12/07/2021

How Businesses Can Thrive Despite Operational Challenges

Being the architect of the new operations agenda

After the historic disruptions of 2020 and 2021, the [future] exit from the COVID-19 pandemic is raising a host of critical operational questions. A rapid but bumpy recovery is putting short-term pressure on sales and margins, while urgent action is needed to stay ahead of longer-term disruptive change. This complex and uncertain environment presents heightened risks, but it is also creating spaces in many industries, opening opportunities for innovation and growth. Companies that can adapt faster and execute more efficiently than their competitors are set to reap benefits in both the short and long terms.

Following months of lockdowns and restrictions, economic activity is only slowly beginning to recover in some sectors. In others, skyrocketing demand has created significant supply-side challenges. Carmakers, for example, have been forced to temporarily shut down plants and cut production by up to 40 percent because of shortages of critical components, especially semiconductors.

Companies are struggling to find workers, too. The U.S. job-opening rate is around 50 percent higher than before the pandemic, while around four million people have left the civilian workforce. Shortages are particularly acute in key operational sectors, including truck drivers and frontline manufacturing or warehouse personnel.

Please select this link to read the complete article from McKinsey & Company.