when it grows. The journey, he added does not stop here as you may move to other provinces and ultimately to other countries. “You cannot remain the CEO, the CFO, and the sales person simultaneously as you did when the company was very small,” he said, adding the staff size of the company must grow, bringing with it human resources issues. At the same time, he added, the number of suppliers and dealers would also increase and all matters become more complicated and time-consuming.
Arshad said as the company grows and the business owner wrestles with these new issues, he starts losing intimacy with his customers that in fact is the main strength of small businesses. Complexity of issues related with growth distances the owners from their customers. “It is at this early stage of growth that the company needs an integrated technology solution to prepare it for a complex world,” he said. In its absence it would be hard for the founder to focus on ultimate business value, which is his customer.
He said it is the technology that helps SMEs when human limits of the founder are exhausted. He said a start up can know everything that goes on in the company and everyone who works for him. But as it grows to even a medium sized company, they cannot monitor every process or every employee. “It is here the technology helps him through data management and information systems. If technology is ignored, the owner or CEO would lose control of the whole enterprise.
Arshad said three things that SMEs need in current technological era include access to real-time data besides real-time connections to customers, partners and suppliers; and most importantly a connected technology ecosystem that is embedded in all departments within the entire company.
He warned of streamlining and integrating an enterprise when it has already spent years accumulating complexity. Entrepreneurs should plan from the beginning to be simple. If a complete technological package is not incorporated at the very beginning; removing the deficiencies caused by piecemeal technological upgrade would cost the enterprise more. He said educated start ups even in Pakistan launch their small businesses with much less capital investment due to availability of the right digital tools.