Coronavirus recovery: What eCommerce businesses can learn from China

As the economy picks up, so does congestion. Image from Harvard Business Review

The Chinese economy is on the rise, reports the Harvard Business Review (HBR).

As the country moves from crisis mode to recovery following the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, it has provided many good lessons for businesses everywhere else, which HBR has distilled into 12 essential learnings.

We wanted to share HBR’s learnings that are most relevant to our customers and friends in the eCommerce industry. So here they are:

Look ahead and constantly reframe your efforts

In a crisis, change needs to happen fast, and be CEO-led. HBR says: “Initial ignorance gives way to discovery and sense-making, then crisis planning and response, recovery strategy, post-recovery strategy, and finally, reflection and learning.” The fastest-recovering companies in China are the ones that have looked ahead and anticipated these challenges. So don’t get bogged down in complex internal processes.

Proactively create clarity and security for employees

Any good business will tell you the most important thing to them is looking after their staff, and the Chinese businesses that recovered fastest certainly did. Kitchenware company Supor quickly introduced specific operational guidelines including how to limit exposure in the…