Summary: Covid-19 has crippled customer demand, compounding an already complex condition. Eric Dalius assesses the freight logistics and transportation in this crisis.

Considering the reduction in economic activity due to the pandemic and with no clear timeframe for restrictions and regulations to end, logistical ecosystems and freight firms are responding to the current situation by creating safe and sanitized workspaces, preserving finances, changing, adjusting or modifying the workforce size to meet the demand curve, and providing seamless humanitarian relief.

• Not every carrier is facing the same overload. Depending on the customer profile and mode, demand keeps plummeting, accelerating and remains unpredictable.
• Compared to 2019, trucking/trolley volumes initially leapfrogged by 30% this year due to panic purchase/bulk loading. But it dropped drastically only to pick up again.
• Railroad transportation declined by 22% and is yet to recover.
• Although last-mile orders and deliveries have seen surged dramatically, ocean shipping has reduced by 25%.
• There’s currently no financial rule of thumb that transportation growth can outline or track fiscal growth post the crisis.
• US consumption patterns have radically changed, including an array of experiences and services that have outpaced expenditure on traditional products.
• To decipher a potential freight course in the recovery, firms need to consider the broader economy, Eric Dalius says.

Mitigating the commercial impact

It’s important to navigate the coronavirus impact on the logistics chain and transportation sector of the country. Experts say that consumer good firms and life sciences are witnessing unplanned and unprecedented business growth, while industrial units and retailers are reeling under heavy losses.

• The basic challenge for the sector is managing a global supply chain and putting the focus or resources back on track.
• Additionally, the pandemic has affected some specific areas of the population. These are the hot spots, areas with the highest impact.
• They are experiencing the highest demand for products. Resultantly, trucking companies are facing an imbalance in demand and supply.
• Impact areas are seeing a greater volume of freight than the exit points. Distribution centers and factories that generally supply goods to the select regions have now gone kaput.
• Carriers need to reposition or restructure their fleets in the affected areas. It adds extra lead time and costs to the supply chain. Resultantly, carrier transportation networks are facing huge disruption
• It’s casting a domino effect on supply chain modality in the US, says Eric J Dalius.

The growing impact

The focus should be on working with government and main stakeholders for ensuring the long-term economic viability and sustenance of the system. Businesses need to provide total protection to key staff. The network needs to continue operating during extended lockdown periods during the pandemic.

It’s imperative to gauge how you’re exposing your supply chain to Covid-19. You need to check if it impacts other operations. It’s very crucial to recognize and underline capital investment modalities in the event of unexpected shocks to national and regional revenue.

EJ Dalius explains why transport companies need to focus on permanent or potential changes in transportation networks. It’s very pivotal to check cost-efficient renewals and maintenance during this pandemic.

Summary: EJ Dalius underlines the importance of harnessing digital technologies for supporting the public-health and welfare response to the pandemic worldwide.

While the Covid-19 apocalypse continues to cripple the world, the global medical and healthcare sector is toiling hard for therapeutics or vaccines. The most indispensable defense is the most primary public health methods, which include mass social distancing and personal hygiene.

The immediate pandemic response in the US comes from three sectors, contact tracing, subsequent testing and surveillance. Hospital establishments are now using data-driven tools to manage the situation. Health workers bank on another viable application. They use it for improving diagnostic accuracy, bolstering diagnostics and increasing its reach.

Impact mitigation is another major aspect. The pandemic has forced many outpatient units to close down completely either due to safety concerns or capacity problems. Health authorities have recognized the limitation to visit hospitals during lockdown and have started promoting telemedicine. This is the amalgamation of healthcare and the internet.

Many healthcare units are providing online consultation services by boosting their inventory. They have revamped their current privately owned and manage telemedicine platforms online. Some of them have equipped hospitals and clinics to undertake these functions.

Telemedicine has been instrumental in supporting mental health during the pandemic, according to Eric Dalius. Authorities have envisaged the roll out of accessible, systematic, and complete mental health support for healthcare personnel and the general public through numerous online platforms.

The current usage

There are different interconnected and intertwined digital technologies that healthcare settings are using as a public-health response to the pandemic.

