How has your company adapted to the ongoing pandemic? From big to small the pandemic accelerated technology adoption of many digital tools by every company on Earth, those that haven’t have either struggled to do business or seen their business disappear.
Adaptability is a skill very few have, but one that all businesses have feen forced to develop in this ongoing pandemic. At the border between Tijuana and San Diego, businesses have been forced to change. Only U.S. citizens are able to cross to the border, all other people haven’t crossed the border since the end of March last year. Many non-U.S. citizens do some kind of business in San Diego, and not being able to cross has forced to change how they do business, and have struggled to keep their business afloat in this new reality; even working remotely.
For example, a client of mine in San Diego outsourced the development of an ERP application to a team in Tijuana. The system has been under development for over a year, and hasn’t been implemented. Many activities are dependent on this ERP being active, but their provider has dropped the ball with implementation and my client is stuck.
This has affected the progress of my engagement with my client. And last week I heard the whole story while in a meeting with my client. Supposedly, all that is left is for the system to be implemented in their existing processes. This means a person has to come to the office for a whole week and train the people in how to use the system in their day to day jobs.
But the project is stuck because the point man for this development is unable to cross the border, nor anyone else on their team. This situation has created frustration within the company, precisely because many activities are dependent on this system being active.
And while the provider has provided some training material in the form of videos and a PDF; it is not optimal. I suggested some ideas on how to move forward, my client called his provider to put those ideas on the table and came to an accord.
Adapt or die
When they finished the call, my message to my client is that as a service provider you have to adapt to conditions. You just can’t say, “oh I can’t cross the border and I’m frustrated”, and sit on your butt. You have to be aware that conditions have changed and you have to anticipate how those conditions will not only affect your business but also your client’s business.
You have to adapt and figure out how to deal with the challenges to move forward. The client shouldn’t have to call you to suggest ideas on how to move forward; that’s on you as a service provider.
Bottom line: Whether you’re a B2B or B2C provider, you have to adapt to the new normal. Expectations change, and so does how you deliver value. Reality doesn’t give 2 cents how you feel; you have to figure it out or risk being left behind.