Enhancing criticality mapping for effective risk management

The Position paper: Enhancing criticality mapping for effective risk management explores how criticality mapping can be strengthened to support more resilient and effective risk and business continuity management (RBCM) across the biopharmaceutical sector. As organizations face increasing supply chain complexity, the paper highlights that criticality mapping—despite being foundational to risk prioritization—lacks a standardized methodology, resulting in fragmented data, inconsistent assessments and limited cross-functional alignment. The paper defines criticality mapping as a systematic approach to assessing and prioritizing assets, systems and resources essential to business operations. It emphasizes that while tools such as HACCP, FMEA and risk‑ranking methods exist, industry application remains uneven due to unclear roles, limited resources, disconnected digital systems and challenges collaborating with suppliers. Key insights focus on four central issues: misalignment between operational efficiency and long‑term risk management; insufficient clarity and standardization in information sharing; barriers created by immature digital systems; and resource and education gaps that constrain effective implementation. The paper concludes with a call to action for a unified, industry‑wide approach to criticality mapping. Standardizing methodologies, strengthening the role of business continuity professionals, improving understanding of established risk tools and identifying fit‑for‑purpose digital solutions could collectively help the biopharmaceutical industry shift from reactive to proactive risk management, improving resilience across the value chain.