The industrial mobilization against the coronavirus has been largely business-driven, at least in the US, writes Greg Ip. One example is True Value Co. retooling its paint-making equipment to make hand sanitizer after hearing from its store network.

Demand for products such as cereal, ramen and soup were among the surprises for distributors trying to figure out how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, says John Raiche, executive vice president of supplier services for United Natural Foods. "These shelf-stable, easy-to-make meal-prep items, overall -- including categories that were real pariahs -- they are shining stars right now and that really wasn't expected." he says.

Hy-Vee, in a unique partnership with the operator of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, will begin offering shoes and accessories for sale in its stores in an effort to give shoppers "the very best in all lifestyle categories in a convenient and easy-to-shop format," said Hy-Vee CEO and President Randy Edeker. The partnership will start with an online launch on Hy-Vee.com because of the coronavirus pandemic, then rolled out to stores over time.

Automating the order-to-cash process can help distributors manage the slowdown in payments caused by the pandemic, writes Elizabeth Galentine. Employees may resist such an overhaul until they see its benefits, says Chris Graves of Esker.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a search spike for some business-to-business products, with telemedicine software, web conferencing, mobile app development, anti-virus and remote desktop experiencing the biggest increases in interest, TrustRadius reports. The five products with the biggest search spikes are, in order, Intermedia AnyMeeting, Google Classroom, Blackboard Collaborate, Zoom and Webex Events.

Labor movements and unions are due for a resurgence as the coronavirus shows the value of lower-wage yet essential workers and exposes unfair work and pay structures, goes one argument. On the other hand, many companies are gearing up to use more automation and robots in warehouses, retail, food and transportation.

In his blog post, NAW Institute Fellow Mark Dancer says, "The conduct of business will change as the coronavirus crisis recedes, but it's too early to know the new normal with certainty. Just as first reporting in any emergency often proves to be inaccurate and wrong, so too may early predictions about a new normal for doing business miss the mark." Read his post.

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