What permanent changes will the corona crisis bring

The corona crisis is driving digitalization

Digitalization is moving fast, and the corona crisis will only speed it up. Many countries and people around the world are affected by physical constraints that lead us to resort to new digital solutions across sectors. Among other things, we see drones being used for delivery in China. After the crisis, we will experience an increased need to automate business processes and production, so we are less dependent on physical labor relative to current situation. Currently production (and operations) in many markets is challenged by either the corona virus or the risk of infection between employees.

Life in lockdown moves trading online

During a lockdown, both consumers and businesses are getting more familiar with online shopping. E-commerce is certainly not new in itself, but during a crisis where there is no other option, systems are improved, new solutions introduced and consumers get new habits that continue after the crisis. For example, many consumers will now have surpassed the so-called friction points, such as creating a login or learning how to navigate an online business interface. In addition to e-commerce, we will also experience education, medical consultations and fitness classes moving online at a much larger scale than ever before.

The global supply chain is being reconsidered

We are becoming aware of the fragility of the large global and efficient supply chain. Therefore, we will strengthen regional supply chains, consider regional production with more suppliers and a larger inventory. For example, in these times we see how 3D printing solves production tasks on products that, due to the closure of societies and borders, cannot be imported across national borders. We might also see new laws protecting the domestic market as was the case during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Employees break ties with the physical location of companies

During this time, both companies and employees learn that we can work from home. We create new routines and agreements on how to work - this will reduce our need to physically sit together and give employees more flexibility in the future. Companies are finding that they can limit travel, host video conferences, and that office space can be reduced

Resilience will be on the corporate agenda

While some organizations are likely to resume operations after the crisis without looking back, others will look closely at opportunities to strengthen the company's resilience whilst paying attention to sustainable solutions. These organizations will improve their foresight and agility through risk assessment, scenario planning, crisis management, workforce redistribution, supply chain resilience, ecosystems, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, etc.

Individuals and organizations take on more social responsibility

Both companies and individuals are becoming very aware of how their own actions can affect the rest of society. Young and healthy people stay indoors to not infect the elderly and weakened. We learn that we all play a role in society. We will also experience increased collaboration across governments, the private sector and NGOs that will work together to solve, for example, the climate challenges and the overall sustainability agenda.