How businesses can better manage the impact of inflation on operations
Rising interest and inflation rates globally and across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) are putting pressure on businesses of all sizes to do more with less. Beyond the impact that increasing costs have on the supply chain, and the obvious consequences on the bottom line, it’s also creating financial challenges for business grappling with growing overhead costs.
It’s unlikely the rate of inflation will rapidly drop, so it’s essential that business leaders take steps to mitigate the impact of inflation on their operations and finances as much as possible, according to SAP Concur.
Fabian Calle, managing director, small and medium business, SAP Concur Australia and New Zealand, said, Today’s businesses need to do the juggling act better than ever to compete with rising costs and inflation while maintaining business as usual. At the same time, companies across various sectors also face pressure from labour and skills shortages. Ultimately, business leaders must rethink their priorities to get ahead of change and align their actions with long-term goals. While it may seem like a good idea to tighten the budget, it’s never been more critical for business leaders to invest in tools and solutions that let them better configure and scale their service to adapt to changing demands.
“Businesses will benefit from deploying innovative technologies that provide greater control over spend management and let business leaders achieve more visibility into cashflow. Access to near-real-time data is critical for business success, especially when it comes to finances. Using technology that empowers the workforce to do more with less, without breaking the bank, is key.”
One of the most efficient ways for businesses to mitigate the risks of inflation is to not only slow spend but to prioritise controlling costs as much as is feasible. This is difficult to do without having the right information or insight into where businesses spend their money. As such, it’s essential for businesses to invest in expense management solutions that facilitate deep dives into spend trends to eliminate unnecessary costs and improve efficiencies.
Fabian Calle said, “To get the most out of operations while walking a fine line on finances, businesses must be able to see where there are opportunities to stem spending or optimise funds and resources. Accurate, near-real-time data is the best way to do this. However, businesses must also invest in people alongside their digital transformation. As such, technologies that help to streamline activities and encourage productivity lets businesses get the most out of their people as well as their technology investments.
“The latest expense management solutions let business users capture expense information in real time and use automation to streamline the process on both ends of the expense request. This lets finance team members more accurately see and manage cashflow, while also giving them essential data into where spend is happening, so they can help the business make better, data-driven decisions about where to cut costs if and when needed. Achieving near-real-time intelligence will ultimately empower businesses to prepare for nearly every economic shift.”
Beyond helping finance and business leaders better see where spend occurs, modern expense management solutions also let businesses streamline operations for finance team members, empowering them to contribute to more meaningful, high-value business tasks.
Fabian Calle said, “Eliminating time-consuming, manual tasks is critical to help businesses get more done with the resources they have available. An already stretched and under-resourced team faces immense pressure when money is tight, especially if a business is in a period of growth. Investing in solutions that use automation let businesses pivot their resources away from repetitive, manual tasks and invest their time elsewhere to help the business succeed.”