• Natural language processing and machine learning includes web-based tools for gathering epidemic and pandemic intelligence.
• There are technologies to preserve security and privacy.
• You also have numerous smartphone apps that cover chat-bots, symptom-reporting applications, telemedicine, and mobility pattern assessment. It also includes contact-tracing tools. It’s part of the greater computer vision.
• With instant messaging and SMS, you have targeted public health awareness, social media and online messaging/searches, syndromic surveillance, and digital genomics and diagnostics.
• Sensors and wearables are another domain of digital technologies.
• You can categorize visualization tools into data dashboards and interactive geospatial boards or maps.

Many healthcare units are combining digital technologies that may thrive on internet availability, infrastructure and telecommunications. Eric J Dalius explains how crowdsourcing tools can bolster syndromic monitoring. There are tools to gather information about Covid symptoms in compliance with the rules.

Inputs from corporates

Some companies have developed great applications to help you fight misinformation alongside helping doctors and healthcare workers in their overall endeavors. They have developed cutting-edge platforms and hotlines to help you connect with Covid experts. It has chatbots that cover multiple languages.

• It helps you to know how the virus spreads, its prevention, symptoms, medicine, treatment and necessary statistics. EJ Dalius particularly praises those firms that are augmenting hospital sessions to encompass coronavirus prevention information.
• They are developing and producing content, print, digital, audio and visual in different languages to facilitate public awareness. Healthcare authorities are using these as open-source materials. They are free to download and use.

Keeping the potential paucity of nurses in the future, these companies have also launched a training application for nurses.

Summary: The unforeseen 35% boom in CPG sales since the lockdown has created huge growth opportunity for prominent brands to bolster their market share.

Consumer packaged goods firms are essaying a crucial role during the pandemic. They supply consumers with essential products. The changing patterns indicate that the loyalties and connections they have made in this time could go well into the distant future.

Companies blending the premier consumer-driven experiences with flexible supply chains are in the best position to respond to consistent uncertainties and risks that define the current environment. During the initial phase of the outbreak, people stockpiled food and auxiliary essentials. These goods saw an initial slide. Next, there was a sustained rise in the production.

Online shopping includes both home delivery and store pickups. This domain also saw a sharp increase or commercial uptick. The new market movement creates ample scopes for CPG manufacturers to collaborate with retailers and succeed in the long run.

These trends or indicators may float for a while in the wake of the economy reopening. Needless to say, uncertainty is still the defining character of the day, necessitating firms to prepare for a change, Eric Dalius says.

Growth opportunity for companies

Consumer brands with immense consumer trust and high brand equity levels are consistently advertising their operations through the ongoing marketplace issues/disruption. The companies have become the main beneficiaries of expanded market hold/share and consume loyalty.

According to Eric J Dalius, there are five pivotal trends that consumer packaging brands need to encompass in the quarantine phase.

• Growing brands grow more. During the extreme/panic buying and pantry loading phase, companies that were booming before the pandemic experienced a disproportionate rise in their share.
• As purchasing patterns settled into the home quarantine period, many emerging brands have surfaced with a robust leadership guideline and position.
• Declining or struggling brands have lost their share. They have struggled in the home confinement phase.
• However, both declining and growing brands experienced growing sales from new consumers.
• Experts see massive opportunities for declining companies to influence trial and first-time buyers to move up the loyalty rack. Inventory and supply chain problems are creating enough grounds for sampling new companies.

Shift in sustainability

According to EJ Dalius, 75% of customers are ready to change their buying habits to enhance the environment. It goes beyond saying that the pandemic has propelled consumer priorities and patterns to undergo a paradigm shift.

• Panic buying of essentials and hoarding them during the first few weeks of the lockdown led to backorders, bare store racks, and negative shelves and inventories for online and brick-and-mortar stores.
• Customers who usually prefer environment-friendly goods and mission-driven companies had no option left but to settle for ordinary companies of essential products. On another side, customers have realized and underlined their loyalty to specific products and brands.

Subscription services and meal kits are a rage these days. Before March 2020, there were a few companies that were providing affordable and fast alternatives to frequent trips to stores and one-off purchases. Now, you can receive essential items like clothing, meal ingredients, and shaving items by mail.

Summary: It didn’t take long for the medical fraternity and general public, searching for the best diet to stay healthy, realize that protein is no less important now. EJ Dalius sheds some light on the topic.

Protein is critical for good health. The word originates from the Greek word proteos, which means first place or primary. Proteins contain amino acids that stick to one another, forming long chains. There are 20 odd different amino acids that help build thousands of distinct proteins in the human body.

