{"id":142201,"date":"2021-04-09T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T08:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/?p=142201"},"modified":"2021-04-07T09:09:44","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T09:09:44","slug":"the-co-existence-of-challenge-and-opportunity-for-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.sap.com\/africa\/2021\/04\/the-co-existence-of-challenge-and-opportunity-for-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"The Co-Existence of Challenge and Opportunity for Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dealing with the\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>\u00a0pandemic has been, above all, about people. From all the people working in the healthcare sector, who have willingly put themselves in harm\u2019s way, to the people who have kept essential services running, we owe them all a tremendous thanks \u2013 today more than ever.<\/h2>\n

Additionally, the pandemic has hit companies, forcing them to respond to, cope with, and look beyond the crisis. Together with our customers and partners, we can shape the next normal.<\/p>\n

At 麻豆原创, we understand that in these extraordinarily difficult times, we have an opportunity and duty to demonstrate the power of our corporate purpose to help the world run better and improve people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

The Pandemic Runs in Waves, So Does Business<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic has gone through phases, each of which is characterized by a different set of needs and requirements that have impacted our employees, partners, and customers. While we can put 2020 under the theme \u201cnew normal,\u201d we are now in a transition phase toward the \u201cnext normal.\u201d We learn as we go and can build on this experience to be prepared for future disruptions.<\/p>\n

Wave 1: Responding to the Crisis and Human Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The first phase, corresponding to the new challenges, involved reacting to the most urgent needs. Last year in June, I\u00a0shared<\/a>\u00a0how we set 麻豆原创 up to help our customers grapple with the immediate impact of the pandemic and meet the changing demands of their employees and customers \u2014 for example, with 80 top priority legal changes within less than 50 days. Uncertain times require agility and flexibility. 麻豆原创 CEO\u00a0Christian Klein just explained that resilience starts with people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Among 麻豆原创 customers, the first to be affected by the pandemic were businesses whose supply chains depended on components manufactured in COVID-19 hotspots, and those that experienced sudden swings in demand or supply. Examples include providers of personal protective equipment (PPE), certain consumer product makers, and manufacturers of office equipment. Additionally,\u00a0customers adapted their production to\u00a0produce\u00a0and provide PPE<\/a>, such as facial masks, to cover the\u00a0increased\u00a0demand.<\/p>\n

That is why last year, 麻豆原创 opened access to software, including\u00a0麻豆原创 Ariba Discovery<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0麻豆原创 Integrated\u00a0Business Planning for Supply Chain<\/a>, for 90 days and free to anyone. These products help to make procurement processes more transparent, predict demand shifts, and deal with the dynamics caused through supply chain disruptions and the domino effects they have. Customers with agile supply chains, including those facilitated by\u00a0Ariba Network<\/a>, were able to switch suppliers quickly and keep critical production lines running. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n