Companies look in new directions to weather cost of living crisis
Photo by nappy
There’s no avoiding the cost of living crisis lately. Prices are going up, up, up, and with no end in sight, companies have to find new ways to ensure they can make it through the economically uncertain period relatively unscathed. For many companies, this will be the second time they’ve faced such challenges, having only recently emerged from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, they have to look at new ways to overcome the issues associated with the UK’s cost of living crisis. Many businesses have already begun the process of shifting their operations, using some of the methods outlined below.
Restricting products
The cost of living crisis has put significant stress on the supply chain. Raw materials are more expensive, shipping times longer, and to top it all off, consumers are now buying less. That means that products that are making it through are not always being sold. The response from some companies has been to streamline their offerings. Rather than selling everything that they would usually sell, businesses are offering fewer products to their customers. This helps to make navigating the cost of living crisis easier and also refines business operations.
Improving quality in affordable ways
The cost of living crisis does not provide an excuse for businesses to compromise on their quality. The opposite is true: companies need to ensure their products stand out from the crowd because fewer customers mean greater competition. As a result, many businesses are looking for ways to improve the quality of their products in affordable ways. For example, rather than compromising quality, companies in the manufacturing process are using masterbatches from Abbey Masterbatch, which allows the company to make a quality product in a more affordable way. The cost of living crisis is essentially forcing companies to look for new, more affordable solutions to pre-existing issues.
Rethinking energy
There has already been a big shift towards remote work following the coronavirus pandemic. The cost of living has furthered companies’ commitment to this model of working. Having adjusted to a hybrid workplace (some days at home, some in the office), companies are now pushing for a fully-remote workplace, at least temporarily. The reason? Energy. It costs a lot of money to provide an office with energy, and many businesses are finding that it makes more sense to have their employees working at home.
Pausing growth plans
The end of the coronavirus pandemic gave companies new hope for the future. And many of them made long-term growth plans based on the assumption that things would soon return to normal. However, the cost of living crisis has caused many businesses to pause their plans. Early this year, a poll showed that 40% of UK small businesses were planning to add six new employees. Now, they’re holding back on those plans, and it’s largely because the money used to hire a new employee would be better spent in other places or simply kept in the back. It’s expected that companies will begin hiring again when the crisis is over.
