CII business plan for SMEs

The Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Madhya Pradesh chapter will chalk out business plans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the state.

These companies, according to the CII, are owner-managed, have a small work force, are predominantly non-professionals and find it difficult to retain professionals.

Their financial information is auditor-driven and restricted to financial statements, and the only planning they do is in relation to taxes.

The SMEs are primarily suppliers to bigger companies, experience constant pressure from customers to reduce prices, have an in-built weakness in accessing new markets or expanding their market share and do not have the drive for product development or diversification, said the CII.

"The CII will organise workshops for these companies. The first workshop will be held in Bhopal on 9-10 April and will be conducted by M Hariharan, a renowned consultant," said a CII spokesperson.

When survival instinct takes centrestage, firms look for short-term solutions to tide over their current problems. Their actions are often impulsive, and hamper the firms chances of survival in the longer run.

Long-term survival depends on how firms are able to think proactively, with a long-term growth path in mind. With a view to tide over today's problems, firms tend to forget the maxim 'Look before you leap'.

"The idea is to make SMEs understand the importance of planning, the methodology of planning and also to understand the science of control and decision-making through a proper business plan," said the spokesperson.

The workshop has been designed by the Savoir-Faire Consulting Group.