03/Apr/2020
With the rise of the global pandemic Covid-19, many businesses have been disrupted. Trading relations and supply chains have been thrown into disarray as business divisions temporarily shut down, necessary furloughs and lay-offs are enacted. Some resources are more difficult to come by and logistics must be handled on a daily basis. Ultimately, supply chains are under great pressure and they need to be transformed in record time to minimise the impact of the global crisis.
Limited operational capacity
Many companies are operating at limited capacity and experiencing labour shortages, great number of businesses had to shut down, as instructed by the governments. Travel restrictions further disrupt supply chains of global enterprises. This has a knock-off effect on goods production and distribution. Additionally, changing consumer behavioural patterns, such as panic buying, are making it necessary for companies to prioritise certain products, reassess suppliers and transform their supply chains.
Digitisation of businesses is a primary focus in transforming rigid supply chains into dynamic and responsive to the critical challenges. Manual and paper processes are no longer efficient, even in regular business conditions, and there are various solutions available to streamline supply chains. Digitisation allows organisations to continuously monitor the different segments of their supply chain, meaning stakeholders can make quick and informed decisions in response to an emerging problem. Vendor risk management platform, CyDesk, identifies, analyses and manages organisation’s cyber, compliance and business risks within one consolidated view, making supply chain management more efficient.
Limited transparency
Currently, many organisations have limited visibility beyond their Tier 1 suppliers. During this uncertain period it is highly challenging to proactively manage supplier risk counting only on minimal irregular monitoring or manual assessments. If a supplier were to fail, it would severely disrupt business operations, especially if there is no contingency plan in place.
CyDesk provides ongoing 24/7 visibility of the entire supply chain network, even beyond Tier 4 level, indicating suppliers’ risk levels. In-depth analytics enables organisations to timely take required measures to mitigate the risk or implement a temporary plan to ease the negative outcomes.
Alternative suppliers
Based on the changing consumer habits and social needs, companies have to adjust offering of their products and services. Moreover, if the status of any of their suppliers deteriorates, a business may need to quickly onboard an alternative supplier. Verification and onboarding suppliers is typically a time-consuming and labour-intensive process. As this is a situation where time is critical, traditional manual onboarding can no longer be the status quo.
Vendor risk management platform CyDesk completely redefines approach to onboarding, making it fast and automated. CyDesk provides automated assessments of suppliers, as well as ongoing monitoring and analysis of the suppliers performance to ensure their working status. The platform is system-agnostic for fast integration with already existing organisational systems and programs.
Cyber security in critical times
The uncertainty surrounding Covid-19, its massive negative impact on global economy and business landscape is a perfect time for hackers to exploit security vulnerabilities. A number of cyber attacks and data breaches skyrocketed over the past months. Organisations must ensure that they are doing everything possible to maintain their cyber security posture, protect their valuable assets and continue to advance their cyber security and risk management practices.
CyDesk monitors the cyber status not only of your organisation, but also of all the vendors in your business ecosystem, ensuring increased cyber resilience. It also analyses any digital risks that may occur for proactive risk management.
Pentesting is also a great way to identify and manage system vulnerabilities. Automated vulnerability scanner CyCheck detects unattended vulnerabilities within your websites, web applications, network and cloud infrastructure and provides step-by-step guidelines how to resolve security flaws. It is especially critical for online businesses, that people are heavily dependent on. Ecommerce websites are handling much larger amounts of sensitive consumer data than before, and therefore appear to be a bigger target for cyber attackers.
In fact, companies across industries have been and will continue to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Organisations in healthcare, food and logistics, retail, financial services, critical national infrastructure and telecoms are among the most challenged, and will most likely see a long-term change in how they structure their supply chains. However, using innovative solutions as CyDesk and CyCheck, will enable organisations to proactively manage digital risks, protect business operations, improve their cyber security posture and ensure secure transformation of their supply chains.
