The Business Bulletin
What impact is the “new normal” going to have on procurement Many of us are tired of the term ‘new normal’. We are used to, yet tired of social distancing, many of us long to walk into a pub and order at the bar ‘just like we used to’, but deep down we know, nothing is ever going to be quite the same again.
Almost every area of business life has
set up work stations in home offices,
channels, although they lacked much
been affected, but in this article, I am
at kitchen tables, and in garden sheds.
of the physical infrastructure to make
going to focus on issues related to
Elsewhere, the retail, hospitality, travel
it efficient. Inevitably, prices became
procurement and supply chain, looking
and personal service sectors effectively
negotiable as the key players tried to
mainly at ‘indirects’ – the goods and
closed for months.
defend their share of a much smaller
services which keep business running.
Unexpected consequences
The impact on some supply chains was remarkable. Almost overnight,
market. In other markets, demand held
food service suppliers saw a huge
up, but there was a dramatic shift
The UK underwent a dramatic
drop in demand as hospitality venues
from one supply chain to another.
structural change in March 2020 – one
closed and schools were only open
As workers remained at home, they
which disrupted infrastructures which
for a small number of pupils. Left with
still used pens and Post-It notes,
had evolved over decades. In a matter
few customers beyond healthcare,
but it stopped being economic for
of days, millions of workers stopped
wholesalers such as Brakes tried to
the traditional stationery suppliers
travelling to their places of work and
pivot and develop home delivery
to deliver to the point of use. Step
36 | Issue 9 – Finance
