by Freedonia Industry Studies
June 5, 2020
It’s important to keep in mind that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will not just be on the demand side (e.g., what do people want? what can they afford?) of global markets. Additionally, the effect of the pandemic on the supply side of industries will not be limited to supply chains.
Companies are widely rethinking what they should be doing – what services to provide and what products to make – and what they don't need to be doing. These decisions are being made both by choice and by circumstance, but many businesses will emerge from the crisis following different structures and models than the ones they relied on before.
For instance, General Motors’ CEO Mary Barra noted recently that the company is carefully going through each line item of expenses and seeking greater efficiency in process. She noted that GM might permanently reduce the number of vehicle platforms and reduce their complexity, with an eye toward keeping only the versions that customers want most.
For more information and discussion of opportunities, see The Freedonia Group’s extensive collection of off-the-shelf research, including an expanding catalog of COVID-19 Economic Impact reports, which highlight how various industries are responding to the current crisis with a comparison to recent recessions. Freedonia Custom Research is also available for questions requiring tailored market intelligence.