In this post let us think about what happens next as we start to come out of the Covid-19 related lockdown.
No country can claim to be immune from the economic effects of the Covid-related lockdown. However, as countries start to emerge from the lockdown some will rebound faster than others.
What is happening now?
Let us next look at where we are today. Today, large number of people and businesses have seen the flow of money reduce to zero. The expectation of a return on investment is low for a large section of the economy. That said, certain sectors are doing quite well or as normal (e.g. groceries, online retail) as they are getting overflow business.
In this situation with little or no money going to people / businesses someone has to step in and be that ‘credible borrower’ and borrow on behalf of those who are struggling. This is the Government as the ‘credible borrower’ which then passes the borrowed money on to its citizens in a low-waste manner one hopes. One point here is that it is easy for a Government to print money rather than borrow, but that can lead to inflation without actual growth – so called ‘jobless growth’.
We can take the current situation as artificial suppression of demand and supply (as people loose incomes and stores are forced to close/reduce visitors).
This can also be understood as a scenario where blood supply to an organ in the body has been blocked. The body reacts in the very short term by reducing the function of that organ and rushing out chemical support to suppress pain but in the long term the body is severely impacted unless the block can be removed and/or another path can be found to deliver the required quantity of blood.
What happens Next and How to Deal with it?
It all comes down to effective planning and effective use of people, processes and tools.
Businesses that have or are able to quickly get the required plans in place for short and long term changes to how they work will benefit from overflow business.
People who are able to re-skill or move from impacted areas to areas of new opportunity will be able to benefit from continued employment during the rebuilding period.
Both the above things should allow some blood to flow to the organ but it does not restore normal supply nor fixed the original damage that resulted in a block.
Repairing the Damage
The repair will start once the lockdown ends. Those countries that release the lockdown earliest (and are able to ride the second wave of infections) will have ‘first movers’ advantage towards normalisation. This should also promote local business that step in to fill the gap from imports where possible.
The key point to keep in mind here is that we will not go back to status quo. Just as scar tissue is never as smooth as the torn skin it replaces. We will loose some businesses. Some people will fall into debt and be unable to recover without help.
Due to loss of incomes, social distancing and widespread work-from-home we will find demand continues to be suppressed for some time to come. This will be especially true for ‘non-essential’ goods. This means the suppressed demand must be unlocked using some of the options we will discuss below.
Who sinks/swims is down to how they prepared during the crisis for the post-crisis period (i.e. if they did not look to change business-as-usual and let a good crisis go to waste then they will sink) and how effectively they can implement those strategic plans in the coming months. This is a good example of Darwin’s Survival of the Fittest.
Who will survive:
- Those who are quick to plan and implement new processes that allows them to generate revenue.
- Those who have deep pockets to fall back on, for the next 12 months (at least)
- Those who are able to focus on their strengths and optimise resources – when we look at (2) we must remember “Markets can remain irrational for longer than you can remain solvent” (by John Maynard Keynes)
- Those who are directly benefiting from the crisis (short term survival)
- Those who enjoy a good name in the market or are ‘expected’ by the market to bounce back quickly
But what is the Recipe for Success? What should we do more of as a business?
- Advertise: Replace front-office with a slick website, smartphone app and/or virtual agent (even a chat-bot helps handle the first level of queries)
- Process transformation: Reduce the need for manual processes in business operations – this is not something only multi-million pound business need to do! In fact this is something everyone needs to do!
- Digitise and Automate as much as possible – from fundamental building block apps (e.g. billing) to more advanced planning, optimisation and prediction apps (Here is a golden chance for AI at the lower price-point. Or even local AI consultancy)
- Concentrate on strengths and focus your resources on the service/product that provides the greatest rewards – enable home delivery where possible – smart phones + hybrid/electric vehicles should reduce cost of operations and bring home delivery to the same price point as in-store
- Don’t stop innovating.. innovation is the hidden strength of any business (large or small!)
As an individual, facing an uncertain future in terms of employment, lot of the above points are just as relevant (once the context is changed):
- Advertise your existing skills and experience (make a website, LinkedIn profile), talk about your interests and hobbies! Blog!
- Look inward: Look at all the good stuff you have done, all the mistakes you have made and the lessons you have learnt. Try changing something small about yourself that you feel will improve the way you feel about yourself. For me this was ensuring I take in a lot of outdoor play time with my kids!
- Prepare your tools: make a CV, take stock of where you have been and where you want to get too! You won’t get another chance like this to plan your career!
- Concentrate on your strengths: reduce expenditure, improve efficiency by doing the important things and ignoring things that lead to waste of time, money or both. One personal example: we started cooking more at home which resulted in not only money saving but also us discovering new things that we could make at home!
- Don’t stop learning! Now is the time to take a risk. Make sure you use all the tools available to engage with people who are leaders in your field of learning as well as fellow students – this can be anything – from cooking to a language
- Don’t stop thinking and creating. Write a short story, create a new dish, draw a picture, change the layout of your living room! These act as massive confidence boosters
Additional Thoughts: Automation
Automation was on the rise before Covid. The bigger players have already moved online and use automation enabled IT therefore continue to sell effectively (albeit within constraints). But the contact-less nature of the solution to this problem will push app/online interaction even more. As this happens, it makes it easier to automate the interaction. Two small examples:
- Pizza shops now only support cashless delivery, no collection. Therefore, all my interaction with the pizza shop is through their website or an app (e.g. JustEat). The pizza is placed on my doorstep and I hardly even see the delivery person as they back away more than 2 meters and leave as soon as they see me pick-up the pizza.
- Food stalls in various food markets have started home deliveries (again cashless and contact-less). Earlier they would hire staff to manage long queues, today they operate behind a slick website (that you can throw up in a few hours), a scheduling tool, and WhatsApp messaging to personalise the interaction.
This effect when combined with the long term trend of more people working from home (which is bound to accelerate now) is an opportunity for small business to deliver local services through different app-based platforms involving lots of automation (to make it cheaper). The smaller players have to make use of the same force-multiplier tools, platforms and channels as the bigger players right now! The most basic one is the ability to accept online orders and payments.
Now that people don’t travel for work then they no longer form a captive market for food vendors, coffee shops and bars. But these things can come to their doorstep! With automation enabled IT the cost of home delivery can be managed especially with the added benefits of scale.
Finally: I am still waiting for the day I can order Starbucks coffee to my home for the same price (if not cheaper) as what I get in the stores. Starbucks could open coffee-making kitchens in different areas and serve the area from there. Automation will help by providing seamless links between different stages, AI-based planning and prediction of demand.
Fish Eye View 