The New, New Normal

The last time we heard the term, New Normal was way back in 2008. During the subprime crisis, which triggered a global meltdown and affected business across the world. The demand deficit caused by the meltdown resulted in a sizable slowdown in the ground transportation sector as well. During this slow down, the term New Normal was peddled across the world in all sizes and shapes. Now, after what we have gone through over the last six months, we realise how shallow those fears were.

The impact of the current crisis is far from being measured on any scale as of now. It is impossible to gauge the impact this crisis will have, but for sure, we will see a tectonic shift in the way business across board will be conducted in the future. Last time around, we witnessed organisation cutting cost and optimising their budgets to the best of their abilities without impacting their core business activities. What we most probably will witness now is a complete change in buying behaviour emerging from a shift in motivation for any buying decision.

This will indeed be a new normal and the ones who adapt and learn the very basics of this change will thrive in the coming years.

Ground/surface transportation or the last mile connect in the business travel spectrum will definitely be impacted. The analysis of how and by how much is still a long way out. But yes, with the tell-tale signs clearly visible to us, we can forecast specific changes over the next couple of years with a mild level of accuracy:

• The Volume of travel will reduce, and only essential travel will be sanctioned or undertaken.
• The requirement for fulfilment will be weighed in terms of Owned/Exclusive Vs. Shared.
• The cost will continue to be the focus, along with heightened levels of weightage to quality and safety standards.

Basically, what we might end up seeing is more focus on Quality and exclusivity with a reduced number of trips. The summary effect of demand hence might remain unchanged because of this phenomenon.

This New Normal will have its own set of opportunities and challenges. The ground transportation industry has a vast scope to change the service delivery mechanism to deliver these changing needs. The Industry-specific mantra should be – “Deliver Quality and safety while keeping costs low by deploying relevant technology tools. Avoid incurring capital expenditure as much as possible and collaborate to serve customer requirements.”

We Welcome the New Normal by embracing this mantra and look forward to being a part of the New Growth story.