新經濟時代的企業經營策略

新經濟時代的企業經營策略

苗豐強 Matthew Miau 11/14 02:58 

This article includes paraphrased highlights from a speech given during the Leader's Forum sessions held by National Chengchi University IMBA program. These forums aim to foster a meaningful exchange between industry leaders and graduate students.

 

本文是國立政治大學商學院國際經營管理碩士學程(IM-BA)，於2004年10月29日舉辦的第二場「領導者論壇」演講摘要，演講者為神通集團董事長苗豐強。

IMBA website: http://imba.nccu.edu.tw

I will begin by mentioning some questions that I normally ask myself when doing business. These questions can apply to individuals, companies, and even countries. The first question is how do we survive in an ever-changing competitive environment This is important especially for the IT industry, which is highly competitive and fast-paced. The next question is where do we position our company in the global market and how do we build our core competency We must have answers to these questions in order to survive.

Let's say you have found the answers, and successfully survived; then, the next important question would be how to sustain or pursue perpetual growth in your business in a non-chaotic way That is, how to grow without chaos

I believe most people would agree that these are good questions, but more than 50% of people do not truly understand the essence of these questions. For instance, fifteen years ago when I said, “We want stable growth, growth without chaos.” people misinterpreted this and thought it meant that my company was conservative and wanted to grow very slowly, when in fact this was not my intention at all. You absolutely want to grow fast before being eliminated by your rivals. However, it is also possible to grow too fast and fail because you have created a chaotic situation in the end.

Synnex Taiwan is a successful company that specializes in distribution. We use “SWOT” as the chief analysis method at our regular strategic meetings. Through SWOT analysis, we identify our firm's strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat. After performing the analysis for so many years, we have become quite familiar with our own strengths and weaknesses. In midst of the rapid changing environment, locating external opportunities and threats have become important to companies more than ever before. Therefore, I suggest to company managers that for this year, apart from analyzing the internal strengths and weaknesses, more emphasis should be placed on opportunities and threats.

We will also focus on “PEST”, an acronym for political, economic, social, and technological. They are the surrounding factors that may affect our business. Unlike developing strengths or dealing with weaknesses, “PEST” relates to that which you cannot control but must be absolutely aware of. You must always closely observe changing political movements, economic situations, social problems, and technological advancements. These are things that you must stay on top of and not ignore.

With growth, a company starts to internationally expand. Usually the most critical challenge to success is financial management. At our company, we have developed the concept of “BEPAID”, which is a step-by-step guideline to ensure overseas success. “B” stands for booking and billing, where we identify the target market and secure booking and billing. Next is “E”, which represents expense. With a gradually expanding business, a good control of expenses can be critical. “P” stands for profit, which aims to further lower cost and maximize margin. At the next stage, “A” signifies account receivable, essential when evaluating payment terms to reduce the risks of default. “I” symbolizes inventory, which must be carefully managed to allow for freer cash flow. Finally, “D”, corresponds to debt, where we pay close attention to interest and exchange rates to improve debt management.

In conclusion, I would like to stress that analyzing our own strengths using “SWOT” and examining the “PEST” to identify opportunities is essential to success. We should also keep in mind that strategic alliances may be a helpful shortcut to overcome certain challenges that companies face. These joint ventures must be managed carefully to ensure continued prosperity with our partners. In addition, “BEPAID” is a useful financial principle to sustaining perpetual growth for organizations. Finally, the people that work with us to help develop and grow our companies must not only have the professional skills needed for the job, but also the passion and desire to work towards something that they truly believe in.

我要以我個人在經營企業時經常問自己的幾個問題作為開場，這些問題可應用到個人、企業甚至國家。第一個問題是我們如何在一個不斷改變且競爭激烈的環境中生存？這對資訊科技產業來說尤其重要，因為資訊科技產業的競爭非常激烈且變化快速。第二個問題是如何在全球市場中找到企業定位及如何發展自己的核心能力？為了生存，我們必須找到答案。

SWOT 內部分析主軸

假設你已經找到了答案，且順利地存活下來，那麼，下一個重要的問題是如何不混亂的維持或追求企業的永續成長？我相信大多數人會同意這些都是很好的問題，但是超過百分之50的人並非真正暸解這些問題的本質，舉例而言，15年前當我說：「我們想要穩健的成長，成長而不混亂」時，人們誤解這句話，以為我的公司既保守並且只要很緩慢的成長，但這絕非我的本意。企業當然希望自己可以在被對手消滅之前快速成長，然而，結果可能因為成長太快所導致的混亂局面而失敗。

聯強國際是一個專注於通路的企業，我們以SWOT分析為主軸，進行例行的策略會議。透過SWOT分析，來了解我們的優勢、劣勢、機會及威脅，隨著外部環境變化益加快速，對企業來說，外部的機會和威脅更是不可忽略，因此，我建議公司的經理人今年度除了內部的優勢和劣勢的分析外，更要注重外部的機會和威脅。

PEST 外部環境因素

此外，我們也強調「PEST」：分別代表政治上的、經濟上的、社會上的、科技上的等四個字的字首，這四個面向乃是影響企業的環境因子。不同於發展長處或是處理弱點，「PEST」與我們無法控制卻絕對必需注意的大環境變化有關，我們必須隨時仔細地觀察詭譎多變的政治變遷、經濟狀況、社會問題以及科技進展，這些都是我們必須要優先關注且不能忽略的要素。

BEPAID 財務管理方針

隨著成長，企業將開始向國際發展，最具挑戰性的成功關鍵便是財務管理。在聯強國際，我們發展了「BEPAID」這樣一個概念，此逐步指導方針之概念是為了確保我們在國際間的發展成功。「B」代表訂貨和出貨，我們確認目標市場並確保訂貨和出貨；「E」代表費用，隨著企業逐漸擴張，有效的費用控管是十分關鍵的；「P」代表利潤，旨在降低成本並將利潤最大化；再下來則是「A」，代表應收帳款，為評估付款條件以求降低違約風險時的要素；「I」則代表存貨，應謹慎地做好存貨管理，才能有更寬裕的現金流量；最後，「D」代表負債，我們要密切注意利率和匯率的變動以求改善負債管理。

最後，我想要再次強調的是：採用科學算命的SWOT來分析我們的優勢並運用PEST檢視大環境來發掘機會是邁向成功的要件；同時，我們也須牢記「策略聯盟」或許是公司克服難題的有利捷徑。

此外，BEPAID是一套有用的財務原則，可以支持組織永續成長；最後，幫助公司發展及成長的員工，除了必須具有工作上所需的專業之外，同時還需擁有因一個高度的信念所激發出的工作熱情和渴望。（作者是神通集團董事長）