While the traditional business models are under increasing pressure due to havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is widespread disruption to supply chains, and changing consumer behavior. In reality many of these traditional business models were already feeling the pressures of a shifting working world in a way that:
- Cost reduction became a priority, since managements seek to leverage new technologies and improve bottom line efficiency indicators
- Key functions such as tax, compliance, risk and finance are expected to increase effectiveness without any additional resources – do more with less
- Regulators are now demanding greater transparency. Consequently, managing obligations has become more complex and costly, as the rules change faster and faster.
- With tougher expectations around return on investment and operational performance – Board demands are on the rise
- Keeping ahead of competitors is harder than ever, requiring deeper industry insights, data analytics and digital tools – as well as the dedicated resources to drive effectiveness. But more importantly – to reimagine, businesses must first assess the damage caused by COVID-19, which means looking beyond the numbers.
Many saw that COVID-19 came with the inadequacies of recent technological solutions driven by years of pending investment and change management. Traditional systems were simply unable to support remote working, meet customers’ needs to transact online or address growing regulatory demands for transparency and digital security and reporting. While the smartest were required to spend most of their time ensuring the businesses continued to work so that critical functions kept operating and information was still credible, timely and effective – at the peak of the crisis. This allowed them time to focus on key strategic decisions that helped better navigate the impact on the business and its recovery – such as stretching operations, improvising on current products and services to make the offer more relevant and reassessing capital position. And now as companies begin to move forward; it only makes it clear that going back to “normal” is simply not an option. Surviving volatility and succeeding in a post-pandemic world will typically require business transformation – either to address shortcomings, access new opportunities, or both.
