Small and medium-sized business owners are missing an opportunity to reduce operating costs and increase revenue, according to research from Alibaba.com.
A survey of just under 1,500 businesses found that 80% are failing to embrace the global marketplace with over one quarter considering themselves too small to trade with partners from outside the UK. Cultural and language barriers (21%) coupled with trust issues (24%) were cited as the main drawbacks.
The data also revealed that 89% of small businesses spend up to £1,000 each time they review a supplier relationship. Almost one third of businesses conduct this review quarterly, thus incurring a cost of up to £4,000 per partner per year, costing billions of pounds to the sector every year.
Despite nearly two thirds of businesses believing that a regular review of suppliers is vital to remaining competitive, one in five admitted to sitting back and waiting for companies to come to them. This inactivity is likely to be having a direct impact on business efficiency and with nearly one third of businesses taking up to a month to find a supplier that they are happy with, this extended lead time is likely to result in missed opportunities.
“Small businesses believe that they are ill equipped to compete in the global marketplace but in fact the opposite is true.,” said Maggie Choo, General Manager of Alibaba.com.
“The internet has opened up a host of opportunities for businesses, however small, to reach out, connect and trade easily and securely online. It is crucial that they take advantage of technology advances such as e-commerce platforms if they are to remain competitive.”