With winter here, there are a few things to consider for your business.

A portion of business entities are quite dependent on weather patterns and benefit from seasonal cycles as their goods are specifically designed for the heat of the summer, the colder conditions of the winter, or maybe the conditions of the seasons in between. 

A portion of businesses may thrive on wet weather, or long dry periods for their goods to be in demand, whereas other business entities may provide goods that are in demand regardless of the weather conditions and are generally unaffected by the changing seasons.

Some business entities that have a seasonal demand for their goods will forecast the cycle of demand for their various goods throughout the year, or change the type of goods being marketed to suit the needs of the season by increasing or reducing stock to mirror customer demand.

The seasonal changes may impact on a business through a range of influences that are obvious being the demand for goods, as well as operational influences that are not so obvious. The less obvious influences can cause negative impacts to the business if not identified and managed well, creating the risk of not being able to supply customer demand.

Here are a few business influences that might need to be considered going into the winter months:

1.       Supply Chain – Depending on where the raw materials for the goods are sourced from, the provision and delivery of raw materials may be delayed.

2.       Distribution – Transportation in New Zealand is vulnerable to road delays that could impact on delivery schedules.

3.       Staff Resilience – Are there enough staff with the right knowledge to continue operations if key staff are away through winter illness.

4.       Staff Effectiveness – Have the staff taken enough leave away from work during the summer season to be mentally healthy and not feel tired when work pressures increases.

5.       State of Mind – Key personnel often feel they need to be available for excessive periods of time, often allowing burnout to creep up on them, especially during the winter months. If key staff are struggling, so will the rest of the team.

6.       Morale – Morale in the workplace has a big influence on the success of a business. If morale is low during the winter period, output can be adversely affected. Try and introduce encouragement tools to lift morale.

7.       Operational preparedness – As the seasons change, is the business prepared for the obstacles that may impact on the operations such as temperature, humidity, water, wind, insects, etc…

8.        Capacity – Operations may be affected by winter power cuts, delivery of goods, or dry weather storage and similar elements.

9.       Training – Is there more than one staff member that knows how to perform key operational functions to keep the operations going when key staff are away.

As seasons change from one set of conditions to another, one or more of the above can occur quite rapidly, with the business struggling to function at its optimum.

It’s always helpful to complete a basic health check of the above before going through the more difficult seasons that may affect the business.

For further details on ‘Seasonal Changes Can Adversely Affect the business', please contact me through www.activebss.co.nz or get my latest book "Getting back to business" through amazon on the link here: https://amzn.asia/d/0a82hjxu