This pandemic continues to disrupt the global economy as the number of cases increases across the world. While some have managed to bring the outbreak under control in the past months, most countries are still on lockdown as they curb the outbreak.
In the Philippines, the ongoing lockdown has resulted in job losses, supply chain problems, travel restrictions, and business disruptions. The economy GDP shrank by 11.5% year on year in the third quarter of 2020. Sectors from retail, real estate to manufacturing experienced severe challenges due to extreme measures such as lockdowns and mandatory business closures.
Maquiraya and Associates, Inc. looks at how Philippine businesses across industries tackle the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
Harnessing Digital Technologies
Digital technologies, already flourishing before the pandemic hit, became essential. As many physical locations are shut down, the use of digital payments, e-commerce, telemedicine, and online education increased drastically. This helped businesses cope with social distancing measures and ensure that trade continues despite disruption.
This digital mandate is not new, but it was brought into sharp focus during the nationwide lockdown. Businesses that were operating online could avoid the full effect of the pandemic as consumers shifted to e-commerce. Clearance procedures based on electronic documents and payments are simpler, faster, and safe as it limits physical interactions.
Evolving Workplace
The pandemic has led to an emphasis on flexibility in terms of workstations and work-from-home solutions. When Luzon was under its strictest lockdown, 99% of office-based firms allowed employees to work from home and 44% facilitated social distancing through minimal office staff and staggered shifts.
Remote work is proving to be an innovative and effective way to offset the impacts of COVID-19 while transforming businesses inside and out. This move helps companies protect public health and ensure the continuity of the business at the same time. It provides new ways and opens possibilities for businesses to engage with clients and other stakeholders with minimal disruption in productivity.
Diversifying Talents and Services
The ability to continuously transform knowledge and ideas into new products, processes, and systems is essential to a company’s resilience especially during economic downturns.
Many Filipino firms cope with COVID-19 by mobilizing their financial resources and employee skills to stay afoot with the latest market demands. Agile Filipino companies created new goods and services such as designer masks and rapid testing technologies. When lockdowns prevented them from opening, they lent their employees to other businesses in essential industries. The availability of skills enabled them to innovate and access more lucrative business activities.
Building Stronger Connections
During crises, consumer trends and compliance requirements are shifting rapidly and, in the process, are remaking the opportunities and risks for businesses. Amid the lockdowns, it became apparent that it is not enough for companies to meet the quantity, cost, and quality requirements of consumers. To succeed, they also must connect with their business ecosystem.
Connecting to other business actors to get information and knowledge became crucial to competitiveness. Resilient businesses built close ties with buyers, suppliers, and institutions to learn about new markets and how to access them. They were able to gather information about customers, suppliers, competitors, products, technologies, and government policies.
Navigating the New Normal
The pandemic serves as a widespread test case for the effectiveness of these strategies, many of which will characterize the new normal and lead to long-term business changes.
Most organizations may be inclined to tighten their belts during this crisis. However, as many businesses in the Philippines have shown, this could also be the ideal time to double down on connections, embrace digital transformation, and prioritize talent upskilling and workforce well-being.