With COVID-19 evolving at an unheralded speed and scale, industrial manufacturers have suffered immensely and are grappling with multiple issues at manufacturing facilities and capabilities as well as supply chain operations that have been obstructed as their vendors face similar issues.

With GDP projections of major world economies in the fall, industrial equipment manufacturers were already bracing for a less than ideal year, and the current crisis has made their resilience even stronger as the sector has taken many bold decisions which are enumerated below:

• Operational efficiency:

Bold steps to maintain functional and output integrity while taking care of workforce by planning for the resumption of operations with new methods of ramping up production with a shorter turnaround time.

• Workforce:

Laying off workforce in this critical phase of operations will cause more harm as this industry is dependent on skilled / semi-skilled labour. The major players in the industry will be better served to retain its workers, by applying alternate methods like lesser pay to tide through these tough times which will also earn the loyalty of its staff.

• Business channels:

With a focus on the needs of customers and clients down the chain, industrial manufacturers must upgrade facilities with latest tech for maximal output with optimal implementation of IT, IIoT infrastructure and best practices as those companies which come out of this crisis fully geared will eventually take the largest slice of the pie.

• Finance:

With companies dependent on cash reserves, in some cases, while others on bailouts from local governments, it is important to optimise current holdings, reassess investments & divest non-critical ventures and retain critical operational assets.