Together with other industry experts, Globally Cool was part of an editorial team focused on COVID-19 studies for CBI. Many sectors are majorly affected and struggling to get on their feet. By providing step-by-step guides, we helped enterprises to act on the new normal.

During these pressing times, it’s important to stay informed. We summarized the key outcomes of the coronavirus studies below.

Tourism sector

• Renegotiate everything
• Manage cash brutally
• Only keep key staff:
• Revise your Terms & Conditions – cancellation policy
• Secure any government-backed loan or grant possible
• Cut back on marketing costs

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the tourism sector’ on the CBI website.

Coffee sector

• Keep your farmers and workers healthy
• Manage your risk on receivables and inventory
• Offer various preparations and finalize certifications
• Make sure you have sufficient working capital
• Increase your quality control
• Be even more client-oriented
• Innovate your trade offer
• Increase the spread of your clients
• Improve your digital marketing
• Send samples
• Diversify the income of your company and farmers
• Improve your country’s or region’s marketing

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the coffee sector’ on the CBI website.

Grains pules and oilseeds sector

• The effect of COVID-19 on the grains, pulses and oilseeds sector
• Assess the situation and decide your immediate response
• Secure the critical processes
• Create safe working environments
• Make sure your products are safe from COVID-19
• Reach out to your buyers and suppliers and adapt to the situation
• Stay in touch with other vital relations
• Decide on the form and scope of your strategic planning
• Improve your communication with customers and prospects
• Adapt your sales and marketing approach
• Take responsibility for your staff, workers and external partners
• Adapt your products and services to the new normal
• Adapt your working methods to the new normal

Read the whole article at CBI: https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/grains-pulses-oilseeds/how-respond-covid-19-grains-pulses-oilseeds-sector

Spices and herbs sector

• Take care of your staff
• Assess supply chain risks
• Take care of farmers and their workers
• Deepen relationships with customers
• Stay informed and be prepared
• Improve your sustainability
• Diversify supply and intensify farmer relationships
• Look for added value
• Make marketing more effective
• Prepare for other major supply chain disruptions: climate change

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the spices and herbs sector’ on the CBI website.

Fresh fruit and vegetable sector

• Focus on cash flow
• Communicate with all your stakeholders
• Stay informed
• Tackle logistics
• Keep everybody safe
• Show initiative and develop new ideas
• Address overdue work
• Go online and digitalize
• Think about scenarios
• Regional and local customers
• Diversify your crop

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the fruit and vegetable sector’ on the CBI website.

Natural ingredients for health products sector

• Assess the impact of COVID-19 on your supply chain
• Keep communication channels open with all your stakeholders
• Implement health and safety measures in your company
• Control your costs and keep reserves for commercial opportunities
• Learn, train and make sure you do your homework
• Contribute to collectivism – every company is a health company
• Adjust your product range to the post-COVID-19 consumer
• Innovate, now more than ever
• Prepare for tougher market conditions
• Transform into digital
• Adapt to the new normal – be more sustainable and transparent

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the natural ingredients for health products sector’ on the CBI website.

Cacao sector

• Keep your farmers and workers healthy
• Increase your quality control
• Start working on long-term contracts
• Make sure you have sufficient working capital
• Improve your marketing
• Be even more client-oriented
• Make sustainability an integral part of your company
• Innovate – diversify your offer
• Invest in taking control of more of the supply chain
• Understand international market prices better
• Diversify the income of your company and farmers
• Improve your country’s or region’s marketing

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the cacao sector’ on the CBI website.

Fish and seafood sector

• Stay calm, sit down, and think
• Talk to your employees
• Secure pending deliveries
• Secure pending cash receivables
• Minimize your expenditures
• Make a cash flow statement
• Have a meeting with customers
• Reduce costs if necessary
• Check local financial support
• Revise your Export Marketing Plan and customer base
• Visit your customers in person
• Improve your Customer Relationship Management and certifications

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the fish and seafood sector’ on the CBI website.

Apparel sector

• Minimize costs and secure your cashflow
• Ensure safe working conditions and protect your workers
• Use governmental support where possible
• Develop your online sales and presence
• Produce certified face masks for key workers
• Create a collective and share
• Negotiate favorable terms for running/canceled production
• Use stock to service the local and export market
• Innovate and develop new ideas or collections
• Embrace the new reality
• Communicate via social media
• Focus on sustainability
• Look into the production of community masks
• Change from mass production to made-to-measure

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the apparel sector’ on the CBI website.

Natural ingredients for the cosmetics sector

• Be a good leader
• Communicate with customers
• Manage financial and human resources
• Communicate with staff
• Communicate with suppliers
• Stay informed on the local and global situation
• Identify new customers for the same products
• Consider new product development for existing and new customers
• Get ready for the virtual world
• Enhance your Corporate Social Responsibility profile
• Provide staff training and development

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the natural ingredients for the cosmetics sector’ on the CBI website.

IT and business process outsourcing sector

• Make a COVID-19 Crisis Plan for various scenarios
• Prepare scenarios
• Minimize your costs
• Secure cash flow into the company
• Do your research
• Take Health and Safety measures
• Communicate with your customers, staff, mentors and other stakeholders
• Implement your Crisis Plan
• Update your Business Plan and Export Marketing Plan
• Apply for certification
• Train your staff
• Perform market research
• Look at new options

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the IT and business process outsourcing seafood sector’ on the CBI website.

Processed fruit, vegetables, and edible nuts sector

• Make the workplace COVID-19 Health & Safety compliant
• Increase social distancing
• Create a crisis team and a communication plan
• Keep staff informed
• Focus on costs and cash
• Develop alternative outbound logistics
• Prepare to diversify suppliers and increase stocks
• Develop products for at-home consumption
• Plan for a recession
• Prepare for pressure on your prices
• Increase productivity and efficiency
• Develop alternative markets and sales channels

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the processed fruit, vegetables, and edible nuts sector’ on the CBI website.

Home decoration and home textiles sector

• Protect your business as a whole and keep it alive
• ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff as much as possible.
• Get in touch with your buyers
• Look at your cash flow
• Reboot your company and start preparing for the next phase
• Focus on essentials
• Resume production
• Reinvent and retool your business for the new reality
• Determine your position
• Move your promotion online
• Be connected

Read the whole article ‘How to respond to COVID-19 in the home decoration and home textiles sector’ on the CBI website.