"Competitive Edge in Business"

From left to right: Janak Sheth, Sr. Vice President, FGI, Amit Goradia, Chairman, Jewel Consumer Care Pvt. Ltd., Founder – Director, Kunkel Wagner (India) Pvt. Ltd. & Past President, FGI, Sunil R. Parekh, Corporate Advisor, Cadila Healthcare Limited & Foundation Curator, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Nitin Mankad, Vice President, FGI, Navnit Patel, Past President & Chairman, MDP Committee, FSSI, at Business Standard Smart Business event held on 28th March, 2014, in Vadodara, in association with Federation of Gujarat Industries (FGI) and Federation of Small Scale Industries (FSSI).

Survival of the fittest has always been the thumb rule. Needless to say, it is the smaller and weaker ones that are most prone to succumb to the pressures of their surroundings. In a concrete jungle, this translates into an economic downturn - such as is being observed around the world including India. And those prone to succumb are none other than the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

So how do SMEs survive in challenging times? This, and many such similar questions formed the backdrop of the Business Standard Smart Business seminar on 'Competitive Edge in Business'.

Initiating the discussion, Goradia stated, "If SMEs are not competitive, they will close down. Only innovation and ideation and changing products can be the methods of survival," he said.

Seconding Goradia was Parekh who stated that while SMEs were not doing well and were finding it hard to be competitive, certain systemic issues need to be looked at to improve their situation.

Sheth, on the other hand, opined that the real effort to become competitive lay in a change of mindset among SMEs. "SMEs should stop saying that 'I am a small scale unit'. SMEs should think and dream big", Sheth added.

The panelists further discussed how internet could bring in competitive edge among SMEs. " SMEs should use technology in a way that ensures costs are under control," said Parekh. On the other hand, Goradia suggested that SMEs should use technology not only in improving manufacturing process but also to try and make better products and innovate.

On the use of social media, Mankad said that while SMEs were waking up to the idea, it is still taking time for them to fully utilise the benefits of social media.

Finally, the discussion moved to financing issues for SMEs wherein Parekh highlighted that SMEs should aim to become price setter instead of being price taker.

Meanwhile, seconding with Sheth, Patel reiterated that SMEs should stop seeing themselves as small and instead look to engage the sectors they are in and seek to innovate in order to carry a competitive edge in their business.