How Large Businesses Can Provide Supply Chain Support - Business in the Community

How Large Businesses Can Provide Supply Chain Support

Reporting on insights from four roundtable events held in 2022 these four factsheets share top tips for larger business to support SMEs with cyber security, digital skills , climate action and employee health and wellbeing

During 2022, BITC hosted four roundtables designed to facilitate conversations on how larger businesses can give supply chain support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with cyber security, digital skills, climate action and health and wellbeing. The roundtables provided an opportunity to reflect on the significant issues relating to SMEs and the possible solutions.

Types of supply chain support

Supporting SMEs with cyber security

This factsheet paper contains insights from Business in the Community (BITC) members discussing how larger businesses can support SMEs with cyber security and digital skills.

Supporting SMEs with digital skills

This briefing paper contains insights from Business in the Community (BITC) members on how larger businesses can support smaller businesses around digital skills.

Supporting SMEs with positive climate action

SMEs collectively contribute to around 53% of the UK’s environmental impact, including greenhouse gases1. Changes to how SMEs operate could significantly impact national and international climate targets. However, Business in the Community (BITC) research has shown that despite being supportive of action to address climate change, small businesses are lagging behind large corporates when it comes to setting appropriate targets and putting plans in place to meet them*.  

This factsheet outlines the main discussion points of the research so that larger businesses can better understand how they can support SMEs with practical actions and help them start their journey towards net zero.

Supporting SMEs with health and wellbeing

Conversations about employee wellbeing have been increasingly mainstreamed in recent years, however, SMEs are struggling compared to large, well-resourced corporates. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows that 24% of SME owners had a mental health problem, which increased to 34% after the pandemic*. This has impacted women more than men, with 86% of female SME owners reporting a mental health problem compared to 77% of men**.