The fight against the COVID-19 epidemic is still going on. In the face of unprecedented challenges, enterprises need to take decisive measures to ensure the safety and health of employees, care for the society, and fully protect business development and the interests of dealers and customers. At present, enterprises in various industries have resumed work and production one after another, and the internal epidemic prevention and control work of enterprises will also face a “big test” – all protection work must be implemented in particular, otherwise it will not only affect the overall situation of epidemic prevention and control, but also affect the vital interests of employees .
At this critical moment in the corporate war against the “epidemic”, BMW Group Chairman Zipse recently wrote to the leaders of Beijing and Liaoning Province to express his support for the Chinese government and local governments in fighting the epidemic.
“The Chinese government and the governments of Beijing Municipality and Liaoning Province have taken decisive and comprehensive measures to deal with the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, which has effectively protected the public health of China and the world. All of this, especially the bravery of frontline medical staff, is worthy of I am very admired.” BMW Group Chairman Zipse said in the letter, “Under the premise of fully protecting the health and safety of employees, we have made full preparations for the gradual resumption of production and operations in China. , and look forward to continuing to contribute more to the development of China and the local economy—the BMW Group would like to reiterate that it will always uphold the ‘initial heart’ of supporting China!”
After the outbreak, BMW’s management team in China immediately set up an emergency management team, which was attended by the “top leaders” of BMW Group’s subsidiaries and joint ventures in China. In the early days of the epidemic, regular online meetings were held almost every working day. BMW’s fight against the epidemic in China has also received strong support from the BMW Group headquarters. In the recent board meetings, board members set aside special time each time to listen to the latest situation from the Chinese management.
With the strong support of the German headquarters and the concerted efforts of the Chinese team, BMW implemented a “package plan” to fight the epidemic in a timely manner, focusing on three aspects: employee care, social donations and business operations:
In terms of employee care, BMW quickly decided to arrange for employees to work remotely, formulated business travel guidelines, and launched personal health guidance, etc., and also coordinated the rapid deployment of resources and the purchase of workplace protection and disinfection materials. BMW believes that it is very important to maintain internal corporate information transparency in times of crisis. Therefore, in the first week after the Spring Festival holiday, BMW organized an online conference with more than 6,000 people to share the company’s epidemic response strategies.
In terms of social donations, the BMW Group and its joint venture BMW Brilliance have donated RMB 35 million to purchase urgently needed medical equipment and protective materials in severely affected areas and Shenyang City, as well as for the “white heroes” during the fight against the epidemic. Provide psychological counseling services.
In terms of business operations, BMW starts with customer service and dealer support. On the one hand, in order to reduce unnecessary travel for customers during the epidemic, BMW announced to extend the validity period of many services and provide free door-to-door pick-up and delivery services. On the other hand, by adjusting business policies, the dealers are relieved, and at the same time, financial means are used to strengthen financial support for dealers.
“I have been in China for the past three weeks. I have witnessed the Chinese government taking the most powerful and responsible measures to fight the epidemic and control the situation; I have also seen many great medical workers bravely ‘retrograde’ to join the front line. We are full of reverence for them. Everyone in the BMW Group, whether in Germany or in China, we will support China and the Chinese people!” said Goller, President and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, “We firmly believe that China will We will overcome the epidemic, and we are fully confident in the medium and long-term economic prospects of China, the world’s largest auto market.”
Since February 17, most of the BMW Group’s offices in China have been reopened, and two vehicle production plants and one engine production plant in Shenyang have gradually resumed production. On February 19th, the management team of BMW in China once again held an online video conference for all employees, thanking all employees for their high sense of responsibility and strong adaptability in the past two weeks to ensure various business operations through remote working. The work is progressing as scheduled; at the same time, the management team also introduced to more than 6,000 online employees the various protective measures and implementation status that the company has taken to ensure the safety and health of employees working and producing in different places since the resumption of work and production.
Dr. Weiland, President and CEO of BMW Brilliance, said: “Thanks to the strong support of the local government, the close cooperation of partners, and the concerted efforts of all colleagues, BMW Brilliance’s factories have successfully resumed work and production. This is the joint efforts of many parties. As a result, it also reflects the importance of mutual trust and close cooperation in difficult times. At present, our production is gradually returning to normal, and while maintaining orderly production, we always put the health and safety of our employees as the first priority.”
Care is in the details: each on-site office employee is distributed two masks a day
Thanks to BMW’s quick response after the outbreak, BMW has already stocked up on a sufficient number of masks to ensure that every employee working on-site can receive two masks per day.
At BMW Brilliance’s production base in Shenyang, a complete set of strict protective measures has been put in place in combination with the characteristics of the factory’s production. In the staff cafeteria, employees follow the guidance and keep a distance in line to pick up meals. When dining, encourage employees to use protective panels and arrange in a “zigzag” shape, that is, to ensure that no other colleagues will sit in the four directions of front, back, left, and right. On the employee shuttle bus, everyone sits in a zigzag shape, and only one person sits in a row to keep a sufficient distance between people.
In addition, the “safety booth” at the entrance of the BMW office building is on duty at any time to measure the temperature of employees and provide disinfection services. There are sufficient disinfection supplies throughout the office area for employees to use. On-site employees wear masks throughout the entire process without any slack.
The principle of “health and safety first” is also reflected in the dealer outlets that have resumed work
BMW’s dealer partners across the country have also joined the ranks of safe resumption of work. BMW launched the “Guidelines for Public Health Protection in BMW Dealer Showrooms”, which formulated 10 types of measures for environmental sanitation and disinfection management in showrooms, covering everything from showroom ventilation to toilet cleaning and garbage disposal. In addition, clear requirements have been put forward in terms of ensuring the health of workers and ensuring the sanitation and safety of vehicles (especially test drive vehicles). Customers and employees who enter the store are required to wear masks, measure body temperature, and maintain a one-meter communication distance, which have also become effective protective measures.
Facing the current stalemate situation of the epidemic situation, all employees and dealer partners of BMW Group China are working hand in hand to resume work and production in a safe and orderly manner under the premise of comprehensive prevention and control of the epidemic situation, and continue to provide customers and consumers with the best products and products. Serve.
