[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/03\/companies-around-the-world-heed-a-call-to-arms\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/03\/companies-around-the-world-heed-a-call-to-arms\/","headline":"Companies heed a call to arms to fight our common enemy","name":"Companies heed a call to arms to fight our common enemy","description":"Companies around the world are halting business-as-usual to make items for the times as a call to arms to help their fellow country men and women.","datePublished":"2020-04-03","dateModified":"2021-07-27","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/helen-dwight\/#Person","name":"Helen Dwight","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/helen-dwight\/","identifier":412,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf75ec4164ba1b43e62ca745d84ec29a63141e25bdebaf926914674fb38d6d91?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf75ec4164ba1b43e62ca745d84ec29a63141e25bdebaf926914674fb38d6d91?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/companies-fight-covid-19-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/companies-fight-covid-19-1.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/03\/companies-around-the-world-heed-a-call-to-arms\/","about":["COVID-19 and Business"],"wordCount":1665,"articleBody":"The impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is widespread and dramatic. On March 12, 2020, the S&P 500 fell almost 10%, the second biggest drop since World War II. In fact, a lot of things about our country and economy right now resemble a state of war \u2013\u2013\u00a0particularly that of World War II \u2013\u2013\u00a0not just the stock market.Grocery store shelves are empty.Schools are closed.The streets are eerily quiet.Citizens are remembering and honoring the hard work of medical professionals, delivery drivers, and entrepreneurs to keep us healthy, stocked, and employed.The business supply chain is changing quickly, too. During WWII, auto manufacturers converted to military-only production enabling aircrafts to get mass produced.Today, a variety of businesses are putting a halt to business-as-usual and making necessary items for the times, as a call to arms to help their fellow country men and women.Hand SanitizerMultiple companies around the world are turning their typical perfume or alcohol brands, and the supply chain that enables the production of those goods, into brands that are now making and giving out hand sanitizer.Washing your hands is one of the top things you can do to help prevent the spread of the virus. And, you need to wash them for 20 seconds.Don\u2019t have soap? Not near clean water? On the go somewhere, for some reason, and want to make sure you are protecting yourself and others?Hand sanitizer can help. The CDC recommends the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers with greater than 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol.Great! The only problem? Most of the hand sanitizer is the US, and around the world, is sold out.To help solve the problem, perfumeries and distilleries around the world are shifting production practices to ramp up on the sanitizer for a worried public. LVMH, owners of luxury perfume brands such as Guerlain, Christian Dior and Givenchy were the first such company to report that they were halting perfume production to produce hand sanitizer for French hospitals, for free.Soon, the rest of the world followed suit. Now, your local distillery is also likely working on producing hand sanitizer for your community.In Austin, Texas, sotol distillery Desert Door is one such business. They are producing hand sanitizer to the WHO specifications of at least 80% alcohol.“We will be providing 8 oz bottles free of charge to the public and will continue to do so as long as necessary,\u201d says co-founder Ryan Campbell. \u201cIt is our social and moral responsibility to do so.”In Los Angeles, one of the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus in the US, local perfumer Sarah Horowitz introduced a Stay Safe Sanitizing Spray, according to the LATimes. She is selling it for $10 for a 1-ounce bottle or a free 0.34-ounce bottle with every online order over $75. The spray consists of an 80% concentrate of organic alcohol mixed with essential oils known for their antibacterial properties: clove, lemongrass, lavender maillette and patchouli.And she isn\u2019t the only one. There are at least a handful of others in the area doing the same \u2013\u2013 and hundreds across the country.\u201cAt the scale of my operation, there\u2019s no real way to make any money off a hand sanitizer made the right way, with organic ingredients that conditions the hands as it disinfects,\u201d says Michael Carbaugh, owners of Sandoval. \u201cBut profit isn\u2019t everything. Providing a service to the community is what\u2019s important. My big thing with all of this is bringing people joy and a safe feeling.\u201dDroplet Masks & VentilatorsHospitals are running out of masks to protect their medical workers from contracting the virus and needing to be quarantined themselves. This could mean fewer medical workers at a time when more and more people need their help.Some doctors and nurses are being asked to wear one mask all day \u2013\u2013\u00a0when typically you\u2019d change every time you entered the room. For citizens, hospitals are asking that they make their own.Hospitals are asking for donations \u2013\u2013\u00a0and in some cities like Dallas, Texas, they are asking the community to make them for them, with some hospitals even providing patterns online for masks.\u201cSo maybe it\u2019s not meant to be the mask, the N95 mask, but at this point anything helps and all of the nurses are inboxing me saying please, I need a mask,\u201d says Amy Bearden.Some companies are even stopping regular production altogether to mass produce masks \u2013\u2013 like Rogue Fitness.The company announced the move on Instagram, to their 2.1 million followers, saying:Product Development Team is working solely on medical supplies – Masks, Gowns, Shields and Ventilators.Manufacturing:\u00a0 We have begun sewing masks and will kick into full production Monday.