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Purchasing Management Challenges during the Corona Virus Epidemic.
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The world economy was in the midst of a crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was
facing the worst recession in decades. While government assistance aided many firms, the
epidemic was likely to create more disruption. The economic effect of Covid-19 had a negative
influence on almost every firm, regardless of industry. However, while it is tempting to base
everything on today's economic situation, this overlooks one important point: most of the issues
that enterprises were experiencing can be traced far further back. Simply said, the pandemic
highlighted several pre-existing weaknesses in firms, notably a lack of resilience to changes and,
in today's technology-driven world, the only constant changes. Covid-19 has only heightened the
urgency of implementing revolutionary changes. However, the demand was already present.
The COVID-19 pandemic made it critical for company executives to devise methods for
ensuring business continuity, customer stability, and revenue development during an uncertain
and unprecedented period in history. COVID-19 has altered the way the economy will work in
the near future. Numerous markets were on the verge of evolving to meet the primary demands
of the consumers but due to covid-19 they had to change their strategies to meet the required
regulations set and at the same time generate revenue (Setyoko and Kurniasih, 2022). This posed
a great challenge to evolving markets since it compromised the already set goals and objectives.
It was necessary to make alterations to the set objectives and goals to accommodate the demands
brought about by the pandemic.
There was a significant budget decrease as a result of COVID-19 significantly decreased
because marketing isn't generally considered a mission-critical job, it's often the first department
to be slashed when funding is tight. Under significantly tighter budget limits, Chief Marketing
Officers (CMOs) were forced to generate continuous client acquisition and revenue development
(Sanchez-Graells, 2020). There were rapid changes in the marketing mix and messaging, the

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epidemic added new complications and limits to the marketing mix. Customer caution and a
digital world overloaded with the news made it harder to penetrate through the internet clutter.
Clients remained indoors consequently, out-of-home marketing became outdated, and significant
events were pushed into a virtual world, necessitating the need for a solid digital strategy.
Furthermore, marketers became aware of the present economic climate and altered their
marketing messaging to account for the larger context of COVID-19.
Individuals began paying close attention to how companies responded to and behaved in
the aftermath of the COVID-19 incident. Listening, reporting, and responding rapidly to
consumer problems was critical to preserving brand feeling and impression. Moreover,
consumers no longer had simple access to their nets or support ecosystems, resulting in
overburdened contact centers that risk not meeting demand (Sheng etal,.2021). Managing
customer interactions digitally with sensitivity, empathy, and mindfulness via social media,
forums, chat, and in-product capabilities assisted in managing brand reputation during moments
of isolation. The enterprise had to set up new ways to ensure they meet the demands of its
consumers which resulted in a shift in its marketing strategy.
They increased the need to comprehend and utilize technology, and as firms migrated to
the virtual user experience paradigm, marketing professionals had to adopt the technology.
Successfully implementing technology that supported a consistent digital shopping experience
was the difference between marketing businesses that survived and those that were continuously
in triage. Furthermore, the capacity to analyze and report data across consumer touch points was
important for demonstrating marketing performance during the market mix.
In terms of compliance, the purchase management system of an enterprise is tasked with
the responsibility of ensuring the purchased goods and services efficiently maximize profits, and

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limit costs. All this was altered by the epidemic since industries and businesses had to change
their marketing methods to meet the regulations put in place because of covid-19. These
regulations required more money to execute and they also exposed businesses to criminals.
Criminals were quick to take advantage of altered behavior patterns and people's increasing
concerns and feelings of emergency as companies, governments, and individuals grapple with
the widespread disruption produced by COVID-19.
The adoption of social distancing measures, as well as the expansion of remote working,
increased the use of online services and electronic communication, increasing digital criminal
behavior. Businesses should not underestimate the threats posed by the surge in digital crime
(Vargo et al., 2021) Because of the epidemic, new criminal possibilities have arisen, and cyber-
attacks are getting more sophisticated. Compliance teams can mitigate online criminals by
reconsidering what constitutes suspicious behavior and using online authentication and
verification capabilities with which they were previously unfamiliar. All of this implies that the
danger for firms is greater than ever.
There was low adaptability of manual processes. The requirement to send all staff home
was one of the most significant sources of interruption in many organizations. Although working
remotely is now common in many businesses, others have had to deal with the reality that
working at home is inconvenient. The truth is that many people just cannot operate as efficiently
outside of the workplace. This has resulted in late payments and bad vendor relations for
the procurement and finance departments (Garfin, 2020). This can be mitigated by setting up a
technologically advanced IT infrastructure that bridges the gap between the employer, employee,
and client by creating a base that accommodates and meets all their needs. The IT infrastructure
introduced should be safe from hackers and cyber-attacks through reliable software security.

