Behind the headlines about mass layoffs, ongoing supply chain problems, IT security risks, and falling sales, there is plenty to be positive about 2023. That is if your company is proactive and smart enough to adapt to the changes, and prepare for 2024 and beyond while the current year is just warming up.
Talent, Grab Smart Hires Now
It may seem like the sky is falling in 2023 as waves of layoffs hit major tech firms. But these headliner grabbers are, in part, a herd mentality following their leaders’ hallowed MBA playbook, and a reaction to overenthusiastic hiring policies in recent years.
For smaller businesses, the good news is a huge swathe of talent to help patch up the other big recruiting issue, the skills shortage. And, having been stung by enterprises, many smart cookies will be happy to work for smaller firms where they can generate an outsize impact and add great value.
With the ongoing hybrid/remote argument still raging, your company can take advantage of talent from coast-to-coast and further afield, if you show a little flexibility. Admit that many businesses and their professionals have been working remotely successfully for many years – flexible working is not a fad or political football!
You don’t need rockstar talent, although that is great if available. Just add affordable depth and talent to your teams, and their experience of smarter efficiency and knowledge will add thrust to your 2023 strategies and beyond.
Chargebacks, Focus on the Pennies In a Tight Market
There is no getting around the fact that money, both from investors, finance, and your customers is thin on the ground in 2023. At times like these, successful businesses focus on the small stuff as well as big-ticket items like new products, marketing, ERP, IT security, and so on.
One area for retailers and any firm with an ecommerce store is the thorny issue of chargebacks and friendly fraud. These are expected to cost merchants over $117 billion in 2023 and it is easier for a customer and their bank to initiate a chargeback for a sale, adding outsize costs to what might have been a small transaction, that soon adds up.
Dealing with chargebacks promptly and efficiently through automation, as offered by Cartis, saves money and reduces the risk of customer churn, with some estimates approaching $200 per chargeback. Saving that money through rapid resolution will soon add up to huge savings for the business, and reduce the risk of unhappy customers.
If it isn’t chargebacks, there are bound to be other areas of your business leaking small sums that could grow into major losses. Through joined-up software like ERP or some detective work, find and eliminate them.
Security, everyone is at risk (and everyone is a risk)
IT and data security is top of the agenda for most larger businesses for a very good reason. One breach and companies faced being wiped out or huge recovery costs. Any smaller business with teams working on servers or the cloud faces the same risk, primarily from the people working there, aka insider threats.
Either through mistake, tiredness, or malicious intent, insiders still trigger most data breaches. They might open malware-laden links or attachments, fall for phishing attacks or bring in malware on a personal device. Teaching every worker about IT security risks, and deploying modern software to defend and mitigate attacks is a must-have for any business that wants to see 2024 unscathed.
Put all your data in one place
Whatever your business, it produces data. And much of that data sits isolated, invisible to other workers or teams. The rise of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is a boon for companies large and small, making what once lurked in a spreadsheet or sales list accessible to purchasing, planning, marketing, and other roles/teams.
While most ERP vendors like to shout about their big clients, in truth, it is the thousands of small businesses they support that get the most value as they start to become digital businesses. The likes of Infor CloudSuite have endless customers around the world in retail, manufacturing, supply chain, and so on.
They make major savings when it comes to ERP, by joining the dots across processes and data. And modern cloud ERPs can adapt to changing businesses with new features, and integrate specialist ones like Cartis’ ecommerce and payment tools.
For any business leader or department manager, it can be tough to know where to look with the pace of change, and the chaos outside your office doors. Picking up on these trends should set your organization in good stead for the years ahead. Just remember to look after your people and processes during any change you make.
For more information, click here to see how to integrate Cartis products into your solutions.