The Coronavirus (COVID 19) is spreading in the whole world vastly. This pandemic has curtailed businesses operations across the globe. With restrictions and lockdowns imposed in the country is going to hit financially very hard. People could experience a loss of income due to illness or workplace closures.

Today business continuity is a big question in the mind of every businessman. Here are some points that you can refer to ensure your business continuity:

Make List of Interruptions:
Prepare a list of interruptions that you may face in near future due to coronavirus.

• Are your vendors operating in the infected region?
• Do you have customers in the infected region?
• Do you have sufficient raw material, ingredients and components?
• Can you delay your customer’s shipments?
• Do your employees have ability to work from home?
• Do you have Data Privacy policy to protect your data?

 
Prioritize The Safety Of Employees:
Well said, employees are the most important asset of the business. It is important that employees know what management is doing and what they are supposed to do. Provide proper guidance and training to avoid hesitation and panic among employees. Support your employees for their health and safety.

Work From Home:
Provide your employees the facility of Work From Home to ensure their safety. Ensure data privacy and provide proper guidelines to the employees regarding Work From Home.

Be Proactive:
Be proactive in analyzing the situation in the near future to avoid any surprise crisis. Assess the operational and financial risk. Monitor the impact of Covid 19 on the supplies of the raw material and respond to it quickly. The current situation may lead to direct cost escalation for your product so you need to study the impact on your product price and product cost.

Supply Chain of Product:
You may need to consider another supply chain option. In case the raw material or the product is imported from area which is highly impacted by the pandemic or your supplier is not able to supply the product, look for the alternative option. Suppose the essentials of the product you sell in India are imported from another country and the country still has lockdown or supplier is not able to supply due to any restrictions, consider another supplier for the product. You can also refer to any import-export business consultant for the same.

Short Term Liquidity:
Always maintain the short term cash flow for the business. Try to predict the cash flow pressure in the near future. Maintain strict discipline for the working capital, collecting receivables and maintaining inventory.

Stay In Contact:
Communication is the most important aspect in any plan. You need to have clear and transparent communication with your employees, suppliers, customers, creditors and investors.

Written by
gkkedia