This past week, Simplus hosted a webinar in partnership with Salesforce and Saint-Gobain for manufacturers addressing business challenges in the face of COVID-19. The webinar featured Tom Lovell (Simplus Industry Lead), Michael Janney (Salesforce Manufacturing Solution Leader), and Chris McDonald (Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Director of Business Systems), who answered commonly asked questions and held a fireside chat about the items manufacturing needs to address as this crisis continues to unfold. Check out some of the highlights below or view the full webinar recording here!

How are manufacturers addressing COVID-19 in their communication strategy?

“We have had a crisis management team. … The goal of the team is to really manage the whole situation. And it really does start with communication. And so for us our strategy is to create a very simple but very consistent message that we send out to our people on a periodic basis. … It’s a nice, comprehensive package, it’s constantly updated, and it’s focused on personal safety for our employees and our customers.” —Chris McDonald

What are the biggest interruptions to manufacturing due to COVID-19?

According to a NAM Special Survey conducted from February 28 to March 9, 2020, these are the top three areas of concern for manufacturers:

• 78.3% Financial Impact
• 53.1% Change in Operations
• 35.5% Supply Chain Disruptions

“We’re definitely going to see an operational change in how we do business. And I think remote or digital is an area where we’re going to see this anticipated change across the board in manufacturing.” —Michael Janney

How is COVID-19 impacting supply chains?

“We’re finding that there’s a lot more collaboration, a lot more openness and transparency. Because everybody is recognizing that we have to help each other if we’re going to maintain these supply chains. … The sooner we can let people know that there’s a need or we have an issue, the sooner other people can react. So in a way it’s really strengthened the relationship that we have. Even though there’s a strain and a concern, it’s strengthening, too, because we’re working together.” —Chris McDonald

How are manufacturers addressing cost unpredictability due to sourcing issues?

“Most manufacturers have made their buying plans and strategies and put them into effect long before this has taken place … So there’s a thought that we plan for this and hopefully we’re insulated from cost, but there’s always going to be unaccounted for sourcing needs. So I think it’s keeping a very, very close eye on your targets, your forecasts, and your actuals …  It’s very timely with Salesforce that there’s been an actual cloud launch to help with this, Manufacturing Cloud. And I think it just stresses the need for being able to keep a keen eye on what you’ve planned for, what your business is doing to account for that plan, and what is actually coming in.” —Tom Lovell

For more information on technology that can future-proof your manufacturing business, view the entire webinar or learn more on our manufacturing industry page.