A new survey from SteelScout has found that more than 60% of professionals in the manufacturing industry expect the sector to recover from COVID-19 and return to business as usual by mid-2021. However, they highlighted issues in the wider supply chain which might impact the recovery, with almost 30% unable to access the materials they need and 36% adding that it is taking longer just to receive a ‘winning quote’.
One key driver behind the confidence in recovery is that 62% of respondents reported having orders waiting to be fulfilled once lockdown rules have eased. The orders on hold within SteelScout’s survey base of 100 people exceeded £17m in value.
In order to fully understand the impact of lockdown on manufacturers and their supply chains, SteelScout – a multi-supplier procurement platform that connects buyers with a UK network of suppliers – sought the opinions of more than 100 manufacturing professionals to gain insight into the current state of affairs.
The survey demonstrated that it has been a tough few months for the sector, with more than half of respondents reporting that they have been working at a reduced capacity or with some staff furloughed. More than 10% of respondents reported whole companies being mothballed and all staff furloughed.
Almost 80% of those surveyed reported that they have adopted new working practices to deal with rules and guidelines around lockdown in the UK. The most common change was remote working, which was used by 49% of those surveyed.
To solve the identified supply issues, greater visibility and more alternatives in the supplier network were the most called for improvements, whilst having an easier method to collect and compare quotes was also selected by many in an effort to reduce basic admin costs and save time.
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