Industry cannot stand idly by

WARNING: This article was translated by an automatic translation system

 01/04/2016

The country live clearly a critical time, both the economic and political point of view.Investors ' confidence was ruined, as well as the demand and investments plummeted, making it uncertain possibilities for growth in the near future. The crisis not onlycauses shrinkage of sales, but also imposes cost reduction. The negative balance is visible without much effort, igniting a red light for the whopping increase in unemployment and a decrease in income, which reflects, in turn, throughout the production chain.

Recently, the Brazilian Institute of geography and statistics (IBGE) reported that theBrazilian GDP fell 3.8% in 2015, the biggest fall in 25 years. And the industry, whichhas always had great relevance in this scenario, especially for being the country's productivity thermometer, lost great participation in GDP, falling from 24% in 2014 to22.7% in 2015. I can't speak in a country balanced economically without existence and the survival of this sector. Keep this engine heated and fully functioning is crucialand you cannot do that without investing in technology, that provides adequacy ofcost, quality and continuous improvement of working conditions, as in infrastructure and especially in human capital.

Keep investments is crucial for survival in times of crisis

 But, in the face of such adversity, what's the right time to act and bet on the market? One thing is certain: the crisis is already being advertised for some time and the investment decision cannot be taken from one month to another. It is necessary towork early, believe strongly in an upturn and more than that, be prepared for whenthat time comes.

There is no perfect formula, so you need to exercise the reflection in search of reinvention, stimulating especially the creativity. It's time to rethink the paradigms, review the templates and change strategies. There are cases, for example, industries thatprovide supplies and components for other industries, who choose to bet on vertical integration of processes, and offer products that eliminate steps in the production process of our customers. Others who decide to serve new markets, seeking a diverse portfolio that helps to increase sales.

In times of crisis, companies need to be more flexible and adjust its production to demand, even if it is minor or even unusual. The instability affects all the tips. Companies with a history of stable buying are more instability in their purchase orders, which can vary by as much as 70%. This makes a lot of planning, because it generates asignificant increase in fitness on the production line, and consequently raises the cost of manufacturing, for example.

On the other hand, buyers who do not know what, when and even how much you will need to buy and another, suppliers who are unaware of the moment will come to meet a demand. Anyway, on to a much more complex business environment, you need to find exits in a way of overcoming the challenges.

The adverse scenario also increases the voltage at the time of decision about the targeting of investments that promote the sustainability of the business. There are fewcompanies capitalized the point of maintaining continuity of investments, followingin the opposite direction to the crisis. The strongest companies can keep your planning and make better use of the opportunities, leading efforts to assertively. It is important to consider that, in critical periods, it is necessary to be cautious and avoid the immediacy. Keep looking at the long term scenario.

Sooner or later, the upturn will occur. Industry and no other industry can stand idly by and accommodate with the current situation. We need to keep up with the dynamism of the market, keeping the projects of innovation, increasing competitivenessto expand opportunities. And in this context, the development and modernisation are indispensable.

Luiz Henrique Caveagna and Pedro Torina-Directors of industrial operations, respectively, 1 and 2 factories of Termomecanica São Paulo S/A. 

Note: Translation and request review downloads this article was translated by an automated system, without human intervention. Termomecanica São Paulo S.A. uses these automatic translations to help people who speak English and Spanish to get outof the news of the company. Thus it is possible that it contains errors in grammar, vocabulary or syntax.