4.

In your opinion, had Nissan developed the perfect recovery strategy or is there still room for
improvement for future crises?

Although Nissan's disaster recovery approach was recognized as the industry's best disaster recovery
strategy, it still has a long way to go. We believe that any strategy for disaster recovery will always
be far from perfect. Always expect the unexpected to happen for which no plan was made. Nissan
excelled in several areas, including risk management, employee welfare, in-house power generation,
and effectively resolving supply chain interruptions. Nissan's exceptional performance during the
crisis was mainly due to previous training and preparedness for extreme scenarios, including seismic
retrofitting of plants. They were also able to implement technological, institutional, and cultural
improvements that no other Japanese company could. We believe that their disaster recovery plan
also needs to be further modified in the ways listed below:

Supply chain diversity: Nissan must put in efforts on expanding its supply chain and use common
parts that are obtainable globally. By diversifying the supply chain, it would also be possible to
establish plants outside of Japan to continue manufacturing vehicles even if Japanese operations had
to temporarily shut down. Multiple production facilities across several continents are essential for a
larger company like Nissan, not to mention that it would save transport costs. In addition, if
suppliers in any region of the supply chain are impacted, sourcing common parts from other regions
would reduce lag times during these disruptions. 

Improve "just in time" and put plans in place for "just in case" situations as well: During the
disaster, Nissan had great trouble obtaining parts from suppliers, and manufacturing relied solely on
previous inventory. It is also a good idea to develop a strategy in place for just in case situations.

Set up a digital control centre: Implementing a digital control system that links different data
systems and gives insights throughout the end-to-end process will help Nissan increase transparency
and speed up response times when bottlenecks are detected.

Advanced Disaster recovery training: As Japan is vulnerable to natural disasters because of its
climate and topography, the company’s disaster recovery training program should be designed in
such a way that employees receive advanced training on how to respond in the event of a disaster.
The training program should also include guidelines for prioritizing business activities. 

Delegation of responsibilities: A roadmap of delegated responsibilities should be created within

disaster recovery guidelines. This roadmap should include the method for evaluation reporting as
well as how and to whom they will be reported. Senior management should also be involved in
determining who will arrive at the disaster site to assess damages and make real-time decisions on
vital business activities. 

Evaluate the plan at regular intervals: Thorough review and assessment of the disaster recovery
plan is required on a regular (half yearly or yearly) basis. Comprehensive documentation of the
procedures for testing and evaluating the strategy is required. 
1. It boosts the confidence of the employees that all critical steps are incorporated into the
strategy.
2. It can identify and highlight red areas in the plan that need to be amended. 
3. Aids in employee motivation to build and maintain the disaster recovery plan. 
4. Assists in the training of team members as well as managers. 
5. Aids in the assessment of the plan's compatibility and feasibility.
Overall, Nissan developed a solid plan, but they can make it even better as a result of these
adjustments. They must strengthen their operational strategy by improving their supply chain. We
would expect Nissan to continue improving their strategies to fit the needs of the external and
internal environment. As Ghosn stated, “Every time there is a crisis, we are going to learn from it.”