MOST industries have some form of annual cycle.

This is usually influenced by the budget planning or customer spending patterns.

As a consumer you can help yourself if you plan well.

Buy your Christmas wrapping paper in the January sales and a soft top car in November, both will be considerable cheaper than at peak period.

With changes for the UK and the relationship with Europe in motion then it’s time for a plan.

If you’re in manufacturing then where do you source your materials from and where are your customers based? How will you deal with varying exchange rates and different customer tastes if the markets change?

Under Brexit then there will be winners and losers. The winners will be firms which adapt. The losers will cling on to an obsolete position.

Some things will not change however and Warrington’s position as a distribution point for the UK will remain important. Other aspects including the development of Port Warrington will become far more relevant.

So if your annual cycle includes some downtime over Christmas and new year then it’s a good time to think about rewiring the firm and changing the cycle for the future. Planning pays.

  •  LAWRENCE Bellamy is a dean at the University of Chester's Padgate campus and writes a regular column for business.