Goodbye 2020 and Welcome 2021. A brand-new year of possibilities. No-one could have planned for the year we have just had. We need to put the year of disruption, confusion and uncertainty behind us. We may emerge stronger with better working practices and a sense of what’s important in life. There have been losers but also winners. The winners are agile, think on their feet, and find new exciting opportunities. They respond to consumers and investors looking for greater resilience, transparency and visibility in supply chains. Who would ever have predicted the unprecedented demand for patio heaters, kettle bells, puzzles and Lego? The biggest problem is working out who will weather the storm.
Finding new suppliers / service providers is challenging at the best of times let alone if you’re in the middle of a global pandemic. On-line research is the first step into finding a reliable, trustworthy supplier / service provider who is the right fit for your business. Successful businesses have upped their game with better on-line digital solutions and innovative marketing tapping into the public mood. Comparing costs, lead times and risks involved is crucial but Covid-19 has made comparisons between suppliers and service providers hugely challenging. How can we compare like with like against a backdrop of economic inconsistency, interrupted supply chains and rapidly changing consumer trends? How can we even try and predict what will happen? The fine balance between public health and economy means one day you are furloughed and sitting at home with your dog, the next, ‘it’s safe to go to work’ and ‘eat out to help out’. It’s hard to work out who to back when we are in and out of national and regional lockdowns. Reliance on global suppliers has been replaced by a search for more local and reliable suppliers. China couldn’t supply enough PPE for the world. We’re making It ourselves. F1 teams even turned their hands to manufacturing ventilators. The pandemic has changed the way we do business.
The coronavirus pandemic has also sped up our digital future and impacted how companies choose their new suppliers / service providers. Everything is online. And I mean everything. How many of us have played Amazon’s on-line ‘Outsmarted’ over Christmas? I, for one, didn’t miss busy Christmas shopping centres. Click and collect or on-line. Whatever works for you. The pandemic has forced a change in our behaviour. 43.1% of the population now work regularly from home and even grandparents are using Zoom. Without doubt this pandemic has proved to businesses that it is possible to work remotely. Companies might be more inclined to choose new suppliers or service providers more local to them rather than relying on ones further afield.
In short, the main message of this global pandemic is to expect the unexpected. The actions you take, and the timing of those actions are critical to the future of your company.
