How has the crisis affected your market?
Although it is too early to have a complete picture of the impact of this crisis, initial outcomes are certainly negative in terms of turnover. To react quickly and be prepared for what has been defined as the new, post-crisis normal, customers have to overcome two main challenges.
The first is the need to accelerate their digital transformation. Limited mobility, the need to think of new ways to communicate and the continually growing presence of ecommerce requires them to keep pace with these trends in order to maintain a high level of market competitiveness.
The second is a total rethinking of their supply chain. Today many customers are considering nearshoring as a way to respond to the needs of more agile production, oriented to customers’ personalization needs with the aim of better stock management.
Are we going to restart as quickly as possible or do you think we will be able to rethink the world tomorrow?
I think that we have no other option than to restart as soon as possible; otherwise, we will be facing a worldwide crisis that could be devastating for the global economy. However, we need to keep in mind that people’s health must be the priority and that we must respect the new rules.
It is unavoidable that the post-crisis world will be different. However, that new world is the evolution of the world today. It is only by understanding what we are facing that we will be able to rebuild on a solid, sustainable foundation for the future. It is extremely important that the world restarts at the same time and provides the momentum to the global economy that is necessary to sustain our new normal.
What has the crisis changed for you or what have you learned personally?
Personally, I was not prepared for how drastically I would have to change my habits. Not working everyday with my colleagues, not having the possibility to meet anyone, being confined at home and so on. This made me think of how fragile human beings are, because a simple virus can compromise an entire economic system even more than a war and how this can destroy the everyday lives of millions of people. I learnt to appreciate those things I took for granted before the lockdown. We need to ensure that everyone respects the rules so that sustainability becomes a priority and we can protect the fantastic world we have.
