Saving time and money as a small business owner is more important than ever.
The pandemic has affected every person globally, but its detrimental effects go deeper than just higher prices and shortages. Covid-19 created a domino effect that showed the world just how flawed and weak our supply chain strategies are.
“When the Covid-19 pandemic subsides, the world will look markedly different. The supply shock that started in China in February and the demand shock that followed as the global economy shut down exposed vulnerabilities in firms’ production strategies and supply chains. Temporary trade restrictions and shortages of pharmaceuticals, critical medical supplies, and other products highlighted their weaknesses.”
Willy C. Shih Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration at Harvard Business School.
Before Covid-19, it had been nearly a century since a global crisis disrupted economies across trade, finance, societies, business, health, and education systems. Ernst & Young LLP conducted a survey of 200 senior-level supply chain executives in late 2020 and found that only 2% of those surveyed said they were fully prepared for the pandemic. This is a huge risk for small and growing businesses, putting customer loyalty, reputation, and revenue on the line. Business owners and suppliers must reassess their strategies.
SMBs are overwhelmed and under more pressure than ever before; surrounded by massive global forces, challenged by unforeseen issues in the wake of Covid-19, and lack the power and resources of big business – and that closes doors, unable to look around the corner to understand what may happen next to their supply chain. Markaaz understands how important it is that today’s solutions truly help support small businesses to help them save time and money.
We believe that if all SMBs come together, they can belong to a bigger world of opportunity. Doing so will enable them – and society as a whole – to thrive positively and grow in ways we’ve never dreamed of. Markaaz is the one solution that can connect SMBs to a bigger world of opportunity. We are working to create an empowered SMB community – a world where SMBs feel that they belong and have the opportunity to grow.
The Markaaz Directory helps small businesses find, verify, and pay 100M+ SMBs all in one platform. The Markaaz Directory goes far beyond a typical Google My Business or Yelp listing as every business is pre-verified, which saves business owners time and money by reducing risk. The Markaaz Directory improves the time to find a new supplier by 92%. SMBs can now fulfill all their supplier needs in one simple platform.
Supply chain best practices
- Identify the risks in your supply chain – which suppliers are low, medium, and high risk based on their quality, region, quality history, and economic risks.
- Instead of focusing on one region, try building an integrated network of suppliers so that if one is impacted, you have another you can quickly employ, saving you time, money, and headache from angry consumers.
Reducing dependency on international supply chains will be easier for some businesses than others until new suppliers in lower-risk regions rise to take their place. Around the world, people are realizing that diversification of supply chains and the development of supplier networks help to build the resilience we need in the future.
While there are many things to look out for when choosing your supply chain partners, these best practices, coupled with the Markaaz Directory, can help you make informed decisions with your supplier network.
You can learn more about Markaaz and the Markaaz Directory on our website.
Hany Fam, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder, Markaaz
About the author: Hany Fam is the CEO and founder of Markaaz and a transformational leader with a track record of building global platforms and businesses. He is an Official Member of the Forbes Business Council and a Member of The World Economic Forum’s Global Innovators. Fam is focused on creating a positive and sustainable impact for small business owners through the world’s first global platform to verify and connect small businesses and the network of partners that support them. Before founding Markaaz, Fam held global leadership roles in business transformation, value creation, and technology, gaining depth of experience in payments, B2B platforms, enterprise partnerships, and SaaS. He served as CEO of AXA Global Enterprise & Partnerships, Founder & President of Mastercard Enterprise Partnerships, and President of Mastercard UK & Ireland Markets. He also held roles in Applied Technology, including as the CTO of Toshiba International’s Heavy Industrial business in Australasia. Under Fam’s leadership, Mastercard Track was launched, the first and only global trading platform connecting every supplier and buyer on the planet to simplify and automate the exchange of payments and related data.
