If you are a manufacturer, big or small, and you have managed to stay afloat even at the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns, congratulations – you may have just learned your most valuable business lesson.
But the education is not over.
During the past two and a half years, the coronavirus has made people do things differently when it comes to all aspects of their lives – working, studying, shopping, doing errands, even entertaining themselves. Digital tools, nice to have before the pandemic, suddenly became necessary and essential.
For companies engaged in manufacturing, there was a more urgent demand to use modern technology to keep going. Companies that were able to use technology to sustain their operations while also rethinking their models and practices proved to be the ones able to withstand the challenges posed by the pandemic.
If there was ever any reason not to be in the cloud, the pandemic-induced lockdown effectively countered that reason.
As the Philippines and the rest of the world move to reopen economies and try to exist during the new normal, manufacturers have to be ready to be flexible in their operations. Nothing is cast in stone anymore – they would need to be able to adjust production plans and processes. Their workflows will need to be tweaked. Data on hand should be in real time, at all times. They should be open to tasks being done remotely when the situation calls for it, and as long as the quality of output is not compromised.
All these can only be provided for by an ERP solution specific to manufacturing, given the industry’s unique needs – including flexibility and resilience. Especially flexibility and resilience.
So if you are a manufacturing company that has made it this far and that has survived the first two years of the pandemic, good for you. The challenge is to do more than survive but to thrive and grow in an environment of uncertainty and constant change. Only cloud technology will assure you of viability in the long run, because this is the only solution that allows you to bend – even twist – with the times.