On 6 May 2020, over 250 business leaders attended our webinar on planning for a return to business-as-usual following the COVID-19 lockdown. Watch the recording below to find out how to stay agile and make quick decisions in the middle of this evolving situation.

Webinar series: Leading through the unknown – Planning beyond the outbreak

During the call, our experts took attendees through how to model quickly and adapt their business plan for the new normal:

  • Karen Brice (Chair), Director, Governance and Board Advisory

  • Natasha Teeling, Associate Director, Business Consulting

  • Oliver Bridge, Director, UK Operations Team lead

  • Ria Murphy, Financial Director of Fanatics International

Fanatics International business planning

Our guest speaker was Ria Murphy from Fanatics International, the global leader in licensed sports merchandise. Ria talked to us about the challenges and successes she's seen as Finance Director of Fanatics’ international business, explaining that apparel retailers sometimes need to plan 12-18 months in advance to meet demands in stock and to support retail at sporting events that, due to the coronavirus, have now been cancelled or postponed.

Ria told us how extensive scenario-planning has been critical to Fanatics during the first weeks of the lockdown, and how there have been some benefits including partner relationships and potential new business opportunities. Watch the video above for more insight into how Fanatics have approached tackling coronavirus lockdown.

Formal business planning

A quick poll of our attendees showed that more than half are currently looking to update their business plan in light of the lockdown. How to write a business plan that will persuade your stakeholders and lenders of your financial viability is a key question for many of our clients.

In the webinar recording, Oliver Bridge offers his tips on how to produce a new business strategy that will set your course through the lockdown. He also explains how to build in agility and flexibility, so you can adapt as the situation evolves.

Lastly, Natasha Teeling took us through the three critical strategic considerations that you need to be building into your formal business plan. Many businesses aren't considering as many scenarios in their business planning process as they need to be.

Watch above to see Natasha explain the key questions you need to be asking to stress-test your basic business plan and modeling against different scenarios. Will you be flexible enough to ramp your operations back up and then bring them down again should another lockdown be necessary later on?