This fascinating article suggests that the toilet paper shortage was not triggered by hoarding, but by a change in demand due to the nearly nation-wide stay at home orders. The toilet paper producers of America make both commercial and residential versions of their products. When everyone transitioned to working at home, the use of commercial products dropped dramatically and was made up for by increased use of the residential product. That is why the home-use product was out of stock in so many stores, at least for a while.
This raises an interesting point. In what ways will the demand for goods and services shift in the short, medium, and long-term due to the impacts of the coronavirus? In our Transformational Journey from Gettysburg program, we talk about scanning the environment to see what changes might be coming your way and positioning your organization to be ready to survive and even thrive in the new environment. What is your company’s version of upping the production of home-use toilet paper while scaling back on commercial use products?
