COVID-19 Business Support: The collaboration curve is rising
By Gunjan Sharma
Governments across the world, including India and the UK, are asking business and academia to collaborate. Both have stepped up; actively becoming a driving force in the search for solutions.
A much-publicised example involves India. Automotive companies such as Mahindra, McLaren and Maruti, among others, have been turning to the manufacturing of ventilators. The exciting part is that there is unprecedented collaboration between companies across geographies in sourcing components and making optimal use of scarce resources and manufacturing capabilities. This might become a trend in a post COVID-19 economy. Why not?
Greater collaboration may become the new normal, but such positives do not hide the cold reality: the pandemic-based new normal is tough. Well-established practices that we took for granted are up in the air and fires need to be put out.
Regular review of business plans and managing unaccounted for risk are daily staples. Right now, risk mitigation tops everyone’s agenda. For some, this means finding alternative sourcing destinations/suppliers, with revisions on pricing/credit agreements coming to the fore too.
Near-term business continuity is people-dependent too. We are seeing a surge of concern on how best to address labour/man-power arbitrage issues. In parallel, clarity on what government interventions to date mean, and guidance on any or potential regulatory changes are commonplace requests.
These are all fundamental issues for many trying to cope with the disruption COVID-19 has created to their India operations. Finding quick, practical solutions is the order of the day. To do so, local insight to help evaluate and measure not just immediate actions but future impact are valuable commodities.
Given who we are and what we do, it is no surprise business and policy advisory requests are pouring in, looking to tap into our Government and Industry knowledge in this period of uncertainty.
What we are finding as we support, is that pressing issues do have a knock-on effect and one solution does not fit all. Challenges faced may be similar, but every company has a unique set of circumstances. Understanding what these are, is leading to a more rounded set of here and now recommendations.
Over the next few weeks, the flattening of the curve will hopefully see the UK and India move from “lockdown” to “deconfinement”. Welcome news, though we do not expect the queries and questions from UK businesses curve to flatten just yet. Now, more than ever, UK business in India is drawing on advice and support.
If your company wishes to enquire how we can support you, email enquiries@ukibc.com with your issues or questions and our India experts will get back to you promptly.
