We’ve made it! As we're writing this Christmas is just over a week away, but for you, reader, Christmas is only a matter of days away! And we all know what happens after the festive period: there’s a four-day-lull when no one can tell what day of the week it is, and then it’s New Year’s Eve and, finally 2021… 
 
And what a year 2020 has been! Never mind the ongoing pandemic, financial crashes and seemingly unending lockdown restrictions, the year has been a successful one for us at The Plastic People. During the first lockdown, we (re)launched our digital output and presence, committing to daily social media posting, a weekly blog and a bi-weekly newsletter. We’ve even done a couple fun things such as a festive competition along the way. 
 
In this week’s blog from The Plastic People (the final blog of 2020 ;( ), we wanted to take a look back at all of the pieces we’ve written this year and pull out some highlights. This will be your definitive guide to our 2020 blogs, and we might even bring up a couple things you missed upon your first reading. 
 
We’re going to begin by taking a look at all of our COVID-19-themed content. Following this, we will explore our in-depth plastic and manufacturing guides and, finally, we will look to 2021as we discuss business planning and strategy. 
 
Lockdown, Healthcare and Plastics:
 
We began our weekly blog back in July - just as the lockdown was lifted all across the UK. With this in mind, we started off our new content by creating guides about how to help businesses recover from the months of closure and decreased footfall on our highstreets. 
 
Our very first blog listed Seven Tips that would help increase footfall for any shop on the highstreets. This included creating increased signage to ensure your customers understood all the efforts you are making to keep your store COVID-secure. You can check out this blog by clicking here.
 
We then went on to look at how businesses could begin to reimagine their office spaces in light of the pandemic, and continue to make use of the facilities we are all paying masses of rent for. This was a favourite blog of mine because it covered everything from one-way systems to inspiring collaborative spaces. Click here to see if you learn any new design tips for your office!
 
To end our section on the pandemic, we created a couple blogs that focused on the economy and economic recovery from COVID-19. As the recession was announced over the summer, we took a look at the idea of a ‘circular economy’ which encourages heightened sustainability among other characteristics. Find out whether a circular economy could be right for your business by clicking here.
 
Our final blog in this section was all about #ShopLocal! We are big fans of this initiative at The Plastic People and were so happy to be writing a blog all about it. In the piece, we argue that the campaign must be championed as part of a COVID-19 recovery programme. It is exciting to see the move toward #ShopLocal, which will likely continue in 2021! Check out the blog here.
 
Manufacturing Guides:
 
It’s no secret that here at The Plastic People, we are experts in plastic fabrication and manufacturing. After all, we now have over 50 years of experience in the industry. In 2020, we put together several blogs that covered a variety of manufacturing processes and ideas. Here we’re going to go over just a few of them, but there are certainly more to check out if you wish! 
 
First up is a comprehensive guide that covers the favourite topic of many plastic experts and engineers: Plastic Injection Moulding (or ‘molding’ if you’re an American friend). This blog covered everything from the history of the process to its method, and what it is used for today. Take a look and learn something today by clicking here.
 
Now, we don’t do anything on a small scale here at The Plastic People, so back in October, we wrote a mammoth blog that covered 9 Plastic Machining Methods and the benefits of using plastic parts in your business. To read about everything from CNC milling to laser-cutting click here.
 
To finish this section on manufacturing, we are going to suggest that you also have a read of our blog that dives into the world of Digital Manufacturing, aka. Manufacturing 4.0. Working toward a more computerised and integrated manufacturing process is definitely a goal of ours for 2021. To help improve efficiency in your business, check out our guide here.
 
Looking forward to 2021:
 
We imagine you have already completed your business audits for 2020 and have a strategy written up for 2021. However, if you are still finalising your new plan for the next economic quarter, we have a couple of blogs that could help you make some last-minute decisions! This next section covers our two pieces that help you plan for the new year and preempt what’s coming your way. 
 
Firstly, in December, we took a look at how to Improve Cash Flow in your business. We say it time and again, but 2020 has been a hard year, and many businesses found their profits disappear altogether, so this blog could not be more important. Click here to go over our 4 tips and tricks to increase your cash flow next year.
 
The final blog we are going to cover in this 2020 wrap-up is last week’s piece all about the business trends we can expect in 2021. This covers everything from the continuation of WFH-life to using customer data as an asset. If you want to know what to look out for in 2021 and how to tackle it in advance, make sure to read this blog by clicking here.

 
So, there you have it! These are some of the key blogs we have written in 2020, but that’s less than half of them. Please go ahead and take a look at our other pieces and you may find something that peaks your fancy. For example, we also have pieces on marketing strategy, environmental awareness and even a few DIY tips! 
 
If you want to stay up-to-date with us in the new year, make sure to sign up to our email newsletter. The last newsletter of 2020 has already been released, but we are sure to bring you some new and exciting content soon! Sign-up by clicking here.
 
With all that said, we hope 2020 was as good as it could have been for you and your business. Here’s to 2021 and making a success of it!