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46 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2020 to steady itself in May. Today, ma- ny key economic indicators remain strong, bolstered by the May jobs report, but is this a "head fake" devoid of realism? We are of the mindset of "going bold" because there might not be a tomorrow. This strategy recently paid off on multiple occasions, as the company was able to secure new business when competitors were unable to deliver products due to supply chain issues stem- ming from the pandemic. In anoth- er instance, a major OEM brought ICM Controls into their fold to com- ply with a strategic shift in their supply chain philosophy that now mandates all purchased components to be multi-sourced, with at least one source being domestic. Other OEMs are considering following suit. The reopening of the country is going to be a long process that will consist of many stages and subplots. It is estimated that 70–80% of the nation's small businesses and services are already operational to some degree. Even so, many companies—especially manufacturers— will be required to completely rethink their short- and long-term business plans. We are only at the beginning of stage one of reopen- ing, which addresses immediate concerns in order to help shore up the bottom line. Stage two won't be for another 6–12 months when companies begin to take a long, hard look at where and how they purchase goods and adjust their policies in order to mitigate risk to their supply chain. We went through this exercise a year or two before amidst the trade war with China, as we did not want to be overexposed to any one region. We start- ed working with major OEMs to qualify criti- cal components from a variety of sources all over the world. This forward-thinking has the company operating today from a position of strength. Further out, stage three will be largely based on the decisions made in stage two and be tied to a company's 3–5 year business plan, but could very well shape the way manufac- turing looks in the future. This decision will be especially critical for larger companies that not only outsource work to China but have also invested monies and resourc- es in facilities in China to capital- ize on cheaper labor rates. The accelerating political dis- cord between the United States and China may wind up playing a major role in this decision-making process. Both countries have been at odds over the past two years due to the trade war, Hong Kong, and now the pandemic. Business- es with exposure to China must al- ready contend with supply chain disruptions due to the Chinese New Year, but planning around a single annual annoyance is far easier than dealing with a constant array of unexpected policy shifts and shutdowns. At some point, companies must ask themselves if it is worth it. As we move forward, economic success will depend on how companies are able to main- tain compliance and respond to ever-chang- ing guidelines and executive orders from each state and each country. Smaller or vertically in- tegrated companies can adopt internal policies that tend to be more fluid because they can pivot more easily and react faster to change. Large conglomerates, on the other hand, must prepare themselves with multiple action plans to handle almost any scenario in order to enact policy change over their entire enterprise in a timely manner, which is not an easy task. Then again, nothing in the post-COVID-19 business world is. The one certainty, however, is that domestic contract manufacturers will be ready to help with their transition should these companies decide to bring the work back home. PCB007 Kevin Jobsky is senior marketing manager at ICM Controls.