SMEs form a major chunk of the US economy, around 44 percent of the total, symbolizing the entrepreneurial creativity and capability of the US populace. However, being an SME is not easy and being a successful one is even more difficult. Outbreak of the global COVID pandemic has further compounded the challenges posed by the prevailing turbulent economic environment for the SMEs, warranting a call for remedial action. However, what cures the larger companies does not necessarily cure the SMEs. The prescription is different and so is the practitioner.

For any business, ranging from a sole proprietorship to a transnational conglomerate, decisions are the gateway to its success or failure. Therefore, the importance of informed decision-making cannot be emphasized enough in backdrop of sustaining and gaining competitive advantage. 

While inflation generally serves as an incentive for businesses to profit more from a price hike, increase in cost of input and loss of consumers’ purchasing power leading to a loss in sales revenue can also adversely affect their profitability. Process reengineering, automation, long-term strategic investments and operational cost control are some of the ways a business can deal with inflation-linked adversities. Co-sourcing and outsourcing partners can be of great advisory and technical support with such solutions.

The documentation of a processes cycle is the first step towards improving business process optimization. This exercise helps map the flow of documents, data, and transactions, identifying the duplications and redundancies. The output helps eliminate process and operational inefficiencies and almost always results in the automation of repetitive tasks.

With the world in turmoil, businesses all over have been struggling. Most companies are implementing austerity measures to tide over the lean times. However, this is also an inflection point as enterprises realize that agility will be a crucial element of their post co-vid business strategy. And here, outsourcing/co-sourcing can help.

When starting, many companies make the mistake of not paying attention to their working capital cycle. This can be detrimental as the business can quickly run out of cash, resulting in reliance on a line of credit which comes at a cost.

Inventory management is essential for all businesses. The biggest challenge that a business faces regarding inventory is balancing demand with adequate supply. If there is no inventory management strategy in place, the company runs the risk of running out of inventory, resulting in lost sales and customers or holding stock that does not sell. Hence no business can expect to run efficiently without a proper inventory management strategy in place.