Navigating the current economic climate is becoming increasingly difficult for businesses, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Rising energy prices, inflation and interest rates, as well as continuing supply chain issues, resulting in the ever-increasing cost of goods/materials, has led to many SME leaders feel like they’re fighting a losing battle.
According to Lloyds Banking Group, the current economic climate, including the increased cost of living, continues to be a barrier to success for many SMEs. The vast majority of SME leaders they surveyed confirmed that the rising cost of living was having a negative impact on their business; while a majority said that inflationary pressures had caused their supplier service to worsen.
However, digital transformation and the adoption of new emerging technologies could well help alleviate some of this pressure. From leaning into Internet of Things to reduce energy – and in turn, reducing your company’s environmental footprint – to the artificial intelligence to better manage your supply chain and effectively navigate the current challenging landscape, there are numerous solutions available to relieve some of the stresses currently on businesses.
There’s also scope for automation to manage employee shortages, while improving efficiency to help alleviate pressure on other workers, as well as opportunities to utilise tech such as AI to better manage the impact of inflation.
Here are five technologies for SMEs to explore to remain agile in the current challenging landscape and help build resilience whilst scaling during these trying times.
1. Generative AI to improve productivity
The world of artificial intelligence is vast, with various types of technologies available to help improve productivity and efficiency for businesses. This includes generative AI. We’ve all seen ChatGPT sweep the news agenda recently, leading some professionals to voice their concern that it may one day take their job, while others have shown their excitement, given its potential to considerably lift the load when it comes to some lengthy tasks e.g., long-form report writing. This type of generative AI can significantly improve productivity within a business, freeing up employees to focus on other important tasks. While the human touch is still required when utilising tools of this nature, there are multiple ethical factors that need to be considered, such as data protection/GDPR and bias.
2. AI for supply chain management
Supply chain challenges seem to be a constant minefield for businesses to navigate. From the constant struggle to meet demand for certain products throughout the pandemic, to the more recent shortages of materials and ingredients, plus the impact of Brexit, the issues seem to be never ending.
Despite this, there is technology available that can help relieve some of the stress. AI is a fantastic tool for analysing data, determining trends and inventory management, whilst helping to reduce supply chain disruption wherever possible. One example of this is Manchester-based Peak’s platform, which utilises AI to support optimal inventory management and plan stock moves, enabling businesses to visualise and report on product range performance, while ensuring they’re purchasing the right quantities at the right time.
3. Capitalising on IoT and AI to reduce energy
Rising energy prices are crippling many businesses and threatening profit margins, particularly those that require a large amount of energy to operate e.g., in the manufacturing, hospitality and retail sectors. There are, however, opportunities out there with technologies which can help to alleviate some of the pressure when it comes reducing energy, in turn helping to reduce the impact of climate change.
In fact, some IoT devices (think smart thermostats and lighting systems) enable businesses to reduce energy consumption, as well as monitor consumption at peak times, which are generally more expensive. With this type of technology there’s also scope to monitor specific devices or machinery. So, if there’s a change in how a specific system or piece of machinery is using energy, this can easily be spotted and could indicate a fault which is resulting in higher energy usage for instance.
4. Managing the impact of inflation
Inflation is one of the biggest challenges businesses of all sizes are having to deal with right now and while many experts have warned it’s getting out of control, technology may well be the answer until it starts to fall again. In fact, according to Gartner, ‘digital deflation – investing in technology to permanently reduce the cost of doing business,’ is the key to profitable growth and mitigating inflationary pressures. Investing in automation to improve efficiency and productivity or, in AI/machine learning to ensure you’re capitalising on your existing customer data and determining important trends/insights, will lead to an increased long-term return on investment (ROI).
In addition, other technologies such as smart shelves not only considerably improve the customer experience to help drive growth, but they can also help support inventory management and stock control in retail by keeping track of items that have been purchased/removed from shelves.
5. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging
When it comes to reducing a company’s environmental footprint, in tandem with rising energy prices, businesses are navigating a challenging landscape. There is, however, benefit in Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) reverse charging for EV (electric vehicle) owners, particularly those who have company cars, business owners which manage a fleet of vehicles, or businesses which may be exploring the possibility of moving to electric.
V2G is significantly better for the environment than fossil fuel cars and allows EV owners to make considerable savings. It can also enable them to power their property and could even generate income by selling excess energy back to the grid. This return on investment is making it increasingly more desirable amidst the cost of living crisis.
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