The past year has gone by in a swirl of anxiety and confusion. Covid-19 has frustrated the plans of almost all businesses. It took quite some time for us to wrap our heads around the seemingly unyielding and ruthless phenomena gripping us so fast.
Even as we groveled under the distress of uncertainty, we found new ways to move forward each day. What we lacked in that state of despair is now crystal clear. So, with the benefit of hindsight, here are a few lessons we can all apply to better our business landscape.
#1 Contingency is fundamental
The pandemic did not give us time to prepare. Soon after the lockdown was implemented and everything had to be shut down, many businesses realized they did not have a strategy to continue working away from their offices.
A Contingency plan is no longer an optional asset that we tap into in rare circumstances. The pandemic has taught us that contingency strategies go hand in hand with the current business scene and keep changing as our businesses progress.
As continuous lockdowns were implemented, the firms with contingencies in place could keep moving forward. It is imperative that businesses have a contingency plan developed parallelly with the business plan. Such proactive thinking will help an entrepreneur gain edge over the rest of his peers.
#2 Strengthen supply chains
The immediate effect of covid-19 and the consequent lockdowns was most visible on supply chains. The weak links in the chains gave out and the entire supply chain ecosystem started falling apart. It was only after the disruption caused by the pandemic, that businesses realized that their supply chains were not as reliable as they are expected to be.
Also, it wasn’t possible to replace third parties that seemed to be disrupting the chain, because the whole ecosystem was suffering. So, companies had to come up with resilient ways to reinforce supply chain management.
According to a survey by Jabil, 82% of the firms have admitted that covid-19 has induced a massive shift in their supply chain footprint. Experts acknowledge that as we move past 2020 and 2021, 2022 will hold even bigger challenges in this area. So, strengthening your supply chain must be on top of your business agenda.
#3 Collaboration is vital
Imagine the horror if our R&D industry and Healthcare industry did not work in cognizance with the manufacturing and logistics industry under the eye of various federations all coming together; today’s recovery rate would still seem an impossibility.
An HBR report shares that, during the financial crisis of 2007-08, the top 10% of most collaborative partners generated revenues higher than $1 million while those who worked in silos garnered lower revenues. This is an exemplary case to point out the benefit of collaboration.
Covid-19 has highlighted the pitfalls in every industry. It has made it necessary that multiple stakeholders come together and collaborate to achieve any tangible improvement in the pandemic-stricken world.
No single enterprise can dispense every possible service, this is both a hindrance and a key. To those who can capitalize on it, collaboration can open up numerous avenues of growth and development.
#4 Analytics rules!
Analytics has played a key role in aiding medical professionals during the high time of the pandemic. Big Data Analytics helped process loads of data into chunks of meaningful information and helped accelerate the research process. It also assisted in tracking the mortality rate, percentage of infected people, and hospital bed capacity.
Also, whether it’s a time of a global pandemic or not, customer behavior keeps changing, consequently, so does the market. To chalk out a dynamic business plan and avoid large losses, analytics is the only solution. No other forecast is as reliable and subjective.
During the pandemic, it was tough to predict customer behavior; trends kept changing, demands kept shifting, and only firms that were on top of all that, could make the most of those opportunities. Analytics is necessary for businesses to stay on top of user demands and to scale their supply accordingly.
#5 Change is the one and only convention
Covid-19 has proved that conventions are dangerous. At this point, whatever is not adaptable to change is obsolete; be it procedures, policies, or people.
A hierarchical structure of running an enterprise no longer relates to the present corporate scene. Similarly, roundabout procedures of time-consuming decision making from a distant board room is an inefficient practice.
The pandemic has taught people how to make critical decisions wisely on the fly. The world right now needs quick thinkers, quick learners, and quick decision-makers.
As work shifted from offices to homes, newer technologies are being adopted to get tasks done. Many conventions were successfully overcome and many more must be; so that, we can further the agile working culture.
The covid-19 pandemic taught us many lessons that we learned the hard way. However, the hope is that we put the teachings into practice and build disaster-proof systems.
The pandemic was the first of its kind to shake the modern world to its core; to survive the rest of such imminent dangers, we must commit ourselves to achieve contingent, resilient, collaborative, analytical, and unconventional corporate milestones.