KUALA LUMPUR: United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia) and The FinLab recently concluded its 2020 run of the Jom Transform Programme, during which 116 local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) received advisory and assistance in digital transformation.
Through the programme, the SMEs improved their productivity and grew their revenue, helping them to overcome the challenges brought about by the
impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
In its second year, the Jom Transform Programme was conducted virtually on The FinLab Online amid
physical distancing restrictions during the pandemic.
The regional digital platform enabled SMEs to access
online workshops, video tutorials and webinars in digital marketing, business operations and e-commerce.
UOB Malaysia chief executive officer Wong Kim Choong said through engagement sessions last year, the bank found that SMEs have long considered digitalisation essential to reinventing their business
models.
"The Covid-19 pandemic prompted these businesses to accelerate their digital transformation efforts as they had to operate with strict standard operating procedures within physical restrictions.
"By hosting the Jom Transform Programme on The FinLab Online, SMEs could access our resources online easily and conveniently, progressing on their digitalisation journey from the safety of their own homes and offices," he said in a statement today.
At the start of the business transformation programme, 60 per cent of the participating SMEs expressed the intent to adopt digital marketing to expand their online brand presence.
The remaining participants were focused on incorporating digital solutions to improve their operations and integrating e-commerce to boost
their sales.
Upon completion of the programme, the SMEs were able to achieve the following outcomes – increase in revenue, reduction in business cost, improved process time, reduction in man hours or creation
of new sources of growth.
One of the participants of the Jom Transform Programme 2020 was The Makeover Guys Sdn Bhd (TMG), which manages interior design, renovation projects and secures rental tenants for property owners.
TMG founder Gavin Liew said through the Jom Transform Programme, the company implemented a tenancy management platform that has helped to streamline its costly and resource intensive back-end processes.
"The solution enabled us to eliminate errors from manual data entry and tracking.
"We have also noticed a significant 70 per cent reduction in the number of steps required to perform
different tasks as job requests, updates and data recording are now automated.
'This translated into a faster turnaround and increased resource efficiency," he said.
Sauna Holm Sdn Bhd (SHSB), a pioneer supplier of equipment and furniture for the spa, wellness and hotel industries, recognised the importance of accurately capturing their customers' orders to ensure better collaboration between their sales and operations teams and to manage these transactions effectively.
SHSB general manager Regine Lau said under the Jom Transform Programme, the company integrated a customer relationship management software into its existing network which enabled sales and operations teams to streamline and manage customer engagement, sales and project delivery better within a single system platform.
"The software integration has improved our customer
relationship management with a 20 per cent reduction in the time taken from order placement to shipment,
within just a month of implementation," she said.
Since its launch in 2020, The FinLab Online has enabled businesses across Malaysia, Singapore, and
Thailand to access and to receive guidance on their digitalisation journey wherever they are located.
In Malaysia, with The FinLab Online, the Jom Transform Programme reached more SMEs outside the Klang Valley last year, including companies in Kedah, Penang, Terengganu, Perak, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.
UOB Malaysia executive director and country head of channels and digitalisation Yap Kok Tee said in 2020, the bank took the initiative to conduct the Jom Transform Programme virtually to widen its reach and to engage with more SMEs and its ecosystem partners.
"Last year, one out of four SMEs that participated
in this programme was a business located outside the Klang Valley area.
"UOB Malaysia and The FinLab will continue to offer the Jom Transform Programme 2021 on The FinLab Online to support more SMEs in their digitalisation efforts and to help them embrace the new normal of doing business," he said.
The first cohort of the Jom Transform Programme 2021 will undergo a business transformation curriculum
through The FinLab Online starting 18 May 2021.
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