The COVID-19 challenge on the health of individuals and society is profound and unsettling due, in part, to the speed of its historic impact. The virus has emerged as a significant business disruptor, requiring business leaders across the globe to take unprecedented steps to sustain the health of their businesses and, the well-being of their employees.
Amid this turbulent environment, we see many practical solutions coming from a host of companies around the world as they tackle these challenges. Many are focusing on resilience measures. As global supply chains, the financial markets, and the workings of day-to-day businesses are disrupted, the leaders are taking steps to not only address the immediate challenges, but also ensure that future risks are anticipated and managed. Discussions have shifted quickly from a focus on growth to one of business sustainability related to cash flow management and forecasting; business continuity; optimization of working capital; supply chain disruption; and the risks associated with losing employees and customers.
These are unprecedented times and the standard response to recessionary pressures will not be enough. Lessons from China indicate that disruptions in inbound and outbound supply chains complicated business response. Equally, once COVID-19 challenge passes, the path to recovery will determine whether a company wins or just joins the pack.
COVID-19 Challenge Actions
Risk Assessment
Examination of the immediate and long term financial, operational, supply chain, legal, and governance models, as well as an assessment of competitive risks and the potential customer- and employee-retention concerns.
We recommend establishing an independent CV-19 planning team (in parallel with the response team) to rapidly develop a solid, fact-based game plan for the next 45 days and beyond. Addressing issues with priority with help flatten the curve
- Develop a set of scenarios including both demand and supply side challenges
- Conduct business model and capability SWOT
- Choose robust near-term, strategic and tactical solutions against a range of scenarios
Winning the COVID-19 Challenge
- Address gaps in business model and capabilities
- Establish recovery plan to position company to win
Financial Assessment and Management through Value Chain integration and visibility We recommend looking at near term improvements and key processes to:
- Eliminate Waste: Address and reduce redundancies and multiple touch points
- Automation: of process and workflows
- Optimization: optimize the processes leveraging historic data
- Visibility: Drive better decisions by visualizing the various components of the value chain
We Can Help You Overcome the Disruption
We can partner with your company by providing both an independent viewpoint and expertise in scenario modeling and business model evaluations. This assistance would often include
- Conducting a series of facilitated (remote) sessions with leadership and key functional managers to develop a clear understanding of the key business drivers and potential scenarios
Figure 1. Example of a systems map of a business
- Building an inventory of the most critical data for decision making
- If appropriate, creating a rudimentary economic simulation model of the business
- Developing a series of one-page business plans under various scenarios
- Facilitating discussions around the scenarios and business plans to agree on a course of action
- Documenting the results in an action plan for distribution to key leaders
