"The horizon being blocked doesn't mean there is nothing to contemplate."
Etienne Klein
Planning is more critical than ever. Questioning the future just requires a broader range of detailed scenario.
As the pandemic slows down in some part of the world, at least for the first wave, we realize that we are all in this together despite the great uncertainty about what is going to come next.
Nevertheless the absolute challenge ahead is to mobilize our collective intelligence to design a positive picture of the future. Otherwise, lockdown exit is going to be very difficult.
Planning the journey Back on Stage is not an easy thing because nobody knows what is going to happen. Whatever the organization at stake there are some key components to consider in designing possible future scenario.
May the lighthouse help to inform your navigation chart in the rough post covid ocean.
N°3 Secure ramping up.
ON/ OFF
It is not going to be full speed return, just like turning on the power...
There are a couple of reasons for this.
First the intensity of supply and demand hits has been different across industries. In some sectors, stocks are high - like in Automotive or Apparel - or adjusting operations to capacity is easy once business is back, like in Call Centers or Telcos for instance.
It could be more challenging in business sectors struggling with shortages or changes in their operating process. Take airlines companies, events or cardboard production for instance. For those, the way back to full speed operations should take a while...
The second reason is the FIFO effect. Countries are not dealing with the same challenges to control the pandemic because they were not impacted at the same time.
First in, first out; a quote from a contract manufacturer in Guangzhou is a great summary to describe the situation. He said: " First we had orders but no workers. Now our workers are back but we don’t have any orders! "
The asynchronous situation from one market to another should set the tone for the lockdown exit.
Most industries will need to reactivate their supply chain whereas global supply chains still face disruptions in multiple geographies. There will more stops and goes, more shortages, delays and bottlenecks.
Like the orchestra that agrees on the tuning fork, synchronization is a key parameter around which organizations must align. Successful synchronization is like solving a multidimensional equation. It is necessary to synchronize the supply chains, synchronize the communication with people mindset but also synchronize the sales channels according to the ability of customers to absorb the flow of supply.
How to anticipate the ups and downs? How to manage resources and capacities in the unstable situation to come? What technological solution? What specific process and which team to maintain control of the customer experience? How to cooperate and co-build synchronization with its ecosystem?
The weakest point in the chain will determine the success for all.
PS: After the Corona Bomb, shall we expect Business as Usual or Business as Un-usual ?
What should go back to standard and what should change?
Each business is specific. Let's have a 15 mn call to discuss it further.
Let me know how you feel with this idea
Stephane
+33 6 11 81 03 12
stephane.munier@tbmsmarketing.com