MICRO, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are encountering cancellation of orders and trade shows, worker mobility and material sourcing concerns, and higher cost of doing business due to supply chain issues, as a result of the global health crisis and the enhanced community quarantine measure.
Ferdinand Ferrer, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) trustee for the electronics sector, said electronics orders are currently on hold as economies around the world are battling to beat the viral pandemic.
Mediatrix Villanueva, president of Philexport of Bicol Region, said cancellation of orders has badly hit the abaca industry in the region. She said that the pressing problem is that operations can’t continue because of material sourcing problems as raw materials from other provinces can’t come in due to border restrictions.
“The issue of mobility, of movement of goods and of people is vital to the cottage industry,” she said, adding that as long as the raw materials will be allowed to come in, workers will be able to continue to work and feed their families.
For his part, Salvio Valenzuela, executive director of the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, said the industry had lost more than 10,000 potential buyers as a result of the cancellation of the annual Philippine International Furniture Show that was set for March.
But as a response, the group conducted its first virtual product showcase, where foreign buyers placed orders worth about US$1 million. Valenzuela said the online showcase worked because it targeted existing buyers who already knew the products and companies and just wanted to see new designs.
He added that the group is assessing the industry’s strengths and weaknesses and the new opportunities so it could “bounce back better and stronger.”
“This is the time for MSMEs to finally focus on innovation,” said Valenzuela. In the furniture industry, for instance, he foresees new opportunities, new products and new designs as an outcome of the coronavirus outbreak due to the trend for work-from-home arrangements and social distancing.
He also sees the need to address supply chain disruptions which have raised the cost of raw materials. He suggested to empower the regions to produce the materials that could match what the exporters need. He added that companies also have to prepare for a more technology-driven world.
Big brother, paradigm shift
Villanueva, meanwhile, appealed to the big companies to help MSMEs survive in these critical times because the small ones have been supporting them. “Enable us to learn how to partner with you because we are many. Small as we are, we know that we can help the major players,” she said.
Ferrer, for his part, said the pandemic will bring about a “paradigm shift” on what people think and value. He said representations from the various sectors, industry associations, government and the people “should have collaborative discussions” on going beyond the mindset of business as usual. (Philexport News and Features)