GNAM Week Day 2: MM FEB UI Presents 3 Interesting Sessions from Speakers with Backgrounds
Nino Eka Putra ~ PR of FEB UI
Nisa Adzhani L, Nara Pangestika Vidyani, and Silvia Tri Handayani ~ MM FEB UI students
DEPOK – (20/10/2020) The second day of the Global Network Week or Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) raised the theme “Winning Strategies for Small and Medium Size Businesses, Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic”. In the event on Tuesday (20/10/2020), three interesting sessions were presented by speakers from various backgrounds (20/10/2020).
Session 1: Transitioning to the Next Normal; How Pandemic Shifts Indonesian Business Landscape and What Business Should Prepare?
Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, Chair of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, explained that Covid-19 has greatly affected the economic sector in many countries, especially on MSMEs. The biggest concern lies in the lower level of productivity caused by the adoption of health procedures/protocols and increased prices or costs. On the plus side, Indonesia is considered to be one of the countries in the world with the fastest recovery. The government has made a budgeting plan for economic recovery due to the pandemic, and has provided funds to support MSMEs as well as a digital revolution to empower millions of MSMEs in operating their businesses through technological application.
Session 2: Hidden Opportunities During Pandemic; Different Ways SMEs Successfully Turn Covid-19 to its Advantage
The second session presented three speakers, namely Pascal Sembel, Chief Investment Officer of Unistellar Indonesia; Wieke Yunita, S.Sos, CFP, QCRO, QWP, Director of Insurance Alodokter; and Windy Natriavi, Commissioner of Awan Tunai, with Arviansyah, Ph.D as the moderator.
As the first speaker, Pascal Sembel, explained that the critical aspect in this pandemic is how to respond, restore and renew with a focus on new consumers and new necessities. MSMEs need innovation to make modifications, create new products according to customer needs, and sell their products or services at affordable prices. Innovation is essential in today’s business strategy. MSME owners also need to have a mindset that MSME is not a low-income business, but has a potential to generate billions of rupiah. Therefore, MSMEs need to carry out various innovations, and it is also important to understand that innovation is not always in the form of digitization.
Wieke Yunita, as the second speaker, said that Alodokter is a forum that connects doctors and patients in the health business. The difficulty of rural communities in finding specialist doctors is also one of the reasons for the development of this platform. Especially in the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic, people need online services to consult about their health.
Wieke continued, Alodokter as an SME aims to provide technological-based health services through online chat, health consultations with doctors, and education in the form of health articles. Yet, Alodokter also experienced various challenges in pandemic conditions. Alodokter overcomes the challenges by prioritizing quality, creating services according to the needs of the society, collaborating with relevant stakeholders, and quickly adapting to the situation.
Windy Natriavi, as the third speaker, said that Awan Tunai (Cloud Cash) is a technology that can provide financing for suppliers and grocery store owners in Indonesia. Awan Tunai matches wholesalers with about 200 grocery store owners and provides funds to wholesalers who are having trouble getting additional capital for their businesses. In addition, suppliers are also assisted in recording stock items and monitoring transaction activities at their stores. According to Windy, in the current condition, empowerment is also important, not eliminating one type of business. For this reason, Awan Tunai empowers wholesalers and does not replace them with e-commerce. What is equally important are the assistance and efforts to maintain existing relationships between SMEs, wholesalers and grocery store owners.
Session 3: What Strategies Emerge as Winning Strategies During Crisis?
Lecturer at the FEB UI Management Department, Prof. Dr. Adi Zakaria Afiff explained that in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were three survival strategies described by the pyramid triangle, namely survival, exploitation and exploration. In ‘survival’, we must redefine business by redefining the playing field and reshaping the value proposition. In addition, maintaining business cash flow by utilizing government policies, managing A/R and collection, reviewing operating costs, and stopping capital spending.
Second, in ‘exploitation’, we must strengthen our objectives by 1) deepening relationships with current segments and expanding new offerings to current segments; 2) collaborating with strong value chains by building relationships with government and strong value chains; and 3) utilize and strengthen digital capabilities.
Lastly, in ‘exploration’, we must expand our digital capabilities by increasing contact points with customers, enriching engagement with all segments, and expanding collaboration by providing new services with government and strong value chains. (hjtp)
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