Why SMEs should use the new financial year to create a new business plan

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With the new financial year well underway, the businesses most likely to be successful tend to be the ones that have a strong business plan. Now that the dust has settled from the end of financial year flurry of activity, it’s important for SMEs to review their business plan for the year.

Even if SMEs have a strong plan and are executing against it, they should formally check in with that plan at least every six months to ensure it’s still relevant, achievable, and will deliver according to their growth goals.

As SMEs consider their business plan for the new financial year, there are five key areas to review:

  1. Future-proofing businesses
    As the future of work continues to be characterised by increasing levels of digitalisation and mobility, it’s essential to ensure the business can keep up. Attracting and retaining the best talent will depend, at least in part, on being able to offer employees access to digital tools that make their jobs easier. This means providing flexibility through mobile tools and facilitating collaboration through enterprise content management tools.
  2. Updating business equipment
    While the existing equipment may seem like it’s working just fine, the truth could be that it’s costing time and money. If businesses haven’t upgraded for some time, now could be the right moment to consider updating equipment. The latest devices offer increased productivity and efficiency, and are also more environmentally sustainable due to lower energy consumption.
  3. Optimising business printing
    Businesses could be surprised by how much money can be saved by optimising the print environment. This can include consolidating the printer fleet, using pull-printing capabilities, and setting print policies that reduce wastage. With a managed print services contract, businesses can also eliminate the burden that comes with supporting and maintaining printing infrastructure.
  4. Digitising business processes
    Many businesses are stuck in a rut of manual, paper-based, workload-heavy processes that cost time and money. By digitalising processes and automating them where possible, businesses can cut down on the time spent pushing paper around and redeploy staff members to areas where they can add more value. This can contribute significantly to the businesses’ growth objectives.
  5. Choosing better suppliers
    If businesses check the numbers, chances are they could be getting a better deal with a different supplier. However, there’s more to great supplier relationships than just cost. One of the most critical areas for many businesses to consider is ethical sourcing. In December 2018, the Modern Slavery Act was passed. It requires large corporate entities to report annually on their actions to address modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. While it may be impractical or unaffordable for smaller businesses to do the same, it’s still possible for businesses to do their part to help end the scourge of modern slavery. This includes doing due diligence on supply chain partners to ensure they comply with ethical sourcing best practices. Choosing suppliers based on their commitment to this goal can help businesses stand out to the target audience.

If SMEs don’t already have a plan in place, now is the time to develop one. In doing so, it’s important to focus not just on how to increase revenue but also on how the business can make a difference through actions like ethical sourcing or choosing environmentally-sustainable options.

Shane Blandford, Director of Marketing and Innovation, Konica Minolta