Adapting without losing sight of the goal

Friday 11th of September 2020

The beginning of 2020 started with so much promise. At SUZOHAPP, we had many plans for what was to be a great year of change and development.

Following a few years of acquisitions and product development, 2020 was going to be the time for us to refine our focus on our core customers by bringing our customer experience and product offering to the next level. We had a terrific show at ICE London and were very excited for what the future held. Then everything changed when the pandemic shut down the world. Suddenly a singular focus emerged, like tunnel vision with a forward light. That goal was simple. Survive.

We stopped all travel, created hyper-vigilant sanitizing procedures for our operating facilities, shifted to remote work and looked at how to cut costs. Like most companies, we had some difficulty navigating the tumult that was the ever-changing guidelines as information about how to deal with the virus emerged. We were very fortunate, however. With a warehouse facility in China serving our Asia-Pacific customers, we learned best practices early and were able to implement them quickly to our global warehouses. Our lean team worked hard to get whatever business we could in the door. But we quickly learned that our traditional ways of working would not get us through these uncertain times. We had to figure out how to shift our mentality to adapt and change quickly while staying true to our brand, our goals and strategies, and our people. Often, the trouble with trying to be an “adaptable” company is that there is a fine line between simply being a reactive organization and being flexible with your plans but still retaining your company mission. Once the dust settled, and we realized that the “new normal” of the pandemic was going to be around for a while, we determined that to survive past the pandemic we’d have to continue our plan to refocus on our core customers but we’d have to navigate a constantly moving line to get there.

In that light, SUZOHAPP is more committed to serving our core customers than ever before. We know that our strength lies in our expertise of over 30 years in the business and our breadth of partnerships with suppliers and manufacturers. These strengths will help us continue to move forward. Though we have weathered what we hope is the worst of this storm, we know many companies, smaller manufacturers and suppliers specifically, were not so lucky. These closures have had a profound effect on our industry as they supply many OEMs and operators with their products. To fill this need, SUZOHAPP will be working with our engineers and network of suppliers to do all we can to source quality replacements for these key items to ensure our industry will not fall behind in production or innovation. Additionally, we have launched the Personal Protection Line— a collection of relevant anti-viral products sourced by our team of experts who know what makes sense for the gaming industry and where the pain points are. But like everything these days, we know these plans will likely change as our environment shifts around us. We want you to know that even as plans change, our focus will not stray. We are here to listen to your needs and to your feedback and help find a solution together. We continue to want to be your partner throughout this and simplify your sourcing so you can put your time and energy back into your company mission and spend a little less time adapting.

Interactive Gaming