Is solidarity only for individuals in society or is there something as moral behavior between companies in these challenging times? Adriaan Kom will tell you more about this in the next 2 minutes.
Transcript
Is solidarity only for individuals in society or is there something as moral behavior between companies in these challenging times?
On behalf of Altares Dun & Bradstreet I would like to explore this subject briefly in 2 minutes.
As of mid-March The Benelux experiences a severe impact of the Coronavirus. Economists calculated that we see a stand-still in the economy of between 20 and 30%, expecting the world economy to decrease with 4% in 2020.
At present we see a massive Economic Support Plan of several hundreds of billions of Euros for the Benelux and Europe region. The aim of this plan is to protect, beside our health, also our jobs and income. But what can we do ourselves, as a single company, here in Antwerp or Rotterdam?
The OECD considers it most urgent to fight against business insolvencies, which is feared to increase rapidly up to 14% for 2020. Bankruptcies create a deep pain for the economy as a whole and for individuals in particular. They impact business chains and can create a knock-out effect for other companies.
Airlines, the tourism sector, events, the list of activities that are highly impacted is long and increases every day. Do note that our research shows that late customer payments increase the ‘probability of default’ for companies by 25%! It is therefore essential to pay suppliers on time or even earlier if possible.
The invoices at the beginning of March were still being paid on time, but from then on the situation has become more tense… and we see other behavior as well. Sometimes due to a lack of funds, but also to protect the own cash!
In society we spot several solidarity initiatives amongst individuals: people are helping out their neighbors in order to overcome this crisis. Our belief is that intercompany solidarity must also be put on the agenda! Let’s contribute to fuel the economy together, with the tools we have, by paying on time.. It will play a key role in protecting our jobs and income.