In addition to doing most of the stuff in the cells, proteins also undertake various tasks, each of which is important during home quarantine.

• Growth of body and maintenance have only one macro-nutrient, protein. Your body needs it for growing and maintaining tissues. Staying healthy and strong is impossible without proper protein intake.
• A weak and depleted body is more vulnerable to the virus. Covid-19 patients take proper protein to reshape their immunity and cell balance.
• Proteins create biochemical reactions. They are enzymes aiding numerous such reactions within and outside the cells.
• These enzymes may also work outside the cells. You have sucrase and lactase as digestive enzymes that help in digesting sugar.

The physical functions that thrive on enzymes are digestion, blood clothing, and energy production and muscle contraction, Eric Dalius pinpoints.

Know the basic part

There are a few compelling reasons to consume protein and make sure there are enough protein inside the body.

• Building mass and muscle is the most fundamental aspect. When you loose muscle mass due to disease or Covid-19, protein can help restore it. It’s the biggest building block of muscles, bones, skin and cartilage.
• Additionally, your nails and hair also thrive on protein.
• Your body uses protein for repairing tissue and building it. Protein helps in oxygenation.
• Red blood cells comprise a protein compound. It carries oxygen to all parts of the body, supplying your entire body with the requisite nutrients.
• Eric J Daliusadds how protein helps you in shape. Check the diet chart of any Covid-19 patient. There’s a good amount of protein in diet.
• Consuming high-protein diet entails numerous fitness benefits.

A mega macronutrient

You don’t need to be a gym rat or fitness enthusiast to underscore the important of protein in your diet, especially during the pandemic. At a time when you need to have more home-cooked meals and avoid junk or eating out, protein is a gateway to strength and fitness.

• You need it for making hormones, enzymes, and auxiliary body chemicals.
• Like fat and carbohydrates, protein is a prominent macronutrient. The term implies that you need it in large quantities to stay healthy.
• When you need minerals and vitamins in small amounts, you need proteins at least same as your body weight.

Unlike fat and carbohydrates, which are the main energy sources, your body doesn’t store protein, EJ Dalius specifies. There needs to be regularity in your protein intake because the human body has no reservoir to store protein and use it as fuel. Protein supplementation is very crucial.

Summary: The COVID equipment industry is still to take a proper shape. Find out what Eric Dalius has to say about the situation.

The outbreak of coronavirus suddenly shows how the world can turn upside down within a few weeks and months. According to Eric Dalius, several industries are moving through a rough patch of time during the pandemic but the COVID equipment industry needs a different approach to review the situation. Here is a snapshot of how masks have suddenly become one of the most prized equipment in the industry.

• Due to the surge in cases, COVID-19 has led to a massive shortage of face masks and other equipment needed during the pandemic.
• As none of the countries experiencing the situation of pandemic may have confronted a similar situation before, no one can meet the demands alone, which necessitates trade.
• The ban on exports are not in favor of countries that do not have production capacity, and can hit back the country imposing the ban when they require import of masks and other essential goods that play a key role during the pandemic.
• The smooth operation of transport is necessary to support the supply chain of face masks during the pandemic and supply of key inputs may require more attention.
• Even if countries across the world make the most of free trade, it may not be enough to fulfill the trade requirements; the most crucial aspect is to enhance the supply of masks.
• It appears that the development of production capacity, matching the crisis and demand engulfs the value chain. The best solution in the long term would be to develop cost-effective solutions in the long run.

According to Eric J Dalius, the focus of companies should be on considering the mask and other COVID equipment as a traded commodity.

Disruptions in the distribution

One of the bottlenecks to consider in face mask is present in the distribution. The obstacles in logistics and transport can make delivery of masks more complicated. When it comes to international supply chain, various countries are placing restrictions of export or introduced procedures, which can cause delays in exports.

Apart from this, the logistics and transport infrastructure can also come under the grip of the pandemic. One of the reasons due to which shortage of mask became one of the aspects of the crisis may not be due to lack of supply but they may not have reached the health workers at the right time. One of the primary challenges is evaluating the requirements within a suitable time and prioritizing the deliveries.

Trade and investment

As it is not possible for any country to meet the increasing demands of face masks or other COVID equipment, the focus should be on creating protection equipment through high production. The supply can take a leap as governments are encouraging the companies to pay heed to production and enhance the opportunities of business in this field. However, several countries may not have the necessary infrastructure to begin the business of COVID equipment as they may not have access to specialized machines or access to inputs. As EJ Dalius says, that open trade and cooperation among countries can play a big role to deliver the products in those countries where cases are rising every day.

