Seventy-two per cent of SMEs in Bahrain are "non-productive", according to an expert, adding that the whole sector is thriving on only the "optimum" productivity of 8 per cent of the companies.

The performances of another 20 per cent needed to be improved, said Jafcon Consultants for Productivity Improvement chief executive officer Dr Akbar Jaffari.

"The whole SME sector is in need of a complete revamp and for them to realise their true potential," he told a gathering at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

"These companies are not productive either because they are not ISO-compliant and therefore cannot do business overseas, or they are not using the right resources in the right way at the right time.”

"It is critical they start to manage themselves and get ISO certifications so that they are able to compete."

Dr Jaffari was speaking about the results of a recent survey on SMEs during a forum spotlighting the quality of local products.

It was organised by the BCCI industrial committee and chaired by committee head Abdulhameed Al Kooheji.

He said on an average, only 54.1 per cent of the companies were nearly becoming productive.

"The revamp has to happen with all companies that are not productive," said Dr Jaffari, who is also a member of the committee. "We need to sit together and suggest how this can be achieved."

He said the survey covered customer satisfaction, human resources management, financial management, sales and productivity development, inventory and quality control.

This is in addition to system efficiency, improvement drive, asset utilisation, process management, delivery planning, utilisation of state support and business satisfaction.

Al Kooheji said the Industry and Commerce Ministry had also recently stepped in to offer help to SMEs.

"An overseas company is already on the ground helping out and suggesting ways to improve productivity," he said. “Some companies have already come on board while steps are being taken to get some others to join up.”

"These will be selected on how serious they are about improvement and how and what help they could receive," he added. – TradeArabia News Service