Study of the operational factors affecting productivity in SMEs

pilot study in industrial companies in the plastic sector

Abstract

Latin-American SMEs account for approximately 67% of the jobs generated, yet less than half survive beyond the first 5 years, and only a small fraction manages to become a large enterprise. One of the main challenges facing by these companies is their low productivity, a particularly visible aspect in Uruguayan companies. One of the main reasons for this low productivity is the lack of an adequate framework that allows SMEs to efficiently manage their processes. The main objective of this work was to develop a pilot study on the state of the operational management of SMEs from the viewpoint of their supply chain management. The study was carried out in SMEs smaller than 50 employees, belonging to the plastic sector, given the growing interest from the government and the Chamber of Industries (CIU) in this sector. The results of this study highlighted problems of time management, lack of planning, organization and delegation of tasks, communication problems and poor  management of information, as well as a general lack of use of applied technologies to facilitate decision making.