Professor David Pickernell
VP Research and Communities, ISBE (School Of Management, Swansea University)
The dynamic landscape for UK SMEs has been influenced by a confluence of factors, including the integration of new technologies and the growing importance of the circular economy concept.
The UK SME landscape is shaped by technological advancements, a push for circular economy practices and challenges from Brexit, energy costs and global uncertainties. While SMEs face immediate pressures, there’s also a need for long-term strategies addressing supply chains, skills development, innovation, financing, infrastructure and sustainability to thrive amid these complexities.
Resilient supply chains
In terms of supply chains, there is a broad consensus that the lack of local suppliers is a major issue for many SMEs. There is a need to facilitate development in this area to enhance resilience, amplify economic benefits and support the sustainability agenda. This agenda is often driven by the wider, international supply chain, making UK SMEs reliant on and vulnerable to the sustainability practices of foreign organisations, which may have different priorities and approaches to sustainability and circularity.
The Government should therefore develop a searchable supplier database to facilitate a matchmaking service. This should enable businesses to identify suitable suppliers, assess ongoing needs for supplier development and training, as well as pinpoint areas that may require funding or financing.
There is a broad consensus that
the lack of local suppliers is a
major issue for many SMEs.
Value-based procurement
Value-based procurement (VBP), which focuses on the overall value delivered by a product or service rather than just the lowest price, creates significant opportunities for SMEs in the UK. This approach is especially beneficial when linked to agendas like increasing supply chain resilience and boosting local economic multipliers. However, there remain key challenges for SMEs and a consequent need to simplify procurement (particularly in the public sector) processes.
Providing the skills and training necessary to allow public procurers to maximise the potential benefits of VBP is also a challenge. The new Government’s focus on growth, including investment in the public sector, offers opportunities for SMEs to take advantage of a VBP approach. Yet, the obviously tight fiscal outlook in many government departments risks defaulting to a lowest-price procurement approach, which could be detrimental to many SMEs.
