Whatever else is going on in the world, people still need to buy certain things. For example, medical supplies are in high demand. People are doing their best to keep their everyday lives running as well. That means that even if your shop makes things that aren’t in high demand, there’s probably still a need for them. That need might have even grown. Since international shipping has become more complicated, you may find local partners reaching out to fill orders they can’t get another way. This means your shop may actually be busier now than it has been. If you’re able to keep your shop open, you may have a ton of orders to fill.
Manufacturing in China was effectively shut down by the coronavirus. Now, some manufacturers are ramping back up in China, however, it’s still difficult to get products from China out to other countries. This means that your shop and other local manufacturers should be prepared to handle more orders than usual.
You know how to prepare for busy times. Make sure your machines are running well, that your employees know what’s coming, and that your inventory counts are up-to-date. Have you considered what’s holding all of these things together? If your shop is using spreadsheets and pieces of paper to track jobs and guesses to give quotes and estimates that might not be enough if your shop gets slammed.
When the recession of 2008 happened, shops that stayed open found themselves filling their regular orders as well as orders from shops that had closed. Now some local manufacturers are in a similar predicament and are suddenly getting much more work. In order to keep all of the jobs flowing smoothly, it’s smart to have an intuitive ERP system in place.
Does your shop have a software system? Does it work well for your shop? Is it on the cloud? Having an ERP system on the cloud makes it easy for office employees to work from home, and it automatically backs up all of your data. If you don’t have an ERP system that improves your shop, this is the time to consider changing it. One way or another, production is still largely necessary. Do your best to ensure your shop can help.
