{"id":29157,"date":"2020-07-31T12:09:53","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T16:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=29157"},"modified":"2020-08-31T05:44:17","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T09:44:17","slug":"parnassus-on-companies-becoming-more-relevant-to-customers-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/parnassus-on-companies-becoming-more-relevant-to-customers-during-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Parnassus on Companies Becoming More Relevant to Customers during COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to August 2020 Issue<\/a><\/div>\n

Companies that exhibited the best capabilities to serve customers as they began to shelter in place relied on innovation long before the pandemic emerged. Remaining relevant to customers during this time requires doubling down on inventiveness, adaptability and resilience.<\/em><\/h3>\n

Companies Stepping Up<\/h2>\n

Humans are incredibly innovative, and the companies they have built are finding ways to meet the challenge of the pandemic with innovations to fight the virus and keep the economy up and running. As the pandemic has unfolded, companies that provide essential services have continued to experience strong demand. Possessing technology that supports continued operations during the shelter in place has provided a sizeable advantage. Some of these businesses have also pitched in to help address the COVID-19 threat, building positive reputations that will boost their brands over the long term.<\/p>\n

Parnassus Investments believes that high-quality, well-managed companies that aren\u2019t pulling back now, but instead are upping investments in R&D, will emerge stronger from the pandemic. Companies that are able to avoid furloughs and layoffs also are likely to perform relatively well. In addition, planning now for future improvements, such as rethinking approaches to supply chains that were revealed to be vulnerable, is vital.<\/p>\n

Joining the Fight Against the Virus<\/h2>\n

As the pandemic began to unfold, some companies, like Deere and Pentair, have continued to support customers\u2019 needs for essential products and services while also pivoting to help communities increase their supplies of protective and medical equipment. At the same time, many companies in the health care sector, such as Becton Dickinson and Illumina, are contributing to efforts to develop medical treatments for COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Deere & Co.<\/strong> leverages technology to help feed more people using fewer resources at lower costs. For example, data collected by a Deere combine travels to a data center where technicians can recommend adjustments to optimize pesticide, fertilizer and water use. Equipment problems can also be diagnosed remotely, supporting faster repairs. And to help protect medical workers during the pandemic, Deere has produced more than 350,000 face shields.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Pentair<\/strong> offers customers water-efficient irrigation systems as well as water treatment, desalination and filtration products designed to expand and improve the quality of the fresh water supply. A small portion of Pentair\u2019s business is manufacturing filtration components for hospital ventilators. During the pandemic, the company has ramped up production of these ventilator components, building goodwill with the community.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Becton Dickinson<\/strong> supplies coronavirus testing products and is innovating in the moment to improve testing options. Becton also provides instruments, data analysis and platforms for vaccine research. It is a market leader across a number of medical consumables, including needles and syringes, as well as monitoring machines. The company employs approximately 1,000 software engineers and maintains a substantial R&D budget.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n