Tag: Supply Chain

As we move into 2023, many small and medium enterprise (SME) owners and leaders anticipate another difficult year. Yet they are comfortable knowing they've endured a lot since the start of the pandemic. SMEs have survived, and some have even thrived, despite COVID-19, unrest, extreme weather, the global energy crisis, and the return of high inflation and rising interest rates.

This year has been nothing, if not eventful. We started 2022 with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, declaring war on Ukraine. This event then triggered an energy crisis and has driven inflation, in major economies, to unprecedented levels, along with interest rates. And now, as the year draws to a close, COVID-19 has snuck in again to dominate headlines.

At the end of last year, the world’s leading 40 mining companies had a combined revenue of approximately $925 billion. In fact, the net profits of these organisations grew by 127% on the back of high commodity prices and prudent cost management.

With Amazon readying itself to launch in South Africa in February 2023, forward-thinking local retailers and e-tailers are gearing up their businesses to leverage the country’s R30 billion per year e-commerce market. Globally, Amazon dominates online sales and has driven enormous disruption in the market.

The Minister has gazetted new Preferential Procurement Regulations. This has a fundamental impact on how the tenders your business submits will be evaluated. In 2017, the Minister of Finance issued detailed Preferential Procurement Regulations in terms of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (Number 5 of 2000).

Increasing geopolitical tensions and supply chain shocks have pushed executives to adopt and implement digital solutions like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technology to minimise disruptions and maintain business continuity.

For many enterprises, their siloed, traditional Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems are proving to be their downturn when trying to operate in unprecedented circumstances, preventing business continuity and resilience.

Many small and medium businesses (SMBs) want to implement innovative technology that gives them visibility, flexibility, and efficiency in managing finances, operations, and people. Yet companies face an overwhelming selection of choices when they evaluate their options for finance, payroll or enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

The notion of a polycrisis – various systemic crisis occurring simultaneously and interacting with one another – has been around for a while but has gained renewed traction for obvious reasons.

June was a brutal month for global equities, capping the worst first half of a year since the launch of the MSCI All Country World Index in 1987. For indices with longer track records, the story is worse. In the case of the US S&P500, the first half performance has not been this bad since 1962.