At the time of writing, Long Island has just experienced its first case of coronavirus. Still, even before appearing in patients, the virus has been affecting businesses in the Long Island area. As the virus continues to spread, the effects are likely to become worse. Is your business ready for a coronavirus? Here is a look at some of the elements you may need to consider.
Many manufacturers and retailers in Long Island rely on Chinese factories to supply products and components, but unfortunately, factories throughout the country have been quarantined or had to halt production due to lack of workers. As a result, many products are just sitting in China, unable to be shipped to the United States, and other products are not even being manufactured.
These issues are also affecting other businesses in the supply chain, including truckers, shipping companies, and distribution centers. Eventually, the effects will be felt both by businesses, directly and indirectly, involved with Chinese suppliers.
At the same time, the tourism industry is starting to suffer, as people cancel travel plans. Chinese-American business owners are also feeling a crunch — in particular, Chinese restaurants in the area have experienced a 40 to 70% drop in sales.
To deal with the supply chain issue, many companies are pushing back deadlines and looking for domestically made products, but in many cases, they are simply missing out on business opportunities and watching their bottom lines suffer.
If your business has not been affected by the coronavirus yet, you need to be aware that this deadly virus may impact your business at some point. For example, Long Island companies who work with Chinese suppliers have been told to call ahead when ordering to make sure the factory can handle their orders. Whether you've received similar warnings from your suppliers or not, you need to be prepared for potential issues.
Take time to think of how the coronavirus may affect your business. Do you anticipate supply chain issues? Worried about declining tourism? Need to prepare for the potential of declining sales as this virus wreaks havoc on the world economy? Or maybe you're simply worried about the virus spreading through your employees.
Once you've identified your primary concerns, develop a plan to address those issues. For example, find local suppliers, and to make up for the cost difference, consider adjusting your prices or focusing on products with the best profit margins. Don't just think about products or components made in China. If Chinese tech companies provide your cybersecurity or other software needs, you may want to explore alternatives. If these companies lose staff members, they may not be able to provide you with the updates and support you need.
To address the potential of declining sales, you should take steps to recession-proof your business. This may include cutting costs, decreasing your invoicing times, or increasing the value of your products or services to stay competitive. To protect your workforce, you may want to encourage workers to telecommute. Businesses throughout Seattle, which has been walloped by the virus, have already taken this step.
Whether you're crunching numbers to assess the profitability of supply chain changes, creating a secure tech environment for a mobile workforce, trying to improve your website's uptime to stay competitive in a rough economy, or taking a wide range of other steps, you need the right tech services. Managed IT services can help your business prepare for the coronavirus and all kinds of other issues.
By outsourcing your tech needs, you help to keep costs low, while simultaneously improving security and increasing uptime of websites and internal applications. To learn more about how managed IT services can help your business thrive through good and bad times, contact us at LI Tech Advisors today.
Anthony has been in the MSP business since before the acronym existed. Managed IT once started as break-fix solutions and some light phone support.
Since then, he has seen the industry flourish into a landscape of platforms, cloud servers, software tools and AI . Tailoring network configurations and software stacks to the specific needs of each business.
In his current role, he focuses on proactive planning, ensuring clients can avoid potential issues altogether. This involves meticulous planning for enhanced business continuity, allowing swift resolution of any unforeseen challenges. What initially began as addressing "fires" through break-fix solutions has evolved into a proactive approach, ensuring that such issues are prevented from arising in the first place.
