Paper Technology International 2020 - Journal - Page 89

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
Accelerated Digitalization?
Corresponding to the previously listed countermeasures that have
been taken, the vast majority of respondents agree that COVID-19
has helped to accelerate Digitalization. In the 2021 survey,
agreement to the question slightly declined to 83%.
Figure 9: Identification of projects with real value
Almost 80% of PPP participants expect that recovery from the
current crisis will take at least 9 months or longer. In comparison,
only 34% of other sectors believe that recovery will take >9 months.
Not one single respondent from the PPP sector believes in a
recovery shorter than 3 months.
Figure 8: Accelerated digitalization
However, accelerated Digitalization mostly refers to remote
working infrastructure and technologies as well as remote support
solutions. 61% of participants agree that the current crisis has
helped to identify Digital projects with real value. A similar value
was confirmed in the 2021 survey (63%). This suggests a major
progress but also that significant Digitalization potential still needs to
be tapped.
Long road of recovery ahead?
Overall, survey participants from the PPP sector are more
pessimistic about the pace of recovery compared to other sectors.
Figure 10: Expected duration of recovery
CONCLUSION
The overall impact of COVID-19 has been hard on the Pulp, Paper & Packaging sector, with industry decision makers describing it
as severe in the way it affects their businesses.
For the most part, the industry was not ready for the crisis, and the majority of respondents state that their companies could not
have been better prepared for it. Countermeasures taken by businesses in the PPP sector to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 were
positively perceived as correct decisions. However, it seems there is room for improvement, as more than 40% of respondents
indicate that their company was not successful in mitigating the financial / business impact.
The crisis was an imposed learning opportunity for companies to improve their resilience against unforeseen events. Most survey
respondents feel that their companies are now better prepared for future challenges to come.
Digitalization has a lot of potential that still has to be addressed when it comes to the real value of digital projects. Yet, there is a
perception of acceleration of Digitalization due to COVID-19.
Recovery in the PPP sector was expected to take longer than nine months. Until today, the impacts of COVID-19 are clearly
noticeable and visible, and the COVID-19 recession in many sectors went straight into a shortage of supply or supply chain
bottlenecks when demand picked up again.
It remains uncertain how the post-COVID business world will look like, but it is likely that the “new normal” will be different
compared to pre-COVID times.
Consequently, it is time to review business models and supply chains including planning processes regarding their exposure and
resilience. The implementation of adjustments to take an optimal position in the “new normal” and to increase resilience remain
opportunities to be captured.
About StepChange Consulting
StepChange is an industry focused and independent management consulting company with a
proven track record in supporting clients to achieve sustainable value. StepChange provides
support to top tier organizations in the industry from strategy development to implementation of
operational improvements.
With an international team of industry experts StepChange can hit the ground running.
StepChange provides innovative and yet pragmatic solutions, placing an emphasis on delivering
measurable business results.
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