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Global supply networks have always been susceptible to shocks in major exporting
countries. Trade conflicts, pandemics like COVID-19, internal political instability, and so on are
examples of these shocks. This vulnerability stems primarily from factors that may obstruct the
smooth movement of goods and services from exporting countries to their main import trading
partners (de Sous, Jabbour et al, 2020). COVID-19 caused havoc in all sectors of the economy
and businesses throughout the world. The interruptions were mostly the result of lockdown
measures established and implemented by governments throughout the world as a health plan to
limit the impact of the pandemic's spread on the world population. The COVID-19 lockdown
measures resulted in production halts, limitations on persons and goods movement, border
closures, logistical challenges, and a slowdown in trade and economic activity.
When onboarding vendors, Covid-19 has identified various trust and transparency
challenges. With many organizations suffering severe supply shortages, turning to new and
unknown suppliers is part of their risk management strategy they did this to mitigate the severe
situation they were in. Additionally, the level of urgency implies that there was less time to do
anti-money-laundering checks, know-your-customer (KYC) checks, or credit checks. This puts
the enterprise at risk of incurring losses due to the poor quality of goods supplied and the
decreased demand for the product (Valaskova et al, .2020). Of course, the epidemic hasn't
diminished the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR). As a result, it has increased
its significance. These inspections, as well as many other regular processes related to supplier
onboarding, are now more important than ever.
During the pandemic, globalization was under threat as nations strive to curb global
commerce and people flow to lessen their exposure to the virus. Border closures and severe
migration policies caused enormous disruptions in global supply networks, negatively impacting

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jobs and poverty (Mas-Coma, et al., 2020). It was a period when globalization became slower
than ever. People interacted through social media platforms in compliance with the lockdown
regulation, this discriminated against those living below the poverty level since they could not
afford electronic devices, and they were in total darkness.
Lockdowns were first imposed in more globalized countries because the cases of
domestic COVID-19 were high. They had to reduce movement by setting up travel restrictions
and mandatory testing for COVID-19 and quarantine (Schilirò, 2020). Such practices affected
the economy since people became scared of going out, making purchases, and interacting with
others, as a result, business revenues were reduced greatly. This was counteracted by putting up
quarantine facilities for those who had just migrated from other countries, regular screening for
COVID-19, wearing masks, washing and sanitizing stations set up for people, and a one-meter
distance observed. These measures contributed to globalization and also reduced the spread of
the virus.
The purchasing management sector underwent revolutionary shifts due to COVID-19.
These shifts occurred in favor of the global economic industry, without the changes made by
enterprises the recession would have suffocated many enterprises. The epidemic posed a
phenomenal challenge for numerous companies and industries globally. It tested their
capabilities of navigating new waters in the economic sector, consequently, several enterprises
and industries shut down while others thrived during this period which was an opportunity in
disguise.

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References
de Sousa Jabbour, A. B. L., Jabbour, C. J. C., Hingley, M., Vilalta-Perdomo, E. L., Ramsden, G.,
& Twigg, D. (2020). Sustainability of supply chains in the wake of the coronavirus
(COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2) pandemic: lessons and trends. Modern Supply Chain
Research and Applications.
Garfin, D. R. (2020). Technology as a coping tool during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Implications
and recommendations. Stress and Health.
Mas-Coma, S., Jones, M. K., & Marty, A. M. (2020). COVID-19 and globalization. One
health, 9.
Sanchez-Graells, A. (2020). Procurement in the time of COVID-19. N. Ir. Legal Q., 71, 81.
Schilirò, D. (2020). Towards digital globalization and the covid-19 challenge.
Setyoko, P. I., & Kurniasih, D. (2022). Impact of the Covid 19 Pandemic on Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) Performance: A Qualitative Study in Indonesia. Journal of Industrial
Engineering & Management Research, 3(3), 315-324.
Sheng, J., Amankwah‐Amoah, J., Khan, Z., & Wang, X. (2021). COVID‐19 pandemic in the
new era of big data analytics: Methodological innovations and future research
directions. British Journal of Management, 32(4), 1164-1183.
Valaskova, K., Durana, P., & Adamko, P. (2021). Changes in consumers’ purchase patterns as a
consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mathematics, 9(15), 1788.
Vargo, D., Zhu, L., Benwell, B., & Yan, Z. (2021). Digital technology use during COVID‐19
pandemic: A rapid review. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3(1), 13-24.

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