It’s a sunny, deep morning in Eugene, Oregon, a place best known for outdoor access, a history of eco-activism and being Nike’s birthplace. I’m standing in front of an indescribable, one-story industrial space, talking to Mark Frohnmayer, CEO of Arcimoto, a manufacturer of a three-wheeled electric vehicle he calls a “fun utility vehicle.”
Only I’m not in Oregon. I’m still stuck at home, on the opposite coast, relying – like many of us – on a growing range of tools that allow me to do my job remotely. In this case, I get a tour of the Arcimoto factory via FaceTime. Mr. Frohnmayer carries me on an iPhone, shows me things, approaches me with half-finished cars, parts, and vehicles, and asks me questions. To me, it turns out to be a reasonable facsimile of the fact that I’m there. Minus the eight-hour flight and stay at a discount hotel approved by the Dow Jones, with continental breakfast, that is.
This is how Mr. Frohnmayer and his team offer factory tours to investors, customers and suppliers since the beginning of the pandemic. It works well enough that Mr Frohnmayer wants to continue to do so after the pandemic ends, as he comes without any productivity losses due to travel days.
Thanks to cloud-based collaboration tools for every description – not just Zoom – the pandemic has led to a reset of office culture, from personal to remote or hybrid. Surprisingly, there was also a reset for workers that almost no one thought they could do their job remotely, including field engineers and emergency medical personnel.
While these changes explain post-pandemic workplace trends, they also demonstrate a new way forward for business relationships. Many examples come from the most practical industry of all: production. Workers still have to go to a factory and assemble products, and quality control may require travel abroad from time to time, but many other activities – including due diligence investments, building relationships with suppliers and customers and even research and development – unexpected and may disappear permanently.