How to prepare your organisation for the 2nd wave of the pandemic

As the World Health Organisation warn of a likely 2nd wave to the pandemic (1) which will sweep across the globe later in 2020 what can your organisation do now to be prepared and ready ahead of the curve to not just surf this second wave but take advantage of opportunities and prosper?

Impacts have been unprecedented already but if the worst is still to come then now is surely the time to get ready.  Nine Feet Tall’s advice is that there are 3 critical projects all businesses should set-up and deliver to become more resilient before the 2nd wave hits:

  1. Bounce Back Project – Put simply define your ‘bounce back’ approach and what strategic aims of your business need to change now for good. This is not about changes in the years ahead but key changes that need to take place now in weeks and months at most with a clear forward plan of action to get you beyond the confusion of today. It is critical to align your leadership team (and likely revising this team fit may be critical too) around a changed way forward which is likely to result in a set of rapid projects to deliver priority changes.
  2. Supply Chain Flexibility – The first wave of the pandemic has illustrated that supply chains are often fragile and only as strong as their weakest part. When this breaks, customer supply and the end to end process fails with critical consequences, lost revenues and reputation. Scope a project to review the end to end key supply chain processes and identify back up options that need change to digitalise and scale for delivery. Resilience of supply chain relies on flexibility in each process step, meaning that this is a chance to review, fix, streamline and simplify to de-risk for forward delivery growth.
  3. Customer and Marketing – How do your customers see you and the value you can bring them in times of a pandemic? This is the opportunity to ensure your value proposition is clear and relevant and that your products and services are in tune with the ‘new normal’. Customer Relationship Management (CRM), your marketing approach and customer processes to listen and respond are vital tools to succeed. Prioritise marketing focused project work and invest in a smart way. Budgets are constrained but revenue generating projects should be high on the agenda to accelerate delivery and keep businesses operating successfully.

If you would like advice and support on how to overcome challenges to your projects, please get in touch with us at info@ninefeettall.com

Project health check tool

Ref: (1) https://www.businessinsider.com.au/europe-prepare-second-deadly-coronavirus-wave-fall-who-2020-5

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