It’s innovate or die for SMEs in cutthroat marketplace, says report

Business should be constantly hunting for opportunities.

Small and medium enterprises (SME) can no longer afford to turn a blind eye on the newest technological advancements, with the marketplace becoming increasingly competitive and customers remaining fickle.

And according to the latest SME Development (SMED) Survey conducted by DP Information Group, SMEs are more aware than ever of this fact, as more than half of survey respondents focused on process innovation, a 14% improvement from last year.

“Additionally, 34% are innovating for product or service improvement, while over 25% are looking to develop their own niche products or build their own brands,” says the survey.

Meanwhile, the survey also revealed that 6 in 10 SMEs assess new technologies for innovation through research and development work.

These SMEs harness the expertise of Centres of Innovations to test out new ideas and technologies, says the survey.

“We hope to encourage more of such collaborations to help SMEs build and drive innovation capabilities within their businesses, which will help to open doors to potential customers,” the survey says.

Meanwhile, more SMEs are also being productivity-savvy, as 7 out of 10 indicating interest to improve their productivity within the next 12 months.

“Almost half of these SMEs (47%) also intend to transform their businesses by introducing automation into their operations while another 35% are looking at process improvement,” the survey said.

“Furthermore, 87% of SMEs have successfully applied for government schemes and we are encouraged that 90% of them found the schemes helpful in improving their productivity and innovation,” it added.