As a South African SME, we have done a fair amount of corporate social responsibility work, not only because it rewards business benefits and compliance, but more so because it's just personally rewarding to help others around us - we genuinely try to make a difference. Our challenge has always been maintaining that effort. What can we do that actually keeps making a difference the next day, the next week or through the next year, once the day-to-day busyness of keeping our own business running reclaims our attention?
After setting our minds on the goal, we realised that the solution was right under our noses..., says Adam Shapiro, co-founder of Autopilot Workflow Solutions.
Over the years of developing workflow software to help large corporates and enterprises streamline their interactions with customers and suppliers, we saw time and again that the majority of small businesses just didn't have standard processes in place that enabled them to provide effective service to supply large corporates. Many great SME's were struggling because of avoidable problems like:
* Not getting the necessary PO's from their clients.
* Not collecting outstanding funds (a 2013 Supplier Development SDP Research Report, chart 5.12, rates this as this biggest challenge to SMME's dealing with large corporates).
* Forgetting tax returns.
* Not having a system to manage the volume of work hitting them at any time.
Quoting from the SDP Report: "Some of the biggest challenges that SMEs face when working with large corporates are financial issues, such as late payment (20%), cash flow issues (11%)... ..Another of the biggest challenges faced is the red tape encountered when working with corporates- these challenges represent a lack of knowledge and experience regarding large business processes which makes dealing with them harder."
Without systematic business practices and proper process management tools, it's just too easy for things to fall through the cracks, to get bogged down by disorder and ultimately fail to deliver, thus creating a problem at both ends - the SME isn't favourable to be chosen as a capable supplier, and simultaneously corporates find it difficult to establish an ESD or CSR programme with suppliers that deliver positive outcomes.
Quoting again: "Various challenges exist for corporates when doing business with SMEs. Research results show that the most significant problem (50%) was related to cash flow problems experienced by the SMEs which effects delivery of products and services."
As a workflow solutions company, we were already creating a unique product (and service) to actively solve these challenges. Autopilot's pre-set, quick-to-customise workflow templates, checklists and scheduled actions are specifically aimed at helping a business get control of processes that affect its cash flow, customer service and business compliance. What's more, Autopilot is also:
* priced to be affordable and viable for our local market;
* designed to be extremely practical to use;
* developed to radically reduce the hassles and expenses associated with 'traditional' Business Process Management software; and
* built to be amazingly easy to roll-out / implement / setup.
So from that foundation we've created the Autopilot Corporate Supplier and Enterprise Development bundle, which a corporate sponsor can purchase and then collaborate with us to get their selected SME's up and running on Autopilot, including a "boot camp" consultation in which we assist those businesses in determining and implementing the most critical, relevant workflows and processes that will immediately improve the way they operate.
We then work with the enterprise and supplier on a regular basis to ensure that the program is giving them the necessary data to ensure transparency, compliance and consistent processes.
Sponsoring a solution that helps SME's manage their business processes and improve the way they run their company helps everyone succeed.
By reducing the typical small-business challenges and admin disorder that trip up SMEs, suppliers can focus on their core services and plan for growth, and enterprises can:
* Streamline interaction and communication with their suppliers;
* Get improved service;
* Get more positive outcomes with their suppliers;
* Make a real difference to business in South Africa; and
* Earn the necessary BBBEE points (DTi, SEDA).
The future of our economy rests on the growth of small businesses, and we believe we can tangibly contribute to that process. In fact it's even become our mission statement, our business purpose. With Autopilot and great partners, we believe we can make Supplier Development a sustainable business initiative. You can find more detail on our Corporate Supplier and Enterprise Development bundle here or feel free to mail me directly (adam@autopilot.co.za) if you would like to discuss using Autopilot for your ESD, SDP or CSR program.
Share