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How to grow your business in a low growth economy

Updated: Dec 13, 2024

Brexit

It’s the massive, dithering elephant in every room right now – the uncertainty around Brexit is causing ripples in every direction, and no-one knows what’s going on.


The one thing most people do seem to agree on is that, whatever the outcome of current political machinations, it’s likely that the UK economy is going to be in a period of low (if not non-existent) growth for some time.


So, in the interests of positive thinking, we’re taking a look at how you can make sure your business is in the best possible position to survive, whatever the outcome.


The pressure of Brexit is on in the construction industry in every way, from material costs and availability to labour and demand. Whichever way it goes, there are plenty of things you can do to ensure your business is in the best possible shape to meet the challenges ahead, whether that’s recession or boom, or anything in between. We’re not suggesting it will be smooth sailing, but there are things every business can do to minimise risks, make the most of existing opportunities and create new ones.


It all comes down to having the right information and using it to plan correctly. Obviously no-one has the information about the external factors that Brexit will influence, but what you do have is the information about your own business. So let your software do the work, and get ready to batten down the hatches.


Pricing

Whatever your pricing strategy, Merchanter can cope. Fixed, keen pricing or fluctuating, conditional pricing can both be used with this software system, and it can even help you choose which is the best option for your business. Seasonal variation, bulk discounts, urgency premiums and frequency of purchase can all be built-in, and you’ll always know what margin you’re making on every line of every sale.


Stock control

Stock management is one of the most important areas of your business – good stock management facilitates great customer service, optimised use of space and resource, and low wastage. So getting on top of it with a system that helps you to monitor stock levels across all your sites in real time is vital. It’s also important to understand what’s selling when, so you can manage relationships with suppliers, get better pricing, and optimise your lead times for call-off.


Of course, if the UK leaves the European Customs Union then there is likely to be significant delay to all imported materials from Europe, in the same way that materials from outside the EU currently take longer to clear customs. Using data from your historic orders with intelligent reporting and analysis can help you to predict peaks and troughs in demand further out, and streamlining your logistics model can also create efficiencies. No-one is suggesting that there won’t be any issues, but armed with the right information and the best planning processes, you’ll be a step ahead.


Working with the right suppliers

Importing from overseas is often the cheapest and most efficient solution at this point in time; that may continue to be true, or there may be changes to the businesses you work with regularly. Whichever suppliers you choose to work with, you can always make sure you’re getting the best prices, with efficiencies of scale enabled by more effective demand planning, and automatic price checks, credit controls and invoicing will help to eliminate cashflow bottlenecks and hold-ups.


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Logistics and operational control

Brexit or no Brexit, no business can rest on its laurels, and optimising the efficiency of your supply chain will always be crucial. Through enhanced analysis and planning, made simple with your industry-specific software, you’ll be able to reduce wasted costs and time, creating efficiencies which can amount to really significant savings in both time and overheads – and of course, enable even better customer service.


Working with the right customers

Just as it’s important to build relationships with the right suppliers, understanding your customers is also critical. Being able to understand at a glance who your brilliant customers are (the ones who order regularly, pay on time and stick with you) and who your not so brilliant customers are (regular time-wasters or payment defaulters) can help you to focus your team’s attention where it makes a difference, and saves a whole load of wasted time. You’ll also be able to see where new opportunities exist with existing customers, and use the learnings and positive experiences with them to attract and retain new business as well.


Using your reporting and analysis features to understand where opportunities lie, you’ll be able to quickly and simply identify where there are chances to generate more orders, more frequency or more value per order, or where inefficiencies exist that could be wasting valuable resources. Your software is there to help you – and we’re here to make sure you get every penny’s worth of value from your software.


Great service

At the heart of every great business is a genuine commitment to provide stellar customer service. Being able to provide reliable, quality service at an appropriate price time and time again will always be of great value to your customers, and your business reputation relies on that service enormously.


Everything about Merchanter is designed to enable you to deliver the very best customer service, by speeding up processes that typically waste time, identifying the best opportunities at the best prices, and ensuring that your stock management is at its absolute optimum levels. Accurate, up to date information is available at a moment’s notice so daily frustrations can be avoided and the best decisions can be made faster.

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What is peace of mind worth to you?

We could go on (and on, and on) about all the ways that having the right merchant business software can enhance your business, but we’d love to show you instead.


If you haven’t yet had a demo of Merchanter, please do give it a go for yourself, or contact us for a face to face meeting to demonstrate it.


We truly believe it can transform your business and give you every advantage to succeed no matter what the political landscape becomes in the coming months. We’re here to help you build the best possible future for your business.

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