CHOPPER VIEW
Business survival strategies: Keeping pandemic blues away Pushkar Mukewar explains some business survival strategies that can help SMEs tide over challenges posed by the pandemic for international trade.
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t’s been over two years since the nationwide lockdown imposed during the pandemic. Looking back, it is appalling to see the vast number of businesses that were forced to shut shop because of unanticipated disruptions like the global supply chain crisis, soaring raw material costs, labour shortage, and paucity of containers for shipment, to name a few. While most found it challenging to adapt to the emerging uncertainties, some businesses and their visionary entrepreneurs paved the way and came forth with innovative solutions to stay afloat. This blog looks into the interplay between struggle and strategy, and the problems surrounding some entrepreneurs over the past two years, their coping mechanisms, lessons, insights, business survival strategies and visions that others can emulate. THE WAIT AND WATCH APPROACH A lot of MSME exporters found themselves in the middle of a serious logistics challenge. Container shortages began to have a significant impact on export shipments, in addition to augmenting volatility, increasing freight charges and causing unprecedented delays. In this kind of a situation, patience may be the key for companies to keep their businesses afloat. Prashanna Sivaraman, Head of Finance at Sri Kanthammal Padmanaba Modern Rice Mill, talks about his current ‘wait and watch’ approach to business. He cautions companies to play safe in these turbulent times and only stick to well-known markets. He adds: “Around 60% of our
Pushkar Mukewar CEO & Co-Founder, Drip Capital
rice trade to African nations is conducted through containers. But the shortage of vessels has heavily affected business in this region, resulting in trade in the market coming to a standstill. There has been a 500%-600% increase in freight costs due to multiple bottlenecks, causing us to let go of some businesses and seek new markets and players. However, currently, we don’t have plans to go out of our way to procure new buyers and will prefer focusing our business in Southeast Asia and China, where conditions are still favorable.” To stay on top of its game, the company resorted to bulk cargo shipping as part of its supply chain innovation strategy. The unpredictable times that exporters are going through have not left much room for speculation. However, Sivaraman still hopes for the best while preparing his team for a continuation of the crisis in the coming years through sound financial planning.
36 | India Business & Trade • Apr-May, 2022
INSURANCE A MUST Speaking on similar lines of Sivaraman, Vyom Varshney, Owner of Eco Organics, also believes in opting for a conservative approach instead of a modern one, considering the highly unprecedented times. This involves taking minimum risks and undertaking thorough assessments to ensure financial integrity of the organizations. Companies must, for example, not accept orders without insurance, and prioritize safety at all times as against taking on complex challenges At the same time, he advises businesses to continue building trust with buyers and assuring them to the extent they can in these distressing moments. Consumers today are more sensitive to who they are doing business with. Thus, the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report found that for 53% of respondents, trusting the company behind a brand or product is the most important factor when making a buying decision, even more than price. This can ultimately lead to improved customer loyalty,
CONTAINER SHORTAGES BEGAN TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON EXPORT SHIPMENTS, APART FROM RAISING VOLATILITY AND FREIGHT CHARGES AND CAUSING UNPRECEDENTED DELAYS.