\u00a0 Next items we are going to make are gowns, shields and ventilators. We have purchased three Industrial 3D printing machines to help make parts.Supply Chain:\u00a0 We are prioritizing raw materials and components for these as well. — Per earlier post we are also seeing very strong demand for our products and will do our best to get those items to you in an expeditious manner.\u201dTesla, Ford, and GM are also stepping up, stopping auto production to focus on ventilator production.This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowH&M also announced this week that it would immediately switch production with its suppliers to manufacturing personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers. And Zara owner Inditex has announced that it will use its factories to make hospital scrubs, masks and goggles for healthcare workers in Spain.\u00a0 It said it had already donated 10,000 masks and another 300,000 were due to be sent.Coronavirus TestingPerhaps one of the most concerning aspects of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States has been a lack of testing. This has likely led to an increase in community spread, and underreporting of how many people actually have contracted the virus.There have been a lot of reasons given for the lack of testing, but many American companies are stepping up to get kits produced and out as soon as possible. One such company is EverlyWell, an at-home testing company that, since the outbreak, has been focused on producing a test for everyone.https:\/\/twitter.com\/JuliaTCheek\/status\/1240460076516872193?s=20\u201cWe\u2019re working hard to ramp up weekly capacity to test 250,000 Americans,\u201d says CEO and founder Julia Cheek. \u201cOur goal is to continue to refresh capacity but with the global swab shortage we don\u2019t have a confirmed timeline for that yet. Ultimately, she says, the testing kits could be designed for a household so everyone in a family could be tested and know what protective measure they might need to take.Transportation and Supply of GoodsDespite the well publicized examples of empty shelves in the supermarkets during some episodes of panic buying, overall, global supply chains have held up during the onset of this crisis.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen how the supermarkets in hotspots such as Italy and Spain continued to be restocked and serve a population that is in lockdown.Half of the worlds air freight is carried in passenger planes and it vital to maintain supplies of perishable goods. With passenger traffic for airlines globally down 90% since the start of this crisis, freight capacity has been quickly impacted.Added to that, Europe and the US are going into lockdown just as China\u2019s factories are starting up again.\u00a0 Companies across the world are desperate to restock their goods which are in low supply.\u00a0 Rather than wait longer for slower transit by sea, they are opting for air freight.With airlines suffering the loss of passenger traffic many of them are helping to meet the increased demand by adding cargo only routes using their passenger planes.\u00a0 \u00a0Filling the passenger cabin with relatively lightweight cargo such as medical supplies enables much needed supplies to get to where they are needed and helps airlines stem some of their losses.This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowIn a statement issued by Delta \u201cWe\u2019re here to help keep global commerce moving and supply lines open,\u201d said Shawn Cole, Vice President – Delta Cargo. \u201cTransforming our operation to provide cargo-only charter flights allows us to diversify our business at a time where the global need to move critical supplies is significant. It\u2019s also core to what we do and who we are\u2014ensuring we connect the world, even in challenging times.\u201dLufthansa tweeted that its focus was now on bringing people home, delivering humanitarian goods wherever they are needed and helping rebook passenger\u2019s flights.This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowOther airlines are following suit. American Airlines operated its first cargo only flight in 36 years last weekend. United Airlines are also running cargo only routes and Air Canada made a similar announcement \u00a0launching cargo only routes to transport medical supplies and sensitive goods to Europe, with more regions to follow.A Call to Arms for Us AllWars like this, where everyone is impacted, can unite us.This is a warThis is a war to win back our freedom to go to restaurants and bars, to be entertained, to have group gatherings, and to be close to everyone \u2013 specially friends and family.This is a war for our children to return to school and for adults to get back to their places of work.This is a war to win back our economy, and our global health.With every challenge comes opportunity. New and better ways of re-inventing ourselves. Together, we can win. This is a call to arms.Resources, best practices,and self-care pointers for these trying timescan be found\u00a0HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2020","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"04","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/04\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"03","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/04\/\/03\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Companies heed a call to arms to fight our common enemy","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/03\/companies-around-the-world-heed-a-call-to-arms\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]