of the productivity gap between leading and middle-performing firms is explained by differences in skills, management and diversity in an OECD analysis
OECD · 2021 analysis ↗01 · SME Development
Develop the organisation to move the business forward.
For PPE distributors who want to develop the whole business: organisation, people and sales. Aptus adds an external perspective and execution capability through a tailored solution.
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From your business context to implementation: objectives, scope and duration defined together.
Organisation and skills
Developing the business also means developing how it works.
Growth capability is not only about products or opportunities. How the business is managed, people are developed and knowledge is put into practice also deserves attention.
in participation in work-related training among SME employees compared with large firms, on average across the countries analysed by the OECD
OECD · 2023 report ↗International comparisons: the first study covers firms in ten countries, not only SMEs; the second compares SME and large-firm employees. These are not PPE-sector figures or forecasts of results.
Three dimensions
Growth needs a foundation that keeps pace.
This is not about adding isolated initiatives. The work connects how the business is organised, led and taken to market.
Organisation
Objectives, priorities, responsibilities and processes that make work clearer.
People
Leadership, communication, alignment and accountability to sustain change.
Sales
Value proposition, sales method, tools, indicators and execution.
What may be at stake
Existing capability may not be fully used.
Even with an experienced team, recurring issues can absorb management time and slow decisions.
Management time
Recurring matters still depend on the owner or leadership.
Dependence
Important knowledge sits with a small number of people.
Uneven execution
Decisions do not always change day-to-day practice.
Opportunities
Some potential has yet to become action.
The value of an outside view
You know your business. Aptus brings distance to help it move forward.
Internal experience is essential. An independent perspective can connect scattered signals, challenge habits respectfully and bring execution capacity for a defined period.
PPE-sector specialisation without creating a permanent cost beyond the agreed engagement.
Applied training
A comprehensive engagement or applied training alone.
There is no one-size-fits-all programme. Skills are selected from the objectives, people and realities of PPE distribution. Training can combine with organisational assessment, tool design, implementation and follow-through.
You can choose training alone or a comprehensive engagement, from assessment to implementation. In both cases, the solution is tailored to your business.
What can remain
Useful documents, methods and capability to continue.
Provide documents suited to the intended outcomes — such as engagement priorities, an action plan, management tools and indicators — and develop the routines and skills to use them. Specific deliverables are agreed within the project scope.
Scope does not include accounting, tax, IT, legal advice or recruitment. Where needed, these contributions belong with the appropriate specialists.
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Talk about your business
You do not need to arrive with a solution. An initial conversation helps us understand the context and consider what is worth developing.
The first step is to understand your context and objective. We then consider whether working together makes sense and agree on a possible next step.