Business Expo exhibitors anticipate improvements, possible challenges as pandemic wanes

As thousands of visitors crowded into the Abilene Convention Center on Wednesday to network and collect swag at the Abilene Chamber of Commerce's annual Business Expo, signs of the pandemic mostly were absent compared to the previous two years.

COVID-19 precautions twice delayed the event until August instead of its normal March opening.

However, many of the nearly 150 exhibitors still were feeling the effects of the pandemic, with supply chain issues still a topic of discussion, even as much of life has returned to normal.

"It changed a lot of things," said Allison Alvarez, marketing director with Arrow Ford. "At the beginning, we completely shut down the interior of the dealership and moved all of sales outside. We had tents up, and all of our entire sales process we did in the parking lot."

"Now, we're back inside doing business pretty normally. But as far as inventory, it has really changed the landscape of our business. All different manufacturers have dealt with supply chain issues and inventory shortages."

Addressing those issues led the company to adopt a much greater focus on custom vehicle orders, Alvarez said.

"Inventory and supply will never look the same as it did before the pandemic, but that just helps us be leaner and more efficient, and with custom orders we still can provide for our customers exactly what they need," she said.

Others — such as Casye Fowler, co-owner of the Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes location in Abilene — still are experiencing issues, although with hope on the horizon. After opening in August — delayed more than a year due to the pandemic — customers were ready, but the supply chain wasn't, Fowler said.

"We were behind on a lot of food product because of the shortage of staff in those companies," said Fowler. "We're seeing an improvement in that. We're seeing more supply being sent to us sooner, we're seeing less shortage of food product."

"I think it will just get even better as we go on."

Online or office?

For some, though, the end of the pandemic threatens to disrupt what had been a boon to business.

"I think (the pandemic) helped us actually," said Veronica Fuentes, marketing coordinator for Vexus Fiber, which in February 2020 began providing home internet services in parts of Abilene, just as demand started rising from thousands of homebound students and office workers.

"A lot of people were having to work from home and needed the extra bandwidth and internet services."

Despite offices reopening and students back in class, Fuentes doesn't expect to see drop in demand.

"People still want a product that is fast and reliable that they're able to use at any time," said Fuentes, who said she expects work-from-home to remain popular in the future.

"Because of the flexibility that it provides, you now realize you can do that."

Nathaniel Ellsworth is a general assignments reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Business Expo exhibitors anticipate improvements as pandemic wanes