Lockdown for an extended period of over 40 days was certainly needed to fight the Covid-19 situation. The bigger challenge for the businesses will be to bring back the demand and streamline the operations post lockdown. Coronavirus is going to be with us for a long time with vaccine or a definitive treatment only available optimistically by End 2020. Thus the return back to a new normal will be graded and gradual.
Assessment:
The financial health of an organisation is crucial to sustain the operations and generate the cash flows. The effective planning and preparing the road map for the team, after the lockdown is the most challenging aspect for the business leaders. It is crucial to take steps for the demand generation in the market and build a sustainable cash flow. The objectives will be driven by handling the low market demand and having a balanced top line and bottom line, while still continuing to grow the market share.
Priorities:
The essential services may continue to have a good run in the long term to fulfil the gaps created in the market consumption but many non-essential categories should be ready to face brunt of consumer’s selective behaviour towards their needs. Each citizen will have pressure of controlling their expenses and retaining the savings. Considering the same, the organisations would have to work on recreating the demand by utilising their resources, with the unique propositions that they can present to the market.
Focus on Sales Productivity:
Sales organisation should rework on their funnel and identify the prospects at the bottom of the funnel. The lower hanging grapes, who need immediate solution for them to move ahead in their operations, should be the focus. By being there for them and quickly providing for their requirements, we will generate customer loyalty as well as healthy cash flows.
Integrated Operations:
In the post Covid-19 environment, it’s very important that all the functions in any organisation moves together and play on their strengths to grow the market share and optimise working capital management. It is time to break silos and build-up a strong cross functional organisation, focused on the customer. Finance should focus on working capital, and how they can work out to address liquidity issues in the value chain through innovative and out of box solutions. Sales structure should have visibility of the stocks they are carrying and which product will move faster in the market. At the same time Supply Chains need to be optimized to ensure high availability with minimum inventory levels. Their needs to be strong emphasis on cost, quality and delivery. Marketing and product management should work together to bring out innovative products. With innovative product management, customer focus and improved productivity we can achieve operational excellence required in these tough times.
Keeping the Morale High:
Ensure employees engagement and motivation. Making sure that basic employee’s safety concerns and insecurities are addressed. This will empower employees to move in the market confidently.
Efficiency will be the key in the post Covid-19 era. We should leverage on technology to improve our efficiency. Lockdown has taught us on how many functions can work from home and need not require an office space, therefore, we should revisit our previously held assumptions, to make better and efficient organisation.
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