Analyse. Redefine. Transform. The art of creating a proactive, aligned strategy fit for future growth.

According to the Bank of England [Monetary Policy Report, May 2021], how UK businesses respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic will define the future economy. While the inference here is that businesses have been ill prepared and, in some instances, decimated by the economic fallout, it does not tell the whole story.

Undoubtedly there have been losers. The pandemic has had a wide-reaching impact on European industry and value chains. According to a study commissioned by the European Parliament earlier this year, European industry has experienced a larger hit in 2020 and will experience a slower recovery in 2021, when compared with other global regions. With GDP expecting “to reach pre-crisis levels by mid-2022 in both the EU and the euro area”, business should now be looking at how to pivot, to take advantage of new opportunities created through changing market conditions.

Impacts and rates of recovery and change vary, according to industry. As the above report suggests, “sectors that are dependent on human contact and interaction, such as the cultural and creative industries and the aerospace industry (due to the decrease in mobility and tourism activities), have experienced substantial hits by the crisis, and they are likely to suffer for extended periods from these unprecedented shocks.” But there have also been winners as some
industries have thrived. PPE manufacturers, digital industries, food and drink, home entertainment businesses, and home improvement outlets have seen a rapidly increased demand for products and services. Online sales in the UK grew 36 percent in 2020, the highest annual growth since 2007, while online sales in January 2021 accelerated, growing by 74 percent year-on-year [IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index]. Across Europe, according to one report, online revenues jumped by 30 percent since 2019, with industries such as chemicals and construction the most likely to experience a V-shaped recovery from the crisis.

The challenge for every organisation is how to capitalise on the opportunities of changing markets. Not every business has managed to fulfil the demands of customers. Some were caught by surprise and failed to scale in time. Others struggled with supply chains and logistics. Many businesses have toiled with reactive strategies that have enabled them to tread water at best.

What the pandemic should have taught organisations of all sizes, and across most industries, is that business agility is key to growth. The ability to scale efficiently, cost effectively and the ability to adapt quickly and to set and meet realistic customer expectations have become mantras for future viability and growth.

So, how do organisations prepare for market anomalies, socio political shifts, economic boom or bust and just about any other obstacle that is thrown in their paths? As a recent EY article, How to re-shape your business now to build a resilient future suggests, every organisation has to now see the future through a different lens, to cope with increasingly complicated and volatile markets. There is a need to build agile and collaborative industry ecosystems, organisational infrastructures and processes and importantly, mindsets that are assured, proactive and intelligent in their adaptability and decision making. To that end, we have identified three key strategies to reset business processes and drive future growth. By analysing and redefining goals, processes, technologies and decision making, organisations can transform effectively and efficiently.