| Summary: | Thesis (MTech (Quality))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009. === There is a South African Government initiative to use State-owned Enterprises
(SOE's) to roll out a programme for the development and stimulation of local
small businesses in South Africa. The state has requested SOE's to set targets on
a voluntary basis to increase trade with small businesses, with the purpose of
developing small enterprises to eventually enhance skills transfer, training and
employment. However, when large customers such as Eskom Nuclear Generation
require ISO certification as a prerequisite for a supplier to provide goods and/or
services to them, most small businesses are unable to comply.
The requirement of IS09000 compliance inhibits the ability of most small
businesses to compete with their larger counterparts. Small businesses constitute
as much as 90% of most world economies. They have many advantages to offer
customers, such as a high level of flexibility, innovation and responsiveness to
customer needs. These attributes can introduce healthy competition to the supply
chain. Small businesses, by their very nature experience more risks, such as a higher
vulnerability to volatile market forces and skills loss. In addition, they are
generally less specialised.
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