Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan University of Northern Iowa Purchasing Department June 2003
Impact and Requirements Assessment 1. Our customers are 1) departments i.e. campus users, 2) suppliers, 3) Board of Regents/State of Iowa, 4) State of Iowa (Targeted Small Business program, Legislative Fiscal Bureau etc) a. Impact on them if we cannot execute required functions: 1) placing orders for needed supplies and services could be hampered, 2) payments to suppliers could be delayed, 3) requests for file information could be delayed, 4) new suppliers could not be entered, 5) quotations for prices could be delayed, 6) reports would be delayed b. The above requirements can be daily c. Constraints if system fails: 1) public embarrassment, 2) lost discounts from unpaid bills, 3) program/class delays if items can’t be ordered or received timely 4) historical file information and continuity would be disrupted and delayed d. Plan for business requirements during outage (level II): 1) use a manual paper system for “required” purchases, or 2) use procard where possible, otherwise 3) hold request until system is operational e. Plan for business requirements during outage (level III): All purchase orders, payments and quotes will operate as usual except by manual method until computer function is restored. Back up records will be kept and will be entered into system when restored for continuity of historical data, financial and encumbrance purposes. (By manual method, I mean either completing a template in word, or typing a form on typewriter. PO numbers will have to be assigned by each buyer using some kind of unique identifier. f. Purchasing staff are aware of, and have contributed to this contingency plan. 2. Purchasing’s key suppliers of information are Controller’s Office and Info Tech Services. a. If these suppliers failed to deliver support, Purchasing would be required to relay on hard copy (previous) orders for addresses, or getting information needed by phone or fa x. All of our records are electronic. b. Our requirements are daily. c. If system fails Purchasing would suffer delays in receiving information from users, and would thus have a delay in processing the requests via manual systems 3. Key processes required daily, weekly, monthly, annually: a) receive electronic requests from departments (Chuck, Steve, Kathy, Roxanne)…………5 b) create purchase orders (Chuck, Steve, Kathy, Roxanne) ………………………………5
c) print purchase orders to send to suppliers by fax or mail (Chuck, Steve, Kathy, Roxanne) …5
d) create quotes if needed (Steve, Chuck, Roxanne) ………………………………………….5 e) mail or fax quotes to suppliers (Steve, Chuck, Roxanne)…………………………………..5 f) receive quotes from vendors by mail or fax (Pam, Steve, Chuck, Roxanne)……………….5 g) receive invoices from suppliers (Pam, Jane, Steve)…………………………………………5 h) enter invoices into Oracle (Pam, Jane)………………………………………………………5 i) remember to watch for dept receiving or make calls to remind (Pam, Jane)………………..5 j) close out completed purchase orders (Roxanne, Steve, Pam, Jane, Kathy, Chuck)…………5 k) send entered invoices to Controller by batch (Jane, Pam)………………………………….5 l) answer calls and inquiries from public (Roxanne, Chuck, Steve, Kathy, Jane, Pam)………5 m) quarterly TSB report (Roxanne)……………………………………………………………5 n) close out each month in Purchasing by 5th . (Roxanne)……………………………………..5 o) open each new month period by 25th . (Roxanne)…………………………………………..5 p) annual purchasing report (Roxanne)………………………………………………………..5 q) enter new suppliers (Jane, Pam, Roxanne)…………………………………………………5 r) enter new suppliers for bid categories & updates (Pam, Steve, Chuck, Jane, Roxanne)……5 s) write contracts (Roxanne, Chuck)………..…………………………………………………5 t) write bid specifications (Roxanne, Chuck)…………………………………………………..5 u) fuel for fuel tax refunds and then deposit (Roxanne)………………………………………..5 v) maintain quote history (Chuck, Steve)………………………………………………………5 w) maintain supplier history (Chuck, Steve)…………………………………………………..5 x) update and maintain Oracle hierarchy for campus (Kathy)…………………………………5 4. Oracle is Purchasing’s main information system. 5. Very few manual processes exist since implementation (quotes will soon convert). Purchasing would resort to manual paper system to process requisitions and purchase orders, or possibly could use e-mail to receive requisitions from departments and then use a purchase order template to create the actual purchase order either in Word or on a typewriter. Procurement cards could be used to some degree. Failure Determination and Assessment 1. Oracle is used by all the staff every day, all day . 2. Info Tech. Services will advise of system failure , also acknowledged by system log on failure.
3. See #5 above, plus Purchasing will keep a daily log so that we can re create the information for Oracle once system is operating again. 4. There are no special resources required to implement contingency plans other than a mechanism for keeping documentation in a separate filing system, templates for purchase order and requisition and quote. 5. Yes, implementation resources are available within Purchasing. 6. If Purchasing was required to hire additional help because of contingency plans, it is assumed the funding would come from departmental money, or possibly some assistance from the VP for Finance. 7. We have no way to access historical data is the system fails. However we have hard-copy purchase orders and bids. Supplier records would not be available. We would have to delay reports requiring data from the system that pertain to suppliers or payment records. 8. Roxanne Conrad, Director Purchasing Services 319/273-3524 is responsible for implementation of contingency plans (in conjunction with Memfis coordinators). Kathleen Schwanz is the back up person for Purchasing 319/273-3516. Preparation 1. The contingency plan has not been tested, but it can be implemented as the need arises. The lead facilitators are Roxanne Conrad and Kathleen Schwanz. 2. Each employee in Purchasing will have a copy of this contingency plan to ensure a rapid recovery to re establish processes to support customer needs. If we need additional equipment due an actual disaster, we plan to rent what is required. 3. Plan is accessible to Purchasing employees. 4. Yes, Purchasing employees are aware of the plan. 5. The exact plan put into action will depend on the nature of the failure and how many resources we actually have access to. See #1-e. and #5 under “Impact”. If we have to relocate due to a natural disaster, we would have to rent phones, typewriters, copier, fax and other office needs. If only a systems ‘disaster’, we would have the resources to implement the plan at once. 6. All of Purchasing’s vital records are within Oracle. Info Tech Services is responsible for back up of our information. 7. The best way to implement this contingency plan is to stay calm, and work methodically and systematically with as much documentation as possible.