SME transformation program projects 30pc of productivity improvement

BUSINESSES and enterprises need more help in going digital, especially in emerging economies such as Malaysia.

As a result, independent public and private organizations are advocating and driving transformation efforts among small and medium businesses (SMEs).

UOB Malaysia, for example, has collaborated with FinLab to lead 16 local SMEs through a 3-month digital transformation program with the aim to boost productivity and stimulate revenue growth.

The premise is simple: To help SMEs go digital effectively and develop relevant information technology skills.

SMEs that have successfully completed the transformation journey and acquired relevant digital capabilities will see a 30 percent boost in productivity — which will then scale SMEs’ operational efficiency, foster revenues and empower their overall digital journey.

Called the ‘Jom Transform Program’, the initiative has helped SMEs gain digitalization skills, understand business reengineering, and improve their digital marketing strategies.

In fact, 12 of the SMEs have piloted various tailored solutions to improve and strengthen their core operational processes.

With a focus on automation, processes involving accounting, human resources, and payroll management have been streamlined which will result in employees having more time to focus on high-level tasks, eliminate human errors in back-end processes, and reduce administrative efforts.

The Jom Transform Programme is designed to help Malaysian SMEs digitally transform their operations and we are pleased to announce that it has met this objective,” said UOB Malaysia Chief Executive Officer Wong Kim Choong.

SMEs were also able to measure the effectiveness of the solutions they piloted which helped them better understand what works for their business and what does not.

“Having completed the three-month program, our 16 selected SMEs are now able to apply digital solutions to optimize their workflow processes, to improve sales, to increase customer loyalty and to raise brand awareness,” added Wong.

The program was specially curated to mentor SMEs through their digitalization process – with experts-led workshops and partnerships with technology providers.

Given the program’s ability to transform and motivate SMEs to optimize digital tools and develop digital capabilities, it is expected that future offerings will see strong demand in the country.

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