How the Pandemic is Changing the Business Environment

 

This year has been an interesting one, to say the least, for many companies. In addition to permanently reshaping the business environment, the coronavirus pandemic has transformed how executives approach their supply chain philosophy as well. The most interesting aspect, however, is how companies large and small have adapted to the pandemic and changing customer needs in their own way.

In the first of this two-episode series from Calvary TV, host Joe Gemma meets with Christoph Schell, the Chief Commercial Officer at HP Inc., to discuss supply chain disruptions, the birth of a new kind of consumer, and more. As the company’s CCO, he is accountable for all of HP’s sales, revenue, and margin generation. Schell also brings a global point of view to this topic, as the head of an international team that plays a huge part in global markets. As the coronavirus made its way around the world, Schell realized that many manufacturing companies had made a huge oversight. For years they had been trying to optimize their supply chains for cost and speed, but never had they thought to do so for resiliency.

The HP executive also observed the rise of a new customer segment, one that he named the “pro-sumer.” Schell noted that the way you consume entertainment impacts how you consume technology in your professional life — especially today that so many people are working from home. In fact, he saw that many people began to use HP’s digital printers to 3D print pandemic-related gear such as elbow openers and face shields very early on. “Digital manufacturing will not be able to replace analog manufacturing 100%,” stated Schell. “But I think that the current system of the two is where we’re headed. Digital manufacturing is really accelerating because the entire value chain understood what is possible, how flexible it is, how agile it is, and how you can overcome hurdles with it.”

Join Joe Gemma as he explores how different companies like HP address changes in the robotics and automation industry.

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