The pandemic pivot. It sounds like a dance or a TikTok video.
Yet it perfectly describes all that has gone on in 2020. Personally and professionally, we’ve all learned how to pivot to alternative plans and solutions.
We were driven initially by fear, then by necessity, and finally sheer will and determination to not only survive but thrive. For example, we were inspired recently to learn about the 900-year-old brotherhood of monks in the French Alps whose pivot story reminded us of a critical project we completed in 2020 for a client who makes hand sanitizer.
For hundreds of years the Carthusian monks have sold their signature liqueur, Chartreuse, in bars and restaurants. Once France closed these establishments to contain the spread of Covid-19, the brothers shifted distribution to wine merchants selling direct to homebound consumers.
The brotherhood has sustained themselves across the centuries through the production and sale of their liqueur with its distinctive green hue and a flavor that has been described as tasting like “Christmas in a glass.”
When word of the hand sanitizer shortage reached the brothers, they pivoted for a time to producing the clear gel that swiftly became ubiquitous during the pandemic.
Then there are organizations of a much shorter existence struggling to keep pace with the status quo, let alone disruption.
A Crisis of Unique Proportions
Because it was so massive and unique, the pandemic tested organizations at both ends of the spectrum and everyone in between.
First, the COVID-19 pandemic was a biological global pandemic that disrupted the world threatening the health and well-being of families, communities, organizations, and supply chains. Unlike The Great Recession where the pain was slow to ramp and more evenly spread, COVID-19 was sudden and impacted industries more severely than others, with some organizations having higher levels of preparedness than others.
From an information technology perspective, Remedi has observed that those with broad integration capabilities, modern integration tools, and difference-making integration talent, were able to pivot more quickly to navigate disruption and support their organization’s changes in products, supply/demand chain partners, and business models in the wake of the pandemic.
We have seen firms using integration as a competitive differentiator organizing their talent and tools differently than others to not only include EDI, but also support enterprise application integration (EAI), application programming interface (API), managed file transfer (MFT), and internet of things (IOT) integration access points.
Long before the pandemic, leading-edge clients were evolving their capabilities from EDI and B2B integration to all things integration, centrally organizing tools and staff for agility and differential advantage. When the pandemic seized up much of the economy, this integration agility played a huge role in supporting COVID-19 pivots and accelerating opportunities for those companies that were prepared.
Let The Evolution Begin
In step with these clients Remedi has also been evolving our view, capabilities, and support for client “all things integration” requirements. Modern day integration is the information technology plumbing that connects business partners, business systems, analytics, AI, data collection devices, and other digital transformation efforts.
While much of this transformation has been behind the scenes, Remedi’s current integration capabilities are more accurately represented by this graphic, fresh content found on our site, and in our newly crafted branding.
From our roots in EDI, we now support a variety of modern integration disciplines, playing the integration roles required by our clients, offering a host of integration solutions and services, while supporting the most common delivery models.
Counting our blessings in 2020, and in anticipation of 2021, we look forward to supporting you in integration, helping you respond to disruption in whatever form it comes, and accelerating your opportunities.
In closing, may the light of the season bring you and those close to you, health, happiness, and hope.
And remember, if a 900-year old order of liqueur-making monks can pivot, anyone can.
Brad Loetz
President, Remedi Electronic Commerce
