COVID-19 Pandemic 'Cry for Help' in Machinery Industry... Full Effort to Revise Parts Supply and Sales Strategies

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[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Machinery companies, which are struggling due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic, are making every effort to revise their parts procurement and sales strategies.

According to the industry on the 21st, as COVID-19 has recently spread from the large market of China to Europe and the United States, it has become inevitable for machinery companies to revise their sales strategies.

In the machine tool industry, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has sharply increased in the European Union (EU) and the United States, where product demand is high, leading to movement restrictions and making it difficult to conduct local sales activities. Additionally, since the machine tool industry typically dispatches technical personnel for after-sales service or technical sales, restrictions on Korean entry and local movement have caused damage to sales. A representative from machine tool company A said, “The main orders in the first quarter reflect projects ordered before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, so the impact may not be severe, but it is difficult to estimate second-quarter sales.”

The construction machinery industry, which had been struggling since January due to the spread of COVID-19 in China, is now suffering from the spread of COVID-19 in the United States ahead of the peak construction season. A representative from construction machinery company B said, “In January and February, when COVID-19 was spreading in China, it was the seasonal off-season, so it was manageable. However, as the peak construction season begins in March, the virus is spreading to the United States and Europe, and sales are expected to drop significantly.”

There is also growing fear that clients or local factories in Europe and the United States may shut down at any time. Because of this, machinery companies with parts suppliers in Europe and the United States are looking for alternative suppliers for parts procurement. A representative from another construction machinery company C said, “There is a possibility of serious impact on the procurement of some parts, such as hydraulic equipment produced in Germany, so we are diversifying and expanding our parts procurement sources.”

For this reason, the industry is revising its entire one-year order and marketing strategy. Typically, the machinery industry participates in domestic and international exhibitions held in March and April to secure orders. Domestic construction machinery companies minimized participating personnel or operated only local subsidiaries to participate in ConExpo Con/AGG 2020 held in Las Vegas, USA, on March 10 (local time). However, after the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, most domestic and international exhibitions have been postponed to the second half of the year. Therefore, strategies to increase sales through online marketing and events in the second half of the year are also being considered. Preparing for an improvement in the COVID-19 situation, the industry plans to strengthen networks with existing trading countries and clients to gain a favorable position in future orders.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.