Poor internal systems might lead small and medium-sized companies to lose millions of pounds according to a survey commissioned by software provider Exact.
Cloud computing services can help manufacturers to remain competitive and profitable, suggested Exact sources. The Netherlands based company, has been dealing with information technology, business software solutions and high quality services since 1984, and has presented its new cloud solution for small and medium size businesses today in London.
A nationwide survey was conducted by Exact in order to get a better understanding of the working relationships and processes in place between SMEs in the manufacturing, professional services and wholesale & distribution sectors.
The findings showed a significant lack of accuracy in accounting administration.
Almost a quarter (23%) of SME manufacturers who took part in the survey have admitted to having forgotten to invoice for goods or services at least once. Among these, around 41% of manufacturers confessed to not invoicing for a job worth between £1,000 and £5,000, while 12% admitted to having forgotten to invoice for a job worth more than £10,000.
The implication for the UK’s 4.8 million SMEs* – which account for 99.9% of all private sector businesses in the UK – is that they are collectively out of pocket by as much as £3.7 billion**.
“We don’t want to blow this issue out of proportion,” said Hartmut Wagner, Managing Director of Cloud Solution Exact, “but these findings do highlight that many SMEs working in the manufacturing sector who are eager to grow are not doing themselves any favours by losing out unnecessarily on millions in revenue income, particularly with so many expressing concern over their cash-flow.”
Almost a third (29%) of business owners and leaders in manufacturing admitted that they don’t cohesively manage their accounts and business finances.
“Being fully in control of your finances is clearly vital to better business decision making,” Mukesh Shah, Head of Outsourcing at accountancy firm HW Fisher & Company, said.
Following the financial crisis, trends in the manufacturing sectors in the UK have shown that cost cutting, mobility across the enterprise, outsourcing and increased demand for individual products have pushed firms to manage more risks and to reposition in the markets.
Pieter Hamans, Principal Product Marketing at Exact, suggested that cloud softwares can help overcome the biggest challenges that small and medium sized manufacturers face nowadays, involving cost prices, customer quality and inventory costs.
“We live in an entrepreneurial age, with the UK very much at the forefront of the trend,” added Wagner. “This is a particularly exciting time to be bringing our cloud portfolio to the UK. Never has there been a greater need for the two sides to collaborate more effectively and we at Exact are going to be doing our part to support this evolution.”
Exact is a global supplier of financial and business software listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam since June 1999 and with a reported turnover of € 217.1 million in 2012.
