This is about a company that is centered on the local economy of a major city in the US. Their revenues are great. They bring in goods from all over the world and sell them to local wholesalers and retailers. These goods are perishable, and demand is broad-based. Their customers are retailers and wholesalers of all sizes spread all over the local market. One half of the retail market has disappeared from the effects of COVID 19.
This has brought the company’s operations to a 50% reduction in workforce and 50% in product volume.
The company has been in operation and growing over the last 12 years and the reduction in their workforce was across the board. There is a lot of loyalty with this team, so the best approach was to cut everyone’s hours in half and keep all on board.
This is a tough situation. The team was in the middle of re-structuring to get things on track for another phase of growth – especially the back office. The company had built strong relationships in the market over the years and they were considered a major player. Their market has been extremely competitive with products and sources changing often. There are always small players chipping away at the monthly order base, ready to offer a lower price.
Such great achievements and success, and it is all in jeopardy now with the pandemic of 2020.
For any company in this situation there are at least three parts to a strategy for getting through it with favorable outcomes:
- Preserve cash- Find it. Preserve it.
Talk with your banker. Research government assistance. Talk to every supplier and find a better deal that will improve those relationships on the other side of this downturn – from fleet maintenance to tax accounting, to the warehouse leases to employee benefits. Get a better deal now that everything has changed. And some changes can be favorable.
- Find and do those things that nobody had time for in the last year.
They were planning the next level of growth before all this happened. Now, empower those employees that were cut to half time so that they will be twice as effective when they return. That will be the time to grab market share. A few new laptops, faster software, reorganize space, better accounting, inventory system upgrade, etc. These kinds of changes go a long way.
- Strengthen past relationships
When half of this client’s market dropped away, the orderly supply chain that they are a part of started changing. Half of retail was wiped out. How can that end-user base be helped now? Can this company’s truck fleet work with wholesalers to reach the end-users in new ways? Can they aid the fight against the pandemic in any way? Any partnering during tough times pays off in much stronger relationships when the upswing finally starts.
Simple answers are hard to come by. Keep all your channels open to patch together the best solution possible. Imperial Cost Control wants to help you succeed, with clean-up, catch-up and clarity on the numbers side of your company. We will help you access government assistance and coordinate your efforts so you go after the resources that will give you the most benefit.
JB Linder – 713 443 7990