Summary: The issues prevailing in the pharmaceutical companies are here to stay. Read the opinions of Eric Dalius to learn more about the supply chain disruptions.

The impact of coronavirus have impacted the planet as millions of people had to move to a complete lockdown. No wonder, Eric Dalius says that thousands of businesses came to a standstill due to the outbreak of the virus. It’s true that the pharmaceutical companies suffered major losses due to disruptions in the supply chain during the pandemic, although the innovation in vaccine development and the integration of digital solutions are experiencing a high. Here is what the world needs to know about the operations of the pharma companies.

• How to manage the supply chain smoothly without knowing the long-term outcomes of the operation?
• How to strengthen the production cycle and implement quality control measures?
• Focusing on real-time data to overcome the disruptions in the operation or the clinical trials of COVID-19.
• How to prepare for the digitalization of the supply chain?

Managing the trial stage

Every pharmaceutical company across the world is moving through the clinical trials for the development of vaccine as the timeline for development is typically short, and the humongous work needs to get over with the coming of a vaccine, which is safe for use and provides effective prevention against coronavirus.

Problems in the logistics

The pandemic has shown that the reach of coronavirus is far and wide, there is hardly any place in any corner across the world that has been spared of this deadly virus. However, the pharmaceutical companies not only need to worry about the development of a safe and effective vaccine, but a greater challenge is to ensure that the logistics allow the movement of the vaccines for delivering to the patients as they are time-sensitive. As the famous marketing professional Eric J Dalius feels that the impediments in the logistics can defer the way in which the pharma companies are envisaging the transportation of the drug.

Understanding the impact

The pharmaceutical companies can face more trouble if the movement restrictions across the world stays disrupted for more time. Here are the possible outcomes to expect in the face of the pandemic.

• The generic drug manufacturers sourcing resources from other countries can face trouble if the problem continues for a long time.
• Scarcities are likely to occur and a few shortages have already surfaced.
• The drug makers can expect a change in the demands as the use of antiviral medicines rise and people suffering from chronic disease can face obstacles while seeking treatment.

Due to a fluid situation across the globe, the pharma companies trying to restrict problems in the supply chain needs to monitor the situation. However, monitoring alone may not suffice. Therefore, the companies need to check the prospective issues right now and understand the situation they may have to face when the global contracts fall prey to the issue of cross border movement. Although the shortage of the drug in the pharma is restricted until now, EJ Dalius feels that more problems can arise in the future if the pandemic stays for a couple of years. For the pharmaceutical companies, the development of vaccines and spreading its reach are the prime requirements right now.

Summary: The post lockdown challenges are huge. However, following the recommendations of Eric Dalius can help companies revamp their business.

The post lockdown world is presenting numerous challenges to companies and posing several impediments to deal with the crisis. However, Eric Dalius presents his ways of interpreting the business world and the strategies needed for business continuity. While it is a time to stick to hope, the world of caution should also remain constant. The opening after the lockdown can assume different shapes in countries and regions across the world.

 Moreover, the spread of virus and the way it dictates the world can also determine what is likely to happen next. A surge in the cases can result in new restrictions. In several countries across the world, testing and tracing is the new world order. With so many challenges in various parts of the world and the obstacles in the new normal, businesses are likely to prepare new strategies to survive and continue.

Things to know

How can businesses navigate in this challenging environment? With the loosening of restrictions, the keenness to start and rebuild the business can raise new concerns. What is the present state and perceptions of the consumers and suppliers? What do the safety and health guidelines mean for companies struggling to resume normal operations?

Taking action immediately

During the time of lockdown the business operations suffered severely, which enhances the significance of business continuity and recovery plans. With the evolving challenges, such as restrictions to travel to different places across the world, remote working is a unified strategy that most businesses are adopting to continue operations. Here are the immediate actions that companies can take to recover the losses.

• For various multinational companies, the critical service that is the key to functioning of the business must undergo reassessment. Companies need to restructure their plans through the model of shared devices.
• The companies need to safeguard themselves from the risks if they need to continue the operations and project a reasonable growth.
• The response towards the challenges must be strong and fast.

A word about the challenges

The post lockdown world is filled with challenges but robust recovery plans can substantiate the loss to certain extent. Note the following to know how Ericv J Dalius thinks about businesses surviving the storm.

