MANAGEMENT
SUMMER 2020
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BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
COVID-19 Survey: Foodservice/Retail Imbalance Roils CPG Industry Some CPG and food/bev manufacturer respondents to Packaging World’s survey on COVID-19 can barely keep up with demand. Others lost huge customers overnight. Meanwhile, everyone shares workforce safety and labor concerns. Matt Reynolds Editor, Packaging World
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n a March 26-31 survey, we asked Packaging World readers—highly targeted CPG and food, beverage, and personal products manufacturers—what their top challenge was in facing down the COVID-19 crisis. We received 105 qualified answers and was able to spend a few hours boiling them down to get the real gestalt behind their fully openended, unbounded responses. When taken down to their most basic level, it comes down to two things: People and Shifting Demand. It should be noted that these are all responses to a negative question. The precise language was as follows: “What is your company’s biggest challenge related to COVID-19?” Answers shouldn’t be expected to be bright and cheery; we’re talking about big problems that CPGs face. But mood and tone aside, the answers we received hold up a fairly accurate mirror to the CPG industry, since the answers are their own words.
People Within the people category, a few themes emerged when pouring over respondents’ answers. For those worrying about people, there were those worried about a.) safety, and b.) attendance or where to find labor.
Health and safety For CPG manufacturers, the number-one, most referenced worry or challenge around this pandemic is keeping people safe. Of the 105 respondents, 25% (26 people) directly reference worker safety and keeping workers safe. Of course, some of this is just basic altruism and care for your fellow person. On another level, this stands to reason in an era where qualified labor was already hard to find. The number one verbatim answer, and there were two dozen versions or permutations of it:
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“Keeping people/workers safe.” A more thought-out example was: “Making sure all employees stay healthy and continue to practice safe hygiene at home the same as done in factory. Also, worry if their families are doing correct sanitation hygiene and their surrounding environment.” But answers that expanded beyond the basic safety element worried about a few things more specifically. Communications was a common theme, with CPGs apparently challenged to effectively communicate to their employees facts about the pandemic, about when to come to work, and when to stay home. In fact, 13% of our respondents were specific when it came to the difficulties around worker safety. Said a few of their biggest challenge: “Communicating company updates regarding COVID-19 to associates and reacting to changes.” “...Ensuring anyone with symptoms does not come into work until cleared.” And quite a few answers were specific about how social distancing would work on a factory floor: “Social distancing of 6’ on the production floor,” said one, and refrained two others, “Keeping our employees separated, keeping the PPE they need, and keeping them and their coworkers safe.” One interesting response indicated some worry about how stress and strain might lead to mistakes. Said the respondent: “Ensuring the work force is healthy and not making mistakes due to crisis happening in the world.”
Labor shortage and attendance Of the 105 respondents, 23 said attendance and finding labor has been their biggest problem when it comes to COVID-19. This is the other side of the coin when it comes
5/26/20 8:57 AM
