Executive Summary
GoPro is an American technology firm that manufactures action cameras and develops its video-editing software and mobile apps. Nick Woodman founded GoPro in 2002, and it is geared toward assisting people in capturing live images. From the beginning of 2020, the logistics for many companies have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has disrupted free movements of people and goods, reducing economic growth and job creation.
Relevance of the Topic
The supply chain distribution in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic directly affected logistic that supports most business. There are detrimental factors such as fragmented supply lines, labor shortage, weak infrastructure, and uncertainty with the regulations for goods mobility. The topic is important since the GoPro business was severely affected as the supply distributions of its raw materials and goods impacted manufacturing and productivity directly.
Organizational productivity has no critical impact on customer satisfaction; nevertheless, COVID-19 produced a negative indirect impact (Udofia et al., 2021). The pandemic caused supply chain disruptions but did not critically affect the productivity in most manufacturing firms.
Logistics in every company are viewed as an auxiliary for commerce and trade as they facilitate them to deliver goods and services to consumers and clients. There is the facilitation of mobility during the supply chain. Moreover, the logistic sector is essential to the worldwide global manufacturing, which is scattered and elusive to the markets in remote rural areas and urban centers. Nearly 90 percent of the worldwide population is subjected to travel restrictions, especially international ones, due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Baker, 2020). This has affected GoPro products, which goes hand-in-hand with the travel and tour industry.
GoPro Response, Improvements, and Outcome Due to COVID-19
Response
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the GoPro worldwide distribution network. The company responded by moving to more profitable and effective methods of a direct-to-consumer-centric way of doing business. But the unfortunate effect is the sacking of some of the talented employees. The company took this path to save shrinking revenues, therefore serving customers directly to remain profitable. The firm’s direct-to-consumer-centric model is best arraigned with the present business climate since it is accretive to gross margin.
Improvements or Better Decision
Seemingly, the camera manufacturing company has been hit hard by the effects of COVID-19. The firm announced a reduction of $100 million in operating expenses for 2020 and reduced workforce by 20 percent (IANS, 2020). The action rendered over 200 employees jobless, which could have been avoided if they implored other means of cutting costs. Instead of GoPro laying off a large number of its staff at once, there should have been pay cuts and reduction of other remuneration benefits. Hiring some employees on a part-time basis and decreasing advertisements could have saved cost too.
Outcomes
The outcomes were expected since all enterprises globally were looking for means to survive amid the pandemic. The company was seeking further to minimize the non-headcount connected operating cost to $250 this year. Apart from selling directly to consumers, GoPro was mulling selling their products to leading retailers in critical regions. This approach is prompted by certain customers who prefer to purchasing indirectly and also in online markets. Moreover, businesses currently seek all models that may help them overcome the effects of COVID-19 at home and overseas markets.
Conclusion
GoPro is an American technology firm that manufactures action cameras and develops its video-editing software and mobile apps. The firms rely on logistics services for storage, movement, and flow of goods as an integral part of the value chain in the global supply chain. GoPro business was severely affected as the supply distributions of its raw materials and goods impacted manufacturing and productivity directly. The company responded by moving to more profitable and effective methods of a direct-to-consumer-centric way of doing business.
References
Baker, P. (2020). The impact of COVID-19: Reflections on the transport and logistics. International Economics. Web.
IANS. (2020). GoPro sacks over 200 employees due to Covid-19 impact. The Times of India. Web.
Udofia, E., Adejare, B., Olaore, G., & Udofia, E. (2021). Supply disruption in the wake of COVID-19 crisis and organizational performance: Mediated by organizational productivity and customer satisfaction. Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences. Web.