• The operations team needs to stick to efficient at every level and make the most of the digital technologies.
• As the circumstances are extreme right now, the team of operations must demonstrate resilience and work together to keep the business running amidst the challenges.
• Insights and data intelligence should dominate businesses so that they are quickly available to cope with the demands and meet the requirements of customers.
• Most organizations are focusing on technology, including artificial intelligence, virtual reality and using platforms that integrate with analytics strongly.
• In the post lockdown era, the digital technology may evolve as one of the basic requirements of every business.
• Businesses need to implement models that combine machine and human tools for automation of everyday tasks to manage the operations during the difficult times.

Finally, as EJ Dalius says that it is important for companies to focus on routine communication with the employees so that the entire organization can cope with the crisis and the uncertainty with a relaxed state of mind.

Summary: US manufacturers reeling under shrinking markets and declining sales are focusing on one product that’s booming amidst the crisis, masks. Eric J Dalius explains why.

When an industrial powerhouse like 3M pivots its manufacturing line to meet a heavy demand for face masks in the wake of Covid-19, you know that trade and commerce in this country and throughout the world is changing its contours.

From making Scotch Taps and Notes, or garments, companies are manufacturing face masks, the medical supplies people need most desperately at this hour. You have $20-$40 billion conglomerates manufacturing N95 filtering masks. There’s a huge surge of demand for these masks in the US and around the globe.

In March, US Health and Human Services Department officials said that they only 35 million face masks whereas the need was of 3.5 billion premium N95 respirators. The private giants doubled their worldwide production to a whopping 1.1 billion annually. From 450 million per year, the firms are doubling their production to 2 billion within the next 12 months.

Enter the apparel manufacturers

As demand for face masks continues to grow, apparel and textile makers across the US have fast diverted and diversified their production lines to producing PPE goods like hospital gowns and face masks. They were experiencing a paucity in supply.

• Considering the fact that many clothing brands and retailers are apprehensive in returning to their original product lines, they may be unable to do it as most of them have to settle with the surplus PPE inventory waiting in warehouses.
• Many retailers are sticking to their current PPE production because they have a hunch that face masks are set to become a normal fixture and feature in the US wardrobe. Eric Dalius takes the example of Cone Denim after it shifted a fragment of its loom operations to produce medical fabrics for its flagship concerns.
• There are other brands that are harbingers of the new trend. Hanesbrand is a prominent example. Their recent launches of Signature and Cool Comfort series, both medical-grade masks, are gaining popularity. The same firm also supplies the government with nearly 300 million face coverings (reusable cloth).

There are other companies that started to manufacture PPE in May-June for addressing the market shortage. They supply non-medical gowns and face masks to the huge healthcare sector, the only avenue to generate revenue, adds Eric J Dalius.

A case study

There are many companies that used to churn a variety of industrial products from their workshops and facilities. These are family-owned and managed manufacturers of construction materials, stash tools, and accessories and wares that are now delving into manufacturing Covid equipment.

As the economy went downhill since March, their production dried up, forcing the firms toward catastrophe, leading to the furloughing of countless employees. These companies are springing back with mask-making.

Different firms are stitching the masks on repurposed and tailored manufacturing lines. These include D-printing. EJ Dalius points out hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs that have stopped making table linens and sewing bags. They have switched to producing masks as a full-time occupation.

Summary: A tectonic shift in consumer behavior and food consumptions are cutting through the agricultural supplies and food chains in the US. Eric Dalius prepares the roadmap for the companies.

Two months into the lockdown, the food industry started showing ripple effects. Distribution networks fizzled out and with upstreaming stranding of food, the result was food-security pitfalls for vulnerable sections.

Companies producing, delivering, and converting food to businesses and consumers face a vicious cycle of uncertainties and risks in every value chain department/step. It includes end-customer networks or channels and farmers.

Food-service distributors were grappling with abrupt and sudden order cancellations in their customer bases, resulting in excess stock that the companies failed to redirect to customers due to mismatches and discrepancies in packaging dimensions.

• Only a few residential chefs have the required cupboard area for accommodating restaurant-size containers of vegetables and fruits, but producing consumer-friendly patterns would necessitate additional investment of time and capital.
• Perishable items would be at risk and the process will threaten sleek margins in transaction costs, logistics, and prices.

