Calling the last couple of years harsh and uncertain would be an incredible understatement. The outbreak of COVID-19 completely ravaged the business world and the ripples of the pandemic are still felt all around the globe. The ongoing European crisis leaves very little hope the global economy will get back on its feet anytime soon.
With things as they are, the best thing the companies can do is to revisit their financial plans and make adjustments to encourage stronger performance and growth potential. Let us take a look then if we can help you along the way.
Move your infrastructure to the cloud
The modern world moves at a lightning pace – trying to keep up with it while relying on clunky, on-site infrastructure is simply not possible. So, what are you getting by giving your assets a digital overhaul and moving your assets to the cloud? Well, the business infrastructure that is much faster, leaner, more scalable, easier to maintain, more flexible, and with a much higher potential for collaboration. The subscription-based model you get here also makes sure that you pay what you use and manage resources more rationally.
Set clear goals and follow them through
Every company that wants to make any kind of tangible progress needs to have an equally tangible set of objectives in front. No matter whether they are based on some broad goal like increasing revenue or encouraging growth, all these objectives need to be specific, measurable, unequivocal, and time-constrained. As soon as you get an idea of these critical milestones you will be able to turn them into practical real-time strategies as well as guidelines for the development of your company’s resources.
Consider Alternative Financing Options
Pay attention to KPIs
Becoming a successful entrepreneur means learning to make informed decisions based on real-life data. To get that data, however, you will need to establish some relevant KPIs for your company and keep a very close eye on all processes that may influence these indicators. Of course, these indicators will be depending on the aspect of the company you want to put into focus but here are a couple of mentions that should make your list regardless of these requirements:
- Financial metrics (net profit margins, expenses, etc.)
- Customer-focused metrics (per-customer efficiency, retention, etc.)
- Process performance indicators (total number of products, operational efficiency, etc.)
Put more thought into the supply chain
As we have briefly mentioned in the introduction, the modern world is experiencing countless problems which often throw a wrench into the gears of global trade. In such a complex situation, establishing and maintaining an efficient supply chain may determine the fate of your company. While you are doing that it is important to explore alternative supply options and contingencies like trade finance loans for the situations where your existing agreements hit a road bump. The more options you have, the better.
Establish a transparent and efficient cash flow infrastructure
Cash flow problems are very dangerous since even the smallest disruptions like the inability to charge some invoices in time can completely throw your finances off the rails and bring your company to a grinding halt. So, you should use this opportunity to inspect your company’s cash flow system, identify eventual bottlenecks, and see if you can find alternative business and personal financing sources for tight financial periods. Offering customers incentives for early payments can prove to be helpful as well.
Overhaul outdated systems and processes
Last but not least, we would like to remind you that, if your company is using outdated processes and systems you will never be able to produce the level of efficiency necessary for keeping it afloat. With that in mind, we would suggest that you completely break your company’s entire workflow down to the simplest processes and see how you can streamline, digitalise or completely automate these activities. When done, put them back together in a way that will encourage higher autonomy and scalability.
Final comments
We hope these few suggestions will help you come up with a strategy that will improve your company’s financial performance and boost its growth potential in the contemporary business environment that can be called everything but encouraging. Still, even the most difficult business environments leave enough room for entrepreneurs that are aware of the present market circumstances and know how to use them to their advantage. The moves we have presented won’t solve all the problems in front of your business but they will set you on the right track. And from that point on, you can only go forward.
