Last week, Jim Seifert (head of FMJ’s Manufacturing practice) presented on a webinar with Choice Bank‘s, Crystal Hatcher (EVP, Chief Risk Officer). During the webinar, they discussed the three scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications of these scenarios for manufacturers, which manufacturers are thriving amid the global pandemic and why, and suggestions on how to continue to build COVID-19 resistant businesses, including the importance of cybersecurity.
Here are Jim’s top five takeaways from the webinar “Resilience in Manufacturing: How to Continue to Build COVID-19 Resistant Businesses.”
#1 Expenses
- Examine all non-direct sales-related expenses/costs and discounts. Retention of your business is valuable, even critical.
- Re-examine non-customer facing functional overhead (finance, HR, legal, etc.) and seek discounts.
- Re-evaluate real estate and do a detailed examination of whether remote work increases or decreases production.
- Digitize as much of the sales process as possible.
#2 Talent
- Now maybe the best time to change the organization in order to strike the right talent mix.
- Highly talented people from large organizations, especially in the manufacturing space, are on the street, so it might be a good time to look into hiring if you are able.
#3 New Markets
- The return to United States manufacturing movement is real.
- New markets have revealed themselves amid COVID-19 such as manufacturing related to cleaning, sanitization, remote workspaces, remodeling/customization of living spaces, virtual schooling, home health, etc.
- Infrastructure government repair and other infrastructure programs will be an obvious way to create jobs and jumpstart the recovery.
#4 Opportunities within Existing Markets
- Spike in demand for anything related to baking, gardening, traditional hobbies (from woodworking to bees).
- Create a “value” line with good margin.
- Might be time to increase capacity if demand soars and is forecasted to last more than a year.
#5 Cybersecurity
- Humans are the weakest link in cybersecurity.
- Train employees regularly about the risks, the preventative measures in place, and your acceptable use policies.
- Create strong policies around password requirements (length, complexity, and expiration), use of email, internet usage, removable media.
The manufacturer’s mindset must be on resiliency! If you’re interested in viewing the webinar, the replay can be found here.
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James J. Seifert