
PRINCIPLE APP RIPPLE EFFECT MANUAL
If coordinating these processes requires a manual effort by an on-site employee, the integration will take much longer – especially when a fair number of the workers might become ill or be forced to take time off to care for sick loved ones.

When integration processes aren’t automated, there is a large amount of coordination and communication that must be handled between new partners before they can do business. When some countries are closing trade and transportation, how are you going to continue to do business and look at business continuity strategies so that you can shift an order or load to countries where trade is open? Unless they have implemented a certain degree of automation and remote access to critical business applications, they will need to halt business operations that require on-site personnel until the situation is alleviated. In some cases, companies have different business divisions in different places in the world. and across the globe are being forced to keep their workers at home to slow the spread of a global pandemic. Patel: Companies all over the globe already struggle to do business with one another due to bureaucratic red tape, tariffs and country-to-country trade agreements even without a pandemic or outside pressure. ADM: Do businesses struggle with integrating new partners when global emergencies like coronavirus are occurring? Why? So, it’s no longer something that’s simply nice to have if you can afford it, it’s necessary to keep the business afloat and compete in today’s reality. Now, with COVID-19, we have companies thinking about how they can do this in a quick way. These companies that have been slow to automate processes have previously viewed upgraded technology, like automation and cloud that allow workers to manage operations remotely, as something that is simply nice to have. Most companies haven’t had a reason that completely validates the need for automated integration until now in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. That attitude enables a complacency where businesses want to put their investments into other types of non-integration technology.

When it comes down to integration processes, or processes for onboarding, the idea is that if it works, don’t improve it. Patel: Simply because it’s not something that they’re thinking about. ADM: Why haven’t companies automated integration processes to prepare for situations like this? When you need to quickly identify new partners and any other supply chain resources, and onboard them, you want to use some type of ecosystem integration platform and automate the process. Agility is what you need when dealing with situations like COVID-19. However, when onboarding processes are automated via an integration platform, the onboarding process can be nearly instantaneous – allowing businesses to be more agile when disasters and virus outbreaks strike and force companies to identify new partners, providers, and supply chain resources. In fact, nearly half of surveyed businesses report the onboarding of a new partner taking over a month. If the integration process is manual, then onboarding can take anywhere from several days to several weeks or even months in most cases because you’re not leveraging what you already know alongside AI and automation. If you have a partner that is ready to be onboarded and has set up the proper test environments and has all of their onboarding requirements ready, you can move very quickly – it can be a matter of hours. Patel: Like with all technology, it depends. ADM: If you must engage with a new partner with short term notice, how long does onboarding them as an alternative/new partner take on average? In the wake of a global pandemic, businesses must leverage upgraded ecosystem integration technology to combat the growing challenge of maintaining a successful supply chain despite hardships caused by the virus. We recently caught up with Cleo's Chief Marketing Officer Tushar Patel to get his thoughts on the corona virus ripple effect and how manufacturers and supply chains can arm themselves.

Meanwhile, automated integration capabilities are allowing companies to onboard new partners and suppliers nearly instantly – enabling them to continue standard business operations nearly uninterrupted. However, nearly half (46%) of the businesses surveyed state that this onboarding process typically takes them a month or longer, likely due to the fact that many businesses do not use an automated integration platform. During emergency situations like this one, it’s vital for companies to implement an agile integration strategy to quickly and efficiently onboard new trading partners into their supply chains. COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains around the world.
