Agile Partnership – a Recipe for Action in and Out of Crises
The current crisis is not completely foreign to us. Unity Group survived both the Internet bubble in 2000 and the financial crisis in 2008. Thanks to our clients’ trust, the knowledge and commitment of our teams, our agile methodology and an effective implementation of solutions, we’ve managed to overcome these difficult periods. We’ve even used this experience to grow. Today, in the face of another global crisis, this time caused by the coronavirus pandemic, we are basically operating as usual, only at a pace that’s increased a hundredfold. We’re doing this by holding on to three basic priorities – protect our employees, secure business continuity and support our clients that must find themselves in a new reality.
We’ve observed the rapid development of the situation on the global market. In just a few weeks, a serious epidemiological threat turned into a global pandemic, resulting in the current, deepening economic crisis. Every day, the revenues of entrepreneurs around the world drops dramatically, and many companies – including Unity Group (now Univio) – have had to face new realities of functioning.
Trained by the experience of previous crises – and noticing that we’re dealing with a black swan situation – we knew that waiting wasn’t an option. As our first steps, we took action to secure our employees and guarantee the continuity of the company’s work in the event of a prolonged quarantine. Agile action lies in the DNA of our company. Within a few days, we switched the entire company to function remotely and ensured operational efficiency in key processes.
Our absolute priority was to quickly open a dialogue with clients. The global economic changes caused by the epidemic and the resulting – often sudden – difficult situation of a significant number of companies around the world have rapidly worsened. Entrepreneurs from the retail industry – a core sector for us both in Poland and the wider world – have lost a lot of revenue due to the closure of commercial facilities and restrictions on movement. We knew that the most important thing would be to efficiently prepare clients to operate in the inevitable increase of restrictions and other conditions associated with the epidemic, while also addressing their long-term needs. Specifically, the need to change existing business models and develop a new strategy for the economic recovery period.
However, because the situation changed dynamically, we had to adapt even faster than usual. We talked with our clients’ main decision makers about the current situation of their business, how we can help and what actions we’ve already undertaken in order to further respond to their needs efficiently. Together with project managers, we’ve agreed on new ways of working on both sides, including necessary changes to effectively secure the implementation of previously adopted assumptions in a timely manner. On the IT side, we optimized actions to ensure secure communication and discussed possible adjustments to ensure the continuity and quality of IT services. We’ve operated – and continue to operate – in the spirit of partner assistance in surviving the crisis, efficiently minimizing costs. Where it was urgently needed, we increased teams and taught clients remote and agile work. We also sensitized our employees to the specific needs of customers in the current situation, gaining an understanding of the difficult scenario they find themselves in, as well as a subsequent awareness that clients may not have nerves of steel during these times. You can gain a lot based on mutual support, trust and good communication.
The strategies adopted by entrepreneurs in the face of crisis are very diverse. Some are acting quickly and boldly, while those with sufficient cash resources and a belief that the market will emerge victorious after the economic slowdown are deciding to accelerate investments that will allow them to survive and even develop. For these entities, the challenge lies in carrying out the transformation of sales – that is, transferring and digitalizing their network – as quickly and effectively as possible.
Companies from endangered industries are forced to change their way of operation almost every day, not only by digitizing, but by developing a completely new business model. In this case, what counts above all is the speed of development and the implementation of the first MVP. The reason is simple – if these entities do not start operating quickly in electronic channels, they will go bankrupt. In the current reality, they cannot effectively conduct business in the traditional model.
The big classic players in each market currently suffering significant losses in traditional channels due to the prevailing restrictions, despite working both offline and online already, are now forced to look for optimization and extra savings in their electronic channels. Many of them are suspending new investments while increasing the number of modifications in existing solutions in order to adapt to the deepening crisis.
Many of these entrepreneurs, needing to thoroughly redefine their strategy and change their functioning model, especially in the area of sales implementation, require proven and experienced partners. In this area, we are leading with free consultations (reserve an appointment on my calendar here). We’ve also prepared a unique set of solutions for companies forced to transfer their operations to the digital network. This package of activities has formed our so-called technology shield, significantly accelerating the transformation of small and medium enterprises – from several months to a week. Alongside this, we’re working together with clients to find solutions for running businesses in the “post-pandemic” period.
If you’re in need of some advice during this time, we’re here to help. You can either book a meeting or simply get in touch.
