shipments and closed plants
• Pickups and deliveries were suspended in five Texas cities including Houston, and cargo was held in Dallas
• Expected recovery time from suspended services: Usually two or three days to catch up with deliveries, and
• Railroad shipments were delayed by about two to three days.

Port closings for a few days didn’t have a big impact on deliveries since many customers had a “buffer in the system.”

Still, other customers waiting for specific deliveries saw disruptions.

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Tags: customers, deliveries, supply chain