Case Studies
Shared Risk, Shared Response: Enhancing Crisis Coordination with a Strategic Third Party
A leading technology company retained Bryghtpath to design, facilitate, and evaluate a joint crisis management and business continuity exercise with its primary third-party service provider, testing its ability to operate collaboratively during a significant disruption.
The Opportunity
A leading technology company relied heavily on a primary third-party service provider for critical operations. Recognizing the interdependent nature of their relationship, the organization sought to ensure both entities could respond effectively and collaboratively during a significant disruption.
The company engaged Bryghtpath to design and execute a joint tabletop exercise focused on crisis management and business continuity to address this. The objective was to evaluate coordination, communication, and decision-making across organizational boundaries, ensuring alignment in response strategies and identifying areas for improvement.
Approach and Results
Bryghtpath partnered with the technology company and its primary third-party provider to develop a scenario grounded in a realistic and high-impact disruption. A cross-organizational planning team ensured that the exercise reflected shared operational dependencies and tested the ability of both organizations to communicate, make decisions, and act in unison during a crisis.
The tabletop exercise unfolded over a series of escalating events, pushing participants to navigate uncertainty and coordinate their responses under pressure.
Following the exercise, Bryghtpath conducted a structured hot wash and distributed surveys to gather candid feedback from participants across both organizations. A comprehensive After-Action Report was developed, offering a detailed, independent evaluation of the third-party provider’s resilience plans and joint recommendations to address identified gaps.
Bryghtpath presented these findings to executive leadership from both organizations, driving alignment at the highest levels.
In the following weeks, Bryghtpath collaborated with the client and its service provider to refine their crisis response strategies, mature their joint resilience capabilities, and implement improvements to better position both organizations to withstand future disruptions.
Key Activities
- Designed and facilitated a realistic disruption scenario to test collaboration.
- Conducted the tabletop exercise and gathered feedback through a hot wash and surveys.
- Delivered an After-Action Report with joint recommendations for improvement.
- Presented findings to executive leaders from both organizations
Outcomes
- Strengthened crisis coordination and communication between the client and its third-party provider.
- Identified and addressed key gaps in joint response and resilience strategies.
- Provided an independent evaluation of the provider’s resilience capabilities.
- Secured executive alignment on the next steps to mature shared crisis preparedness.
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