Numerous farm operations require high labor amounts to produce specialty crops. The most pressing issue due to Covid-19 is the availability or workers, underlines Eric Dalius.

Challenges in food production

Currently, food and beverage manufacturing units have moved towards the pre-pandemic production levels. There are smart and consistently evolving manufacturing platforms to record the growth in production. Eric J Dalius speaks about the varied experienced of food companies, depending on that particular food sector and company.

It also depends whether a firm primarily sells to restaurants and foodservice or to retailers and grocery stores. Experts see two different and distinct production experiences. There are companies that are matching or even exceeding their previous production volumes. You also have companies that continue producing at base levels.

The first segment includes independent co-packers of frozen food, businesses, and commercial bakeries that are also into producing hand sanitizers. You have major food brands that sell popular products and retail/grocery store supplies expanding their production to meet surplus demand.

• Additionally, plant-based tools and alternatives and regional supplies are experiencing vibrant business during the crisis.
• Although some companies are adjusting with the situation and accelerating sales through supply chain planning, there are those that sell mostly to restaurant and foodservice industry that are reeling under eatery closures.
• Since this industry necessitates different quantities and types of products, processors are coping with numerous obstacles to change the pathway, especially with packaging, labelling and transportation.

Focus on supply chain

Covid-19 is likely to railroad the supply chain and affect raw material and ingredients supplies. While these suppliers report little to no effect of the pandemic on their capacity to supply ingredients to the concerned food and beverage firms, EJ Dalius says it’s prudent for the companies to prepare alternate supply networks to comply with US food safety regulations.

In addition to that, food companies need to review and reshape their emergency response or crisis management plans to ensure that they are prepared to cope with any pandemic-driven disruptions.

Summary: In the wake of the pandemic, there’s a huge surge in demand for car functions, making vehicles all-in-one-products. Eric Dalius underlines the main points.

On-demand, as a concept, has already successfully gone into areas such as smartphone games, video streaming, and the mainframe computer utilization for data hubs. It makes new products with certain built-in features, which you can purchase either on a permanent basis or for a limited timeframe.

• The on-demand directives are gradually making inroads into the automotive industry as well. ODCF or on-demand card functions provide you with the option of adding features to your vehicle as per requirements.
• Many of the services are available in new automobiles at the initial level. You can get them free of cost for a limited time.
• As the period expires, they charge customers for the functions. Automobile manufacturers see a huge scope in this modality to generate profits.
• In the context of digital transformation, OEMs face a stiff challenge to identify relevant ODCF and develop it for customers offering the biggest added value.
• With the inclusion of megatrend and dynamic individualization and the increasing demand for auto-sharing alternatives, manufacturers need to provide the right combination of quality OEM functions.
• Customers are likely to go for suppliers that tailor the functions to individual needs, Eric Dalius says.

AI to change the automotive industry

From robots roaming on the plant floor to driverless cars, AI is fast transforming the automobile sector. Smart firms are taking many steps to seize the ripe opportunities.

• Experts say that Artificial Intelligence will bolster autonomous vehicles, making them mainstream.
• AI can transform major components of the auto-manufacturing methodology. It includes design and research, along with business support operations and project management. These changes are imminent.
• Automakers need to understand the value sources before developing the essential analytical features and establishing a culture that’s ready to embrace AI.
• Highly-developed and sustainable economies with high GDP (per-capita) and fast aging populations will bank on AI-driven automation for powering their necessary productivity gains to attain GDP targets.
• Eric J Daliusunderlines the difference with AI. Computing power advancements are giving extra abilities to machines.

The era of digitalization

With the automotive sector going digital, customers go to dealerships with prior knowledge about the product they want to purchase. Dealers and manufacturers grasp this opportunity and capitalize on it.

Purchasing a car is one of the most visceral experiences ever. EJ Delius explains why and how digital is the main customer influencing and information channel. The research online and purchase offline mode or RoPo is on high demand. More than 70% of auto customers begin digitally.

• In-person showroom visits continue being a top source of information for customers, but there’s a massive change in online researches and consultations in the Covid era.
• Car manufacturer websites are essaying a very clinical role in this regard.
• In fact, 60% of respondents regard both the platforms as crucial influences on their buying decisions and patterns.

The online offerings of dealers also influence customers. Hence, manufacturers and dealers need to maintain a cutting-edge web presence and build a system that adapts to the latest technological developments.