In March 2020, the Enhanced Community Quarantine encompassed Metro Manila and neighboring cities, then expanded. Many companies were unable to operate despite good products. The constraints many businesses face below tell us many businesses did not have system thinking in place when designing their business.
- Those limited to existing customers had to fight with competition to retain declining numbers: a target market issue.
- Those with non-essential products were not allowed to operate: a product or service issue.
- Those who were not ready for ecommerce and digital transactions suffered in revenues and profit even if they were allowed to operate: a channel issue.
- Those who operated did not change their communication and brand messaging to adjust to consumers’ higher need for certainty,: a brand positioning and customer retention issue.
- Those relying on traditional fixed revenues were disrupted: a revenue model issue.
- Those who relied on a single source, low-cost supply chain and had no business continuity plan ended up with inadequate inventories. Either their supplier was not able to ship or the shipment got stuck in the port: a value chain issue
- Those who were slow to adapt did not have agile processes in place to help them have a business model pivot: a process issue.
- Those allowed to manufacture and had enough supply of raw materials did not have adequate labor since many live far from their plants: a human resource asset issue
- Those who did not have strategic alliance with suppliers or internal competencies were forced to pay a higher cost to digitize their operations, competing with almost every business catching up with digitalization: a complementor issue
- Those whose businesses were not able to operate did not launch another product or business to be ready with dual transformation when lockdown will be lifted: a reconfiguration issue.
- Those who felt helpless and hopeless simply cut expenditures without resorting to helping their employees survive through market development: a cost issue.
The above are eleven mistakes in business model decoded last year during the pandemic. It is based on the eleven building blocks of the Mansmith Business Model Map. A template, with definition of terms, is available for download, with video case examples, as a public service at the Continuum Academy website (www.continuum-edu.com).
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(Josiah Go is Chairman and Chief Innovation Strategist of Mansmith and Fielders Inc. He will be conducting his 5th run of Business Model Design and Innovation: Version 2.0 on August 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31, 2:00PM – 4:30PM. Please email info@continuum-edu.com for inquiries.Â
