Businesses have had to adapt to the ‘new world’ overnight. We look at how some have diversified during the COVID-19 outbreak, what changes have been made and how we can continue to use them when we “get out the other side”
A call to arms
The effect Coronavirus has had on businesses and the way we live our lives has been impossible to ignore.
As companies see a downturn in trade and the need to temporarily close their doors, many have looked at short-term diversification in both their services and even their products to see them through these uncertain times. It’s been a global struggle to find equipment to fight the war on the virus. Large companies such as Dyson, Ferrari and Ford, who are all well known for their expertise and innovation, have answered the call to arms. Assessing how their skills can be best placed, their research facilities and production lines are now serving as part of the medical supply chain, providing the NHS with much-needed ventilators and respirators. The key to their ability to adapt in such a huge way is largely down to their thorough understanding of what they to do, as well as the agile nature of their business operations.
Image Credit: Dyson/PA Media
Keeping the nation going
It would be easy to think that the big budgets of larger companies have meant they have been the only ones with the capability to ‘re-skill’, however this is not the case. Across Britain, we have seen smaller companies do their part to support key workers and keep the nation going. Exmouth distillery Copper Frog quickly adapted their skills to allow them to produce much-needed hand sanitiser. The publication of the World Health Organisation’s recipe and guidance on the safe manufacture of the product has allowed many smaller distilleries such as this one to keep production going for a great cause in a time which could have seen their sales drop off.
It is not only within the products being produced we have seen the need for adaptation. Lockdown and social distancing has made it even harder for companies to reach and serve their customers. In many cases, there has been a need to completely rethink the way in which they run. An overwhelming demand in home delivery has meant small companies who didn’t have sufficient operations before the pandemic, having to rapidly adapt and deploy their service infrastructure to ensure they keep providing their customers.
Whatever adaptations companies have had to make, it has forced each one to scrutinise all aspects of their business. It has proven to many that a business, the way it runs and what it provides is not fixed. This should be a key take out when this has passed, and the world is back to ‘normal’. Every business should continue to evaluate and adapt to ensure they are moving with current events (and in the future, trends) – a continued agile approach will be the key to success for businesses going forward.
Image Credit: Copper Frog Distilling
