A new research report reveals how the UK electronics sector is prioritising innovation, flexibility and good financial management to ensure business continuity and growth.
Embedded design consultancy ByteSnap Design has revealed the top concerns and priorities for UK electronics companies in its new report: Navigating COVID-19: The New Normal.
To develop the report ByteSnap Design surveyed electronics sector personnel across a range of industries including automotive, industrial, medtech and components in May 2020.
Dunstan Power, Director at ByteSnap Design, comments: “We are in the midst of the most extreme pandemic this world has seen in years. Now, more than ever, electronics companies have an opportunity to show how we can support our healthcare systems and governments in fighting to protect lives, while also positioning ourselves to protect our businesses and employees.
“At ByteSnap Design, we are proud to work on IoT, healthcare and tracking devices, and have successfully implemented a remote working set up so that we can continue to support our clients. However, the electronics community is not homogeneous, so against this backdrop, we decided to survey electronics professionals in the UK about the current state of the sector, the challenges they face, how they are fighting COVID-19 and planning to survive.”
Key findings
Impact on electronics industry – 16 per cent were unsure how the coronavirus would impact the electronics industry, the remaining respondents anticipated the following over the next 18 months: drop in demand 36 per cent, supply chain disruption 18 per cent, increased opportunities 13 per cent, onshoring 9 per cent and prioritising products to fight COVID-19 8 per cent
Changes in demand – 43 per cent of respondents expected demand for their products or services to decrease, while positively 23 per cent expected an increase and 34 per cent stated
Recovery time – an encouraging 22 per cent of respondents are not experiencing any dip in sales activity, while the majority of respondents (86 per cent) believe we will be back to normal within a year. 12 per cent expect recovery to take from 12 months to two years and sadly 3 per cent expect that they will never recover
Fighting against COVID-19 – 58 per cent of respondents said that they are helping in the fight against COVID-19, and 43% of those who were helping were involved in equipment development, with the majority focusing on medical devices, and 19 per cent stepping up to help with the Ventilator Challenge.
Plans to weather the pandemic – innovating (30 per cent) and being flexible (29 per cent), followed by 21 per cent of respondents citing the need to be lean and engage in good financial management.
As well as statistics comparing different sectors, the report also provides further insight into each question with direct quotes from respondents.
Graeme Wintle, Director at ByteSnap Design concludes: “With resilience, adaptability, cash, good leadership and a mix of customers across a range of different industries, electronics firms are likely to have good survival rates. Slipping into survival mode is not a good strategy. Out of this crisis, opportunities will arise and electronics companies should be ready to make our expertise available to support innovative products.”
Download the full report at https://www.bytsnp.uk/electronics-industry-covid-19-survey-results
