By: Sakthi Prasad -- Director - Content
22 March, 2020
Data Collection and Compilation by Mirza Zack
The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic shifts to Europe and the U.S., and countries across the globe are instructing its citizens to end discretionary travel, avoid large gatherings, and work from home where possible.
The great disruption to the normal way of life is unprecedented as hundreds of millions of people across the globe are trying to cope with the social distancing measures -- a concept that seemed alien just three weeks ago.
The pandemic is resulting in prolonged lockdown in many countries around the world. Italy and China, for example, went for total shutdown, while other nations are implementing varying degrees of social distancing measures. The situation is continuing to evolve with possibilities of more “draconian measures” on the cards.
The trade flow is being impacted in a big way: German ports are bracing for trade to take a severe blow in the coming days as the coronavirus outbreak led to a plunge in shipments and an increase in transport costs in Europe's largest economy.
Since deliveries from China to Germany take up to six weeks, the port of Hamburg, Germany's largest trading hub, and smaller inland ports are only now beginning to feel the full impact of the COVID-19 virus, which has disrupted the container shipping trade and supply chains the world over.
Also, Port of Antwerp has noted the serious consequences of Coronavirus, which has led to around 20 percent fewer sailings from China, with a global effect of a 1 percent reduction in container transport throughout 2020, according to the Belgian port.
In the port of Antwerp, based on preliminary forecasts, it is estimated that a month of traffic to and from China will be lost as a result of the pandemic. This corresponds to 115,000 containers, or 7 percent container traffic to and from China.
Amidst this great disruption to trade, business and normal way of life, Beroe has been receiving multiple queries from Procurement Managers relating to Business Continuity Plan (BCP) arising out of this situation. In order to get a clear picture, we ran a survey among users of Beroe LiVE, a community of thousands of procurement decision makers, to find out the level of preparedness when it comes to BCP.
The Survey
Sourcing and Supply Chain professionals from more than 450 companies across the globe participated in the survey. A whopping 70 percent of respondents were from North America and Europe -- the reason could be because these two regions are currently experiencing a massive spike in infection rate.
I am based in:
Nearly 50 percent of respondents said their company has rolled out Business Continuity Plan (BCP), while 23 percent said either No or Don’t know.
Has your company rolled out a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to tackle any disruptions relating to Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak?
Has your company rolled out a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to tackle any disruptions relating to Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak?
(Region-wise Breakup of Respondents)
More importantly, 57 percent of respondents said they have identified the raw material and services that are essential for the production and delivery of their company’s products/services during the BCP period.
Worryingly, nearly 60 percent of respondents said their critical suppliers did not share their BCP plan.
Few respondents informed Beroe that BCP is built-in during the RFI process. Also, couple of them said the BCP shared by suppliers were of generic nature and not related to Covid-19 outbreak.
Have you identified the raw material and services that are essential for the production and delivery of your company's products/services during the BCP period?
Did your critical suppliers share their Business Continuity Plan (BCP) with you?
Have you identified the raw material and services that are essential for the production and delivery of your company's products/services during the BCP period?
(Region-wise Breakup of Respondents)
Did your critical suppliers share their Business Continuity Plan (BCP) with you?
(Region-wise Breakup of Respondents)
Here are the selected comments from respondents. We are not revealing their names as they are not authorised to speak on behalf of the company.
Work From Home
The spread of coronavirus has meant many businesses have asked their employees to work from home.
We asked our Beroe LiVE community members about Work from Home/ Remote Working policy.
Sixty percent of respondents said the team has discussed Work from Home option with business stakeholders.
Interestingly, only one-third of respondents said that they strongly believe that remote working for a prolonged period of time will have no impact on productivity. Forty four percent were Neutral while one-fifth of respondents felt long-term work from home will impact productivity.
Several respondents told Beroe that office workers may have the luxury of working from home but this may not be the case for those who work in factories.
Has your team discussed "Work From Home" option with your business stakeholders?
Has your team discussed "Work From Home" option with your business stakeholders?
(Region-wise Breakup of Respondents)
Below are select comments from respondents.
Awaiting Normalcy
As of now, there is uncertainty as to when the outbreak will be controlled. We asked Beroe LiVE community members as to when do they think normal business situation will be restored.
Two-thirds of respondents said normalcy could be restored between 3 and 6 months. One-third said they don’t know when the outbreak will be eventually controlled. About 4 percent said they don’t expect normalcy to be restored before at least a year.
Few respondents were worried about fake news fuelled by social media adding to the panic. Also, the general sense is that the situation will get worse before becoming better.
As per you, normal business situation will be restored:
Below are the select comments from respondents:
Conclusion
We all are in uncharted waters. Business disruptions are being experienced all across the globe. Stay safe and follow your local government guidelines.
Meanwhile, below is an advisory from the World Health Organization (WHO):
“Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing”.
COVID-19: Assess impact on your suppliers and ensure business continuity with Beroe’s WIRE
(World Instant Risk Exposure)