As we’ve seen over the past few months, COVID19 has greatly impacted the social fabric of the entire world – from political, economical and even to a more micro sense, one’s way of life. One particular aspect that has gotten a significant blow from the global pandemic has to be the economy, due to the measures implemented in hopes to curtail the spread. Non-essential businesses have to cease physical operations until further notice and this has a detrimental effect on a company’s bottom line and in the worst-case scenario, have pushed the end of several businesses.
Before you can move forward and take on the challenge on picking up where you left of, you will first need to understand how the world has changed during, and possibly even after, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Here are just a few of the changes that are expected to come about once this crisis has blown over.
The Economy Has Less Precedence In Politics
The consensus has been the belief that economic principles and policies have a tight grasp on political decisions. That has been the case, till now. Most countries have decided to implement containment measures without caring for the economic repercussions of having a frozen economy. Nations across the world have taken a primary concern in saving lives over potential economic growth. Policies have been implemented to protect healthcare whilst simultaneously attempt to improve wage security and income distribution with financial relief and tax relief.
As such, your business’s trajectory will depend largely on your government’s policies. After all, your business prospects will depend on the government’s decisions. Take into consideration of the sectors that will be having greater emphasis and those that will be adversely affected, before moving forward.
Time To Review Globalisation
If we have to come down to one thing that the global pandemic has successfully unravelled is the fragility of globalisation trade model. Not even touching how politics have affected trade – United States-China trade is a clear example – supply chains have been heavily disrupted as countries try to monitor and limit the ins-and-outs on their borders.
This spells trouble for Singapore whose trade is an indispensable factor in its economy. As a small country that has little to no resources, the marked reduction in air cargo from other countries has been crimping supply chains. Even labour flow has been impacted, with 30,000 Chinese nationals placed under quarantine and unable to get back to their jobs in Singapore.
Thus, as a business, you may need to decouple and diversification in your business model. Despite having an office for rent set up here, you may need to consider moving your operations to new locations – be it in Southeast Asia or beyond. This may be beneficial, especially now with the threat of rising tariffs and export controls.
Emphasis For Technology
As touched previously, Singapore is a small country that lacks natural resources and whose domestic market is tiny compared to its neighbours. As such, automation and robotisation have always been in the talks but due to the global pandemic, we might realise this future sooner than we’d think.
Furthermore, now with the circuit breakers, many individuals and businesses have gotten creative by coming up with ways to hold onto a semblance of normalcy – by moving everything online. Even during the pandemic, consumer behaviour has changed drastically to favour convenient technology-driven businesses, and it might stay even when the curve has flattened.
Moving forward, you may want to look into investing in automation and robotisation, depending on how the market changes.
These are just a few changes that are speculated to happen in the next few months. You may want to review your business model to decide on the trajectory you wish your business to head towards, especially with all the considerations above.
To help you with your business needs, we have launched virtual office services to allow you to maintain business operations as you work remotely. This includes distinguished business address and access to meeting rooms and conference facilities once the circuit breaker measures have relaxed. On top of that, we are currently offering free rent for 1 month and 2 months, should you sign up for 6 months or 12 months respectively. At Greenhub Singapore, we strive to bring you convenience and productivity as you manage your business operations.