Industrial world : Aljaž Urbanc, Global Head of Marketing ELAN

The COVID-19 emergency has shocked businesses, organizations and consumers. What are the main critical issues you are facing in your company both from the production and distribution point of view?

Basically over night the world has stopped and we needed to adapt. Our production is temporarily closed, while other units work from home or part-time in the office. We are getting use to the remote work, which is one positive thing in this situation, but the challenge at this time of the year is order collection by our distributors. They can’t make any visits to their accounts: also there is uncertainty in the market as things are changing daily, without any finish date to look at.

How do you think this crisis will change consumers’ needs, habits and purchasing behavior and the dynamics of interaction with distribution?

It is still very early to say that, but we already see from other industries that people are changing their habits, are buying online things that they did not before (i.e. food). We also need to take in consideration that nobody knows how long this crisis will last and how big of an impact will have, but one of the consequences could be that there will be less travel in the future and more meeting in the digital landscape.

What do you think is the change and the role that commercial distribution / intermediation will have versus this new situation? Will it interfere or encourage change?

The role of distribution already emerged from just »moving boxes« to a real competent local partner who also develops the brand in a specific market. Not just the intermediates, but we will all have to adapt to this new reality that this could mean less physical contact and more online interaction. Having a strong local partner is extremely important for being successful.

The role of distribution already emerged from just »moving boxes« to a real competent local partner who also develops the brand in a specific market.

What are the marketing and communication strategies that your company is developing to face the situation now and in the next future?

Like I already said, things are changing daily and making some long term strategies is impossible at this stage. We are looking into options how we will execute some events in the upcoming months that will, as far as it looks now, need to be in digital format. We are did an interactive sales tool for our distributors and sales reps, who can use it instead of the printed catalogue. From the communication point of view on social media the inspirational content or wellbeing initiatives (home workouts) works best.