Business Soſtware
Post-pandemic priorities
Are electrical and lighting supplies businesses hitting a brick wall post-Covid and Brexit? A new survey commissioned by OGL Soſtware suggests that Covid, Brexit, the continued reliance on manual processes and supply chain issues are all affecting profitability for electrical and lighting businesses in 2022 and causing concern for SMEs in that sector. Sharon Moreno, chief operating officer at OGL Soſtware, looks at the data.
T
he Covid pandemic caused a widescale shiſt to online business, and together with Brexit, hit supply chains hard. Firms in this sector are citing top technology priorities for the next 12 – 24 months as business performance reporting 47%, linking ERP with ecommerce 47% and delivery tracking and managing inventory – both 33%. The Covid 19 pandemic was cited as the main challenge to hit profitability, with outdated technology, manual processes, employee cost and Brexit also making the top five reasons. Respondents also cited major factors damaging profitability as: “access to talent, variable costs, warehouse space and war” as well as “stock value and liquidity.” In response to the pandemic, business priorities were to have core business software that can be
26 | electrical wholesaler December 2022
easily adapted to new business models 97%, manage cash flow 94%, and upgrade IT systems enabling effective sales strategies.
The pandemic has led to supply chain short- ages, with some electrical and lighting businesses stockpiling products and parts to ensure supply. Technology is at the heart of the recovery. 92% of respondents agreed that technology is vital to the ef- ficient running of their business, an increase on 62% three years ago, while 92% agreed that automating business processes helps their companies stay com- petitive, up from 50% pre-pandemic. However, manual processes are still plaguing businesses leaving them behind the curve with regards to digital transformation, since 62% cited them as a problem that can lead to potential loss of revenue, and inability to correctly assess perform-
ewnews.co.uk
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