Fifty-five percent of small and medium enterprises in Southeast Asia are optimistic about their business recovery after the pandemic, but they realise they need to make changes to stay competitive, the UOB Asean SME Transformation Study 2022 has found.
In Thailand, the bank found, 50% of SMEs remain concerned about the need to transform their business models, particularly in the areas of digitisation, sustainability and customer engagement due to shifts in consumer preferences.
UOB Thailand and The FinLab, the bank's innovation accelerator, assisted over 250 Thai SMEs with digital transformation as part of its 2022 Smart Business Transformation Programme (SBTP). Positive outcomes included improved business efficiency, lower operating costs, better organisational management and improved readiness to integrate sustainability into their operations.
The concept of sustainability is starting to influence the way more SMEs think about their operations, in addition to digitisation. Two-thirds of Thai SMEs (65%) surveyed indicated that sustainability is now an area of importance and concern to their businesses.
Since the launch of SBTP in 2019, UOB has helped equip around 900 SMEs in Thailand with the relevant digital skills and tools they need to stay relevant and competitive. During the three-month programme, they also learned to integrate sustainability into their strategy and were introduced to green finance alternatives for long-term success.
The solutions adopted, particularly those related to data management, addressed business challenges such as managing and analysing data to better understand existing and new customers and improve digital marketing, and for optimising business processes and cost management.
The SMEs participating in the 2022 transformation programme reported higher productivity and customer engagement from business process optimisation, increased sales from using digital marketing tools, as well as lower operational and marketing costs. They also achieved better understanding and willingness of the business owners and key decision makers to embrace sustainability across their organisations.
Mr Khunakorn said there have been positive impacts from participating in the SBTP for two years.
OPTIMISING DATA
"The 2022 SBTP has tremendously accelerated our digitisation journey," said Chonlawat Ruengpreechavech, chief executive of Clinton Intertrade, a wholesaler of electrical supplies and water pumps. "We deployed SAP B1, one of the key software applications to manage and optimise collected data, which improved our documentation process while real-time data allowed incidents to be addressed immediately.
"In addition, one of the partners from the programme provided consultation on managing generational differences in the workplace, which I believe will eventually help boost our productivity and performances".
Khunakorn Dhanasarnsombat, managing director of Thailand Knitting Factory Co, the owner of the Double Goose brand, also reported positive impacts from participating in the SBTP for two years. "Especially in the second year, when we started implementing tech solutions like SAP B1, which has improved our cost management and business data collection.
"With the data gathered, we were able to produce more recyclable products from our production line, contributing to our green manufacturing journey. Additionally, we adopted business solutions such as UOB mCollect to ease our collection and reconciliation processes, freeing up more time for front-end staff and sales officers to provide customers with better services."
Pitiphat Mongkolariyanan, deputy chief executive of KMP Partner, a construction consulting company, said: "We have learned to adopt the concept of customer centricity in our application development process, and by doing this, our application was able to address our customers' needs.
"Our user base has consequently increased from 20 users to 700. Also, the SBTP connected us to Zaviago, a customer relationship management [CRM] solution that gathers data and optimises the targeting process of online media. This helped us reach our targeted customers at lower costs."
ZERO WASTE
Jakkadej Asavasopon, chief executive of A Ramen, said using a data management tool has improved the company's ability to analyse customer data, "allowing us to save costs and increase sales, all while providing better experiences to our customers".
"Moreover, the programme has led us to pursue zero waste in managing our food business, which aligns with our sustainability goal of becoming a Zero Waste entrepreneur by launching a central kitchen in 2023."
Paulovatchara Yuvanasiri, managing director of RainForest Green Community, said sustainable financing solutions such as U-Solar offer opportunities to adopt renewable energy for the company's community malls. "The SBTP also connected us to ecosystem partners, which I strongly believe will reduce energy consumption and expenditure once the installation is complete.
"On digitisation, we have seen an improvement in cost management, corporate taxation, operational process due to the adoption of PEAKaccount, an online accounting and cost management solution."
The SBTP is open to SME business owners or decision makers who are keen to explore new ideas, adopt technology and invest in digital tools, and can commit their time throughout the three-month programme. Interested SMEs can learn more at https://thefinlab.com/th/thailand.
Sirinun Jiradilok is head of digital engagement and fintech innovation with UOB Thailand.