A man conducts a teleconference call. Some businesses have digitised operations to increase online sales. PHOTO/file
As the way we do business continues to evolve, many Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been affected in the short or long term. The coronavirus pandemic has proved the need for us to reinvent the way we do business going forward though many business owners are still uncertain of how to mitigate risk, support customers, deal with suppliers and protect employees.
Lessons
As other economies are slowly recovering, the spread of the coronavirus is just starting to take its toll in other countries.
Uganda can pick lessons from the businesses that faced shutdown and opened-up before we did.
We cannot go back to the old ways of doing business. Businesses have been forced to confront the reality of shutdowns. Unfortunately, some might never open again. Some businesses are still struggling with expenses such as rent despite not being operational. The lockdown has provided some companies with an opportunity to reinvent themselves as well as redesign their expenditures on many things – water, electricity, rent, storage, staff, transportation, food. Some savvy business owners have sidestepped these expenses and completely or partly digitised their businesses and increase online sales as they also scaled back.
The recovery phase will continue to vary from service to service and target markets might shift as well. Business owners can utilise free tools (video calls, emails, Trello) so that their staff can continue communicating and keep working even if they aren’t in the same place to keep the exposure to the virus at a minimum. For those dealing in goods, you can explore opportunities in storage units as opposed to renting shops.
The lockdown has presented businesses with an opportunity to build competencies and be more data-driven, invest in digital and the cloud, automation; to create stronger capabilities in e-commerce because reopening has now become part of the wider process to transform.
The reinvention needs to address long-term solutions to build resilience and facilitate the transition to personal multi-channel relationships, self-service, mass monitoring and build on existing trends that have been enhanced by the pandemic.
Investment
Invest in digital.
The lockdown has presented businesses with an opportunity to build competencies and be more data-driven, invest in digital and the cloud, automation; to create stronger capabilities in e-commerce.
The author is head business banking at dfcu bank.
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