itk is an agile yet remarkably solid company as demonstrated by its capacity to adapt and the ability of its 120 employees to completely reorganize themselves over night in response to the current Covid 19 crisis. Despite all the challenges, we are all working at the same high pace as ever, and that’s our strength, and we continue to offer an effective and reactive service to all of our clients and partners around the globe.
While the world is without doubt going through a profound change, Agriculture is more than ever a cornerstone of our society. It too needs to be agile and solid and more efficient farming practices need to be identified and applied. More than ever itk’s ambition is to play a global role in this major transition towards a more efficient and resilient agriculture value chain.
Business (almost) as usual
Regarding the Business Development, progress with our prospects continues at the same “strong” pace, without any negative impact yet. All business projects underway and products under development are continuing thanks to the exemplary commitment of our teams, who are all of course working remotely. New projects and partnerships are in the pipeline.
However, we know that itk will emerge stronger from this crisis if we better evaluate our reliance on our customers and suppliers. The closure of our sensor providers plant and the limited activity of some of our distributors for example invite us to stay united. “Business as usual” can only continue by exploring new forms of solidarity. As suche, we are in constant communication with our partners, to find the best equitable value-sharing solutions with all of our key stakeholders. Unfortunately, the lockdown will certainly have an impact on our revenues, depending on its length, however, we are obviously not yet in a position to measure its impact on the medium term.
Solid finances
We have taken all necessary steps to anticipate a significant impact on our cash flow as a result of the crisis. Fortunately we have been able to avail of a number measures put in place by the State, the Region, our banks, and the social security system, in order to minimize our current expenses and constitute a cash reserve to face the uncertainty of the months ahead.
Dialogue, self-management and recognition
In this unprecedented situation, we confirm once again that our first asset is our people and we plan to keep them and grow. We want to ensure that all our employees feel confident and remain committed to the team spirit and self-management that drives itk. We are continuing our recruitment plan as intended and are not considering any dismissal related to the crisis.
To support the social harmony and our employees development we are maintaining the revaluation of our wage policy despite the uncertain future.
We decided to avoid imposing days off for employees and leave it up to them to take some time off if they feel a need for a break. We also decided to maintain wages for the few people who are unable to work. This is a strong message from the management on the trust it has in each and every one of its employees. We want to ensure that at the end of the crisis our people remain confident above all in good health.
Collective creativity
All teams have demonstrated creativity and pragmatism by setting up a new and efficient organization. Currently, the PI plannings (SAFe Agile Method) are in progress to plan the 3 months ahead. However, it will be necessary to remain even more Agile and Creative to adapt to the lasting impact of the lockdown. We will need to adapt not only our organization but also our projects, their prioritization and even refocus our action plans, depending on the new uncertain environment that awaits us. Farmers will need, more than ever, insights to optimize their incomes and reduce their risks, to produce more sustainably and resiliently. It will be our duty to be creative and serve them even better by supporting their productivity and profitability with our Agri-Intelligence tools.
Stay home, remain agile and strong and we will all win safely together.
Aline Bsaibes CEO
Predict and Decide