SMEs saw extremely high levels of resignations over past 12 months: Survey

Skill, labour, talent for MSMEs: A survey of 300 small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region (AMEA) region including India on Thursday said 80 per cent of SMEs in India experienced extremely high levels of resignations over the past 12 months as the global Great Resignation phenomenon has impacted the region. The survey commissioned by transport company FedEx in July this year added that 71 per cent of SMEs believed there were too few people for too many jobs with e-commerce marketing and sales experience being most in demand, followed by logistics roles. 

“While the future looks bright, 65 per cent of e-tailers in AMEA reported they were struggling to handle the growing number of orders they were receiving. Amid surging demand talent and recruitment has proven challenging for SMEs,” the report What’s Next in E-commerce Survey noted. 

Subscribe to Financial Express SME newsletter now: Your weekly dose of news, views, and updates from the world of micro, small, and medium enterprises 

Due to Covid, 80 per cent of SMEs in India agreed that consumer buying behaviour has fundamentally changed and most of them predicted that e-commerce will be integral to their business growth over the next three years. 93 per cent of SMEs said they are excited by this growth opportunity and believe they are well positioned to capitalize on it. While marketplaces will have an important role to play in the overall context of e-commerce, 58 per cent of SMEs said they currently sell directly to customers through their own e-commerce platforms. 

“SMEs are the growth engines of the Indian economy. During the pandemic, the e-commerce sector provided many SMEs with an opportunity to recover and expand their business. Today, cross-border trade has emerged as a key business priority for SMEs in India and a major opportunity to bolster growth,” said Kami Viswanathan, Senior Vice President, FedEx Express Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa Operations. 

The survey covered SMEs in India, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. According to the data platform Statista, the Indian e-commerce industry is growing at an exponential rate. The market value of the e-commerce industry in India was approximately $22 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $350 billion by 2030.

Also read: Why formalisation of MSMEs is needed on a war footing to solve credit, other challenges