Lessons from the circuit breaker

IT has been more than a year since Covid-19 crippled businesses but a silver lining appeared as Singapore moved into Phase 3 of reopening its economy on Dec 28, 2020.

A recent increase in community infections, however, has led to the implementation of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) where event capacity has once again been reduced and dining-in has ceased.

The measures are a reminder that the economic challenges brought on by the pandemic are not going away yet, and businesses must remain nimble to overcome these hurdles.

Earlier this year, The Business Times spoke to some local SME towkays and asked them how they managed to navigate the crisis.

Digital readiness played a big part in helping some of these companies stay open during the "circuit breaker" period.

Far East Flora, for instance, saw a boost in online sales as Singaporeans took an interest to gardening while spending more time at home.

Last year's circuit breaker measures also contributed to an increased yearning in human interaction as Lunch Actually found out. The dating agency pivoted to arrange virtual dates last year, and it has become so popular that the service has become a permanent feature alongside its other online offerings like consultation and coaching.

Going online and making island-wide delivery available also helped the Cicheti group of restaurants to stay afloat this time last year during the circuit breaker period when dining-in was also prohibited. Not only that, it went one step further by tweaking the recipe of its best-seller - pizza - so customers could reheat the pie at home for a fresh-out-of-the-oven taste.

For SF Group, which operates the Collin's chain of western eateries, strategic planning helped the company to navigate the tough conditions brought about by the pandemic. It made an early decision to pivot to delivery even before the circuit breaker measures kicked in and also went ahead with expansion plans confidently.

Likewise, Top International Holding emerged largely unscathed by Covid-19 because it had made prior moves to diversify business streams.

It focused on trading and mining bauxite but expanded also to trading other commodities such as iron ore, copper cathode sand and coal.

Businesses can take heart that the Covid-19 restrictions and measures are just temporary - but grit and resilience coupled with innovation, digitalisation, and transformation are what it takes to stay in the game.

READ MORE: Fortune favours the bold: 10 SMEs that rose above the pandemic