THE Covid-19 pandemic is forcing changes in our lives — how we consume, learn, work, socialise and communicate. With confirmed cases at some 1.5 million globally and more countries in lockdown mode, the metamorphosis is disconcerting.
The global economy is slowly contracting, world supply chains have been disrupted and productivity is declining. To borrow a phrase, the pandemic is “upending life as we know it”. This is the grim reality that Covid-19 has presented us with.
The world population is now adjusting to the new normal, Malaysia included. One may ask, what is the new normal? Dining out, family gatherings, foreign travel, sports events, major conferences and seminars are a no-no.
It’s staying at home, practising social distancing, going digital and venturing into e-business or e-commerce — those are the new normal. Work from home, once the privilege of a few, is also being vastly encouraged by most companies as business must “continue as usual” or the absence of activities due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) could result in great losses.
There’s less personal contact or face-to-face interaction. Uncannily, despite the barriers, we are more connected than ever. Sociologists say that if we work remotely more often, then the community or home where we work from becomes more important.
Since the MCO too, Malaysian businesses have converged on the online marketplace, where off-the-shelf products are available and shoppers can shop to their hearts’ content. From the retrenched, food traders and hawkers to the c-suite executives and their subordinates, everyone is innovating to see through this pandemic.
Take the traders at “pasar pagi” or “basah” or the conventional wet market — they are now taking phone orders and have employed runners to deliver the goods. Supermarket and hypermarket operators and sundry shops are also allowing customers to shop for groceries online, and Grab, the e-hailing service, delivers them.
That the pandemic is reshaping how businesses are operating is moot. Rules have changed and businesses have to conform to survive or go under. They need to play the game better or play a different game. With the government banning Ramadan bazaars in many areas, traders should seriously start innovating how they want to sell their food and wares online. Perhaps, a drive-through bazaar, much like fast-food McDonald’s Drive-Thru? Undoubtedly, it would be a whole new experience for Ramadan shoppers.
This Leader urges business owners to rethink their business models. Naturally, navigating new ways of business operations is daunting and risky, especially for small-time operators, but this change is happening globally. We either ride the wave or sink. The world is changing and so must we.
Companies, too, must think along the same lines. They must consider going “virtual” instead of forcing their staff to physically punch into the office every day.
Change requires tough decisions. With the anticipation of a further extension to the MCO, there is no guarantee that things will return to the previous normal.