DBI Strategic Research

Business Resilience in Danish SME

DBI develops new and effective solutions that help SME to strengthen their business resources. This is done by developing SME-suitable tools for business continuity management, crisis preparedness and risk management, for example. This will create robust and flexible SME that maintain their turnover and jobs in the event of a critical incident or crisis.

An increasingly global world leads to higher complexity in companies’ value and supply chains. This means that companies are more dependent on each other and more vulnerable, as incidents such as breakdowns and delays at sub-suppliers, as well as global incidents such as pandemics, conflicts or blockages of global logistics can affect the SME supply chains. This poses a threat to companies’ ability to maintain production and operations, which could result in bankruptcy and thus loss of jobs and exports.

The tools available to work with business resources – i.e. the ability to anticipate and adapt to critical events and crises – are primarily targeted at large companies. At the same time, SME typically have relatively fewer resources and organisational surpluses to work systematically in this field. It is therefore a challenge for them to establish the necessary preparedness and the right degree of redundancy in their supply chains and organisation, so that in the event of a critical incident, they can maintain production or adapt to the incident so as to foster growth.

DBI will increase the business SME resilience by strengthening their ability to identify and analyse vulnerabilities and critical incidents before they occur, as well as their ability to handle and learn from them. This will be achieved through the development and testing of SME-tailored tools in the areas of business continuity management, crisis preparedness and management, and risk and vulnerability management. This will mean more robust companies, well prepared to maintain production, liquidity and workplaces in the event of crises or critical incidents.