Crisis management: Western Digital's 46-day recovery from the 2011 flood disaster in Thailand
Purpose ‐ This crisis management case aims to detail how Western Digital lost and regained its position as the world's number one hard disk drive fabricator after disastrous flooding at its Thailand facilities in 2011.
Design/methodology/approach ‐
In-depth interviews with Western Digital's key recovery personnel identified four factors that greatly contributed to the company's rapid comeback: people and leadership; strong cash position; stakeholder support; and supply mitigation.
Findings ‐ The speed with which
Western Digital's production resumed was noteworthy, especially considering the extreme cleanliness HDD manufacturing demands ‐ a tiny speck of dust can cause disastrous consequences to the operations of magnetic data storage devices. This case documents the key resources and decisions
that facilitated Western Digital's rapid recovery from the largest natural disaster the company had ever experienced.
Practical implications ‐ The experience has taught company leaders that completely shutting down facilities once the situation reaches certain risk thresholds
may be effective in limiting damages in the future.
Originality/value ‐ Prior to the flood Western Digital's executives and senior management have taken time to pursue advanced management training. The company's impressive response to last year's natural disaster validates
the wisdom of Western Digital's strategy to invest in employees.
Keywords: Crisis management; Flood damage; Global market share; Management training; Natural disasters; Restart production; Risk assessment; Stakeholder support; Supplier qualification; Supply chain disruption; Thailand
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 28 December 2012
- Previously published as The Antidote
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