Management Check List – Manoeuvre through Situations of Rapid Change (SRC)

Welcome to your Distress Management assessment

Engage with key customers


a2
a3
b1
b2
b3
c1
c2
c3
Understand customers’ changed needs / demands


(Re-)Vitalize the sales force / secure orders at discounts


Review prices, products, promotions, consider different service offerings, to meet changing market demand


Focus on accounts receivable, accelerate collections


Extend credit lines with banks and other creditors


Apply off balance sheet forms of financing


Assess and secure the supply chain


Review insurances and commitments (e.g. Force Majeure clauses)


Establish a liquidity office to manage and forecast cash flows


Enhance rigorous cost discipline


Identify critical accounts payable and reduce non-critical spending


Prioritize payments


Agree on deferred payments with suppliers


Prepare for changes in the cash conversion cycle (e.g. extend accounts payable, shorten accounts receivable)


Manage working capital closely (e.g. reduce (non-critical) inventory levels)


Review all CAPEX investments


Assess and secure supply chain
Review all CAPEX investments
Assess and secure supply chain
Assess and adjust critical inventory levels
Perform on Work in-Progress
idenify and aligne with critical suppliers
include utilization levels in crisis management routines and optimize
assess operational risk and interdependencies (e.g. with utility providers)
Redirect idle workforce to other activities
Assess and adjust critical inventory levels


Perform on Work-In-Progress


Identify, engage and align with critical suppliers


Assess and optimize utilization levels of operational resources (machinery, workforce)


Assess operational risk and interdependencies (e.g. with utility providers)


Redirect idle workforce to other activities (e.g. contracting to other market participants)


Conclude and regulary update runway analysis of the firm under the given conditions


Analyse the cost structure of the firm in its core operations (crucial processes and resources)


Monitor and respond to market and competitive dynamics


Understand the workforce base (looking at top / low performers, attendance records, critical knowledge)


Turn fixed costs into variable costs


Leverage on intelligence; use data, collected by salesforces, customer service, procurement (et al.)


Analyse and understand the drivers and the reaction to the situation from external stakeholders like e.g. competitors, regulators, customers etc.


Analyse and understand the drivers and the reaction to the situation from internal stakeholder as shareholders, management and employees


Apply scenario planning for financial budgets and liquidity


Apply scenario planning for financial budgets and liquidity as well


Stress test the scenarios


Conduct rolling forecasts


Develop according action plans


Understand how to adjust to scenarios


Avoid considering “business-as-usual” under pre-crisis assumptions


Identify relevant stakeholder groups inside and outside the firm


Engage with shareholders, asses activism vulnerability, communicate actual financial resilience


Lead with clear directions, purpose and integrity


Engage mid-level management and the workforce


Reduce the stress among the employees and executives, boost morale


Empower mid-level management


Create a cross-functional, rapid-response team to take clear decisions


Apply agile methodology to manoeuvre through the crisis


Apply lessons learned analysis after even small decisions in response to the crisis


Foster diversity in management processes (including junior staff, fresh joiners, external consultants…)


Prepare for bounce-back scenarios


Anticipate different scenarios of a new normal


Review (and re-invent) the Business Model


Include known macroeconomic scenarios in mid-term planning (e.g. “W”, “U”, “L”, “V”)


Leverage and follow up on lessons learned


Monitor and analyse actions from competitors


Observe the course of events in other geographical markets, sectors and countries


Secure opportunities to receive funds from shareholders


Mitigate or redirect discretionary spend (e.g. marketing)


Mitigate or redirect discretionary spend (e.g. marketing, employee benefits, charity)


Secure opportunities to receive funds from shareholders