Paper Technology International 2020 - Journal - Page 87

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
COVID-19: Were you prepared? Would you be now? Survey summary on how companies reacted to challenges due to COVID-19
Ralf Möbus, StepChange Consulting
INTRODUCTION:
Industry feels better prepared for future outbreaks now - High approval to industry’s countermeasures - Productivity unaffected
for two thirds of industry players - Digitalization accelerated by the crisis - Long road to recovery expected
StepChange Consulting conducted a survey among industry decision makers and LinkedIn followers about the resilience of their
companies to COVID-19 impacts. The survey was conducted during June and July 2020, at a point in time when restrictions in Europe
have been loosening. A further survey was conducted in the 2nd quarter of 2021 to validate and update the digitalization results.Survey
participants were asked to share their views on how their companies reacted to challenges imposed by COVID-19. The following summary
provides an overview and in-sights into the survey results.
Paper, Highlights of the study
•
Most of the companies were severely affected by the
overall impact of COVID-19
•
Only 36% of industry participants think that their
company could have been better prepared
•
The majority believes they have handled the crisis well
so far, and the right countermeasures have been taken
•
COVID-19 significantly accelerated digitalization efforts,
with a focus on remote working infrastructure
Almost 80% of industry participants expect that
recovery will take longer than 9 months
Demographics
Top managers and industry decision makers participated in
the survey representing a wide spectrum of the industry. Participants
included suppliers, producers, converters, distributors, printers &
publishers, and service providers from the financial industry and
professional services. 51% of the survey respondents are from the
paper or paperboard sector, 8% from the pulp sector and another
8% from the wood products sector. Results from paper, paperboard
& pulp manufacturing, forest & wood products industry, converting
industry and printing & publishing have been grouped to “Pulp,
Paper, Packaging” (PPP). This grouping covers 72% of survey
participants and allows for an industry specific focus on results.
How were companies impacted?
The Pulp, Paper and Packaging sector has been hit hard by
the current crisis. More than two thirds (71%) of respondents from
the PPP sector state their companies were severely affected.
•
Figure 2: Overall impact
On the other hand, respondents state that the productivity
of the PPP sector was less impacted compared to others (Figure
3) Only 39% of participants from the PPP sector state that their
company’s productivity has been impacted severely by COVID-19,
whereas 69% of other sectors state severe impacts on their
productivity.
Figure 3: Productivity impact
Figure 1: Survey demographics
How were companies prepared?
Roughly two thirds of respondents from the PPP industry
state that their companies could not have been better prepared for
the effects of COVID-19.
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