Telkom advises SMME’s on improving their Business Practices
These calls were made at The Small Business Excellence Conference, an inaugural SMME conference, which took place from 23 – 24 July 2007 at the Emperor’s Palace Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
“It is important for SMMEs to ensure that their businesses operate on effective and efficient quality management systems in order to ensure that value is derived in terms of services offered. Implementing a quality management system adds a competitive advantage and improves productivity,” said Elelwani Pahlana, Telkom Executive for Strategic Sourcing & BEE.
Under the theme, Competitiveness in the Global Village, the conference brought together diverse stakeholders in the SMME sector who discussed matters of common interest with a view to imparting invaluable tools to entrepreneurs as they seek to become sustainable and competitive.
The conference, which was sponsored by Telkom, also recognised successful entrepreneurs through the Small Business Excellence Awards. It was organised by the South African Small Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) Forum, which is a section 21 not-for-profit organisation.
Speaking about Telkom’s procurement policy regarding previously disadvantaged suppliers, Pahlana said: “Telkom is committed to supporting SMME suppliers to meaningfully participate in the mainstream of the South African economy.”
She urged SMMEs to transcend their business approaches from “mere survivalist small scale operations” to identifying and leveraging opportunities in order to attain sustainable growth.
She said that some of the ways in which this could be done included:
- Forming effective business networks and strategic alliances/partnerships
- Aligning with ventures that offer differentiated product offerings to augment weaknesses
- Improving quality processes for long term sustainability for the business as well as creating a competitive edge
- Focussing on an Integrated Business Model
- Creating turnaround strategies so that SMMEs could address changes in market conditions
Pahlana also advised the SMME sector to focus on Research and Development to harness their competitive edge. “Remember, South Africa’s vision to become a global business leader should start with you,” Pahlana told SMMEs.
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