The turbulence of the past 12 months has posed many challenges and will continue to do so but according to the results of a YouGov survey we commissioned in early 2021, the consensus across UK’s businesses is one of optimism.
However, nearly a third of businesses are actually looking to cut costs and just one in five business owners’ plan on prioritising employees in the year ahead, despite record highs of unemployment and a mental health crisis following the pandemic.
For many, data is touted as the answer, but do business leaders know how to use it? Over 50% of the business owners interviewed by YouGov in February 2021 said they do not know what to do with the data they have, or that they simply do not have quality data available to them.
Meanwhile the survey revealed that businesses are prioritising price over sustainability when it comes to their supply chains. Over a quarter of those interviewed never audit their supply chain’s compliance with ethical and sustainability contract requirements.
Despite the changing attitudes towards more sustainable and ethical products and practices, 47% of businesses said they prioritise price in comparison to just 14% that prioritise sustainable and ethical practices. However, there are big regional variations with 21% of London businesses prioritising sustainability compared to just 9% in Yorkshire and Humber.
Jayne Hussey, partner at Mills & Reeve and a specialist in advising businesses, said: “Understanding where your products or services come from and who is making them is vital. The Sunday Times report on labour standards in many of the Boohoo related factories in Leicester resulted in the share price of Boohoo dropping by 25% within a few days.
“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that the economy (and for that matter, the country) relies on a robust supply of goods. The impact of the early days of the first lockdown were exasperated for everyone by the lack of availability. Not only could consumers not buy what they needed (such as toilet rolls!), but companies with materials and component parts being in the wrong place, struggled to meet the demand. And not just in the short term, with many companies still struggling with challenges around the import and export of goods.”
- 86%25 of businesses are optimistic about the year ahead with 86%25 planning on growing their business, introducing new products or moving into new markets, despite the impact of both Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A fifth of all businesses plan to increase the number of employees
- Over a quarter (27%25) are making digital transformation a priority across their business
- However, only 18%25 see risk management as priority in protecting their business, despite the lessons learned during the pandemic
With the country preparing for the end of COVID-19 restrictions and once again, the chance of things getting back to “normal”, Mills & Reeve commissioned a YouGov survey with businesses across the UK asking them about how they might be changing and what they were planning in the coming months.
The Office for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sharply upgraded growth forecasts for the UK, thought to be motivated by the optimism of the vaccine rollout, to a 5.1%25 jump in GDP in the coming year, compared to 4.2%25 it predicted in December 2020.
- 47%25 of businesses prioritise price in their supply chain and business decisions
- Only 14%25 see sustainability and ethical products and practices as their main decision driver
- 38%25 audit their supply chain at least once a year, however nearly a quarter have never carried out a review
Despite the changing attitudes, and headline grabbing consequences when it goes wrong, the majority of businesses still see price as the key factor in their supply chain decisions.
- 28%25 use data to help them prioritise customer demand
- Nearly a quarter (23%25) say it enables them to explore new revenue streams
- However, over 50%25 of business owners say they either don’t know what to do with their data or it isn’t available to them
“Data is king” is a much used phrase, many businesses use it to gain competitive advantage, manage their workforce and make informed strategic decisions.
It does appear from the results of our survey that there is a real capability gap.