Digital adoption among MSMEs: A study by Vodafone India’s enterprise arm Vi Business — focusing on the digital readiness of MSMEs particularly in the logistics sector — on Friday said that more than 66 per cent of MSMEs have digital maturity of over 50 per cent. “The logistics sector is actively adopting digital solutions to optimize and automate processes, effectively manage fleets, and drive cost reductions,” the company said.
The survey covered nearly 1 lakh MSME respondents across 16 industries including media & entertainment, manufacturing, IT & ITes, education, logistics, professional services, Banking, construction, mining etc.
According to the survey, around 94 per cent of respondents provided postpaid mobility connections to employees, 52 per cent currently used M2M (machine-to-machine solutions) while 30 per cent were planning their future implementation. “The logistics sector exhibited an overall digital maturity rate of 60 per cent, underscoring the sector’s commitment to leveraging digital technologies for process optimization, fleet management, and overall cost reduction.” the survey said.
The results coincided with the launch of a ReadyForNext programme by Vi Business offering an upgraded digital self-evaluation tool for MSMEs to harness technology and exclusive offers.
Developed in association with Dun & Bradstreet, the self-evaluation tool allows MSMEs to assess their digital readiness across three aspects — digital customer, digital workspace and digital business. Basis their responses, the platform provides a relevant user-specific report to the company stating their digital maturity scores, benchmark against the industry, and also recommends technology-based solutions.
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In terms of offers, the programme provides postpaid plans, device security solutions, email security, and digital and SMS ad solutions at special prices.
“While this (SME) sector has seen unprecedented digitalisation, post-pandemic, yet its digital maturity index is still just 55 to 60 per cent. We believe that with the right Technology tools, MSMEs can unlock their growth potential and be an even bigger growth driver for the country’s economy,” said Arvind Nevatia, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Vodafone Idea.