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A new abnormal: Future focused

It might never be business as normal due to the impact COVID has had on businesses, but businesses need to find a way to pick up the pieces and forge ahead.

Johannesburg, 04 May 2021

Looking back, no one could have anticipated the far-reaching effects of COVID-19. With most of the world having reached what was hopefully the peak of the pandemic, it is imperative that in the tech distribution industry, the entire channel fix its focus on the future. The industry has to stay ahead of the curve in more ways than one,and keep fighting the residual effects of lives and businesses uprooted from the normalcy of everyday life.

Getting over the trauma of the pandemic won’t be an easy task, but if the past year has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is insurmountable. Whilst in the deep end, most businesses rightfully employed survival tactics but now the needle has shifted. The more interesting question businesses have to ask themselves is; “how do we begin to thrive, again?” The new (ab)normal showed the world that technology is at the centre the modern business and redirected the world’s gaze from form to function.

The age of departments is drawing to an end and in its stead, blended teams that work towards strategic goals or a unified vision have emerged. Axiz, for example, had to rapidly deploy a servitization model which looked at providing better channel experiences and more impactful engagements through an outcome as a service model. Yes, the plans to deploy said model have been in the pipeline for years and were steadily deployed over time but the pandemic fast-tracked the organisation to its future focus.

With their eyes firmly fixed on the future, Axiz has been able to prioritise the utilization of digital technologies and assets. The model allows the channel to not only sell better but to deploy more and more future-focused technologies that deliver valuable services at the right price point. As exciting as it is, the road ahead requires companies like Axiz to be at the forefront of digital transformation in the distribution space, while providing the traditional product, place, price and promotion value.

The efficient functioning of any system depends on how fine-tuned its synergies are. The parts must work together for the good of the whole, to remain effective in an economy and marketplace as strained as the current global and local economy. This is a call to the management structures of every channel stakeholder to display the type of future-focused leadership that will streamline the channel at every point of confluence.

Hindsight is always 20/20 but in our looking back and reflecting on what could have been, businesses need to bear in mind what is and what is to come. The future starts now, at this very moment, and how it looks is entirely dependent on how well the channel can take up the reins and guide it. 

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