Indian Manufacturing Industry in the Post-Pandemic World

When the world was locked under clutches of the pandemic, manufacturing facilities across the globe experienced months of production blackouts. India was no exception - with over 30% of SMEs coming from the manufacturing industry, impact of the pandemic on the manufacturing sector could be observed across the country - deserted production facilities, labor migration, and goods stuck across transport channels. Fluctuating demand in the upstream supply chain, changing channels of B2B demand-supply equation, unavailability of labor and workforce, strained bottom-lines, liquidity crunch, and readjusting consumer behavior were equally visible. Concealed amongst these factors was the newfound equivalent of oil in the early industrial revolution - the growth-potential of digitization beyond immediate recovery measures. COVID-19 has tested the manufacturing industry’s resilience to the greatest in history, and the response to these pandemic challenges is likely to persist beyond the pandemic. Small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises must take advantage of this opportunity to emerge stronger, resilient, and more competitive in the post-pandemic world.