The internet has been ablaze with people lamenting the loss of milestones—graduation and commencement ceremonies, prom, worship services, and introducing newborns to family.
One could take a critical look and muse that involvement in elections, public discourse, and community-wide health could have minimized some of this, but let’s save that for another soapbox.
The reality is we’re all going to miss out on things we wanted, like spring break and neighborhood block parties. We’ll miss backpacking across Europe and spending Saturday morning at hot yoga. We can never go back to thinking that things aren’t inextricably linked.
People were caught off guard by the equalizing aspects of staying at home, while COVID-19 is revealing blind spots in business.
The grocery stores don’t care who you are when they fill pick up slots. Amazon Fresh will put you on the waitlist, regardless of your address. Your ability to operate on a budget, within a schedule, and on your terms, are over.
Take nothing for granted, because nothing is: COVID-19 business lessons
How others are having to stay at home also impacts everyone, and COVID-19 business lessons abound: Smithfield has announced they are closing down their Sioux Falls, South Dakota processing plant indefinitely after workers came down with coronavirus.
Two other major meat processors in the United States have closed as a result of the virus. The impacts of the virus are also hitting the seafood industry, with Chilean salmon supplies threatened as factories close due to coronavirus. The Copper River Salmon season is also at risk of coronavirus closures and social distancing crackdowns.
Peloton recently halted all live-streamed classes, encouraging members to use the thousands of types available on-demand. A letter from the CEO of Planet Fitness addressed gym closures and assisting people with their fitness lives via an app.
It won’t be the last time we hear of entire business models having to pivot, leaving consumers to decide whether they’re willing to deal or if they’ll move on.
The move to at-home fitness has led to a direct fall in the purchases of sports gear and bags.
Already consumer trends are influencing business. There are numerous data points: sales of hair clippers spiked 166% (social media tells us that many were first-timers), and hair coloring product purchases rose 23%, according to Nielsen.
As weddings, proms, and galas are postponed or canceled altogether, sales of bridal clothing and men’s formal wear are among the fastest declining purchases, surpassed in lost sales only by travel luggage and men’s swimwear. There are predictable surges in purchases of disposable gloves, bread yeast, and cough medicines.
Sales shifts are impacting supply chains and pummeling farmers like Owyhee Produce. They’re dumping onions because restaurants are closed, and processing facilities are closing. Food banks don’t need or want the volume of onions typically bound for restaurants. Tomatoes and other products cannot be diverted because of the lack of transport options.
The domino effect in the supply chain will continue to reveal gaps.
These weaknesses are revealing blind spots in our businesses; clients and vendors suffer in ways that threaten our bottom line. The urgency reveals staff as liability or asset, critical decisions are forced—reinvention, reassignment, or layoff. The subsequent obstacles demand we learn new processes or that we wholly reinterpret our mission.
If we are lucky – no, if we are deliberate – we can rise and meet the challenges of supply chains. To avoid a repeat of this global breakdown we’ll need to start by acknowledging that every action and inaction has an impact. We must operate creatively and enthusiastically; our minds and teams open to innovation that may be more mindset based than tech-centric.
When we acknowledge the depth of our weakness, we discover the power to become more durable than ever before.
