Although Qatar’s economy is proving to be resilient during this turbulent time (largely thanks to the government’s diversification into non-hydrocarbon sectors and investment in infrastructure), businesses are looking for ways to be more competitive.
The recent drop in oil prices has been a major concern for businesses across many sectors in the region, putting pressure on profit margins — pressure that may not have been experienced over the last few years, according to KPMG in Qatar.
Although Qatar’s economy is proving to be resilient during this turbulent time (largely thanks to the government’s diversification into non-hydrocarbon sectors and investment in infrastructure), businesses are looking for ways to be more competitive in response to this pressure.
Duncan Mackay, Management Consulting director, KPMG in Qatar said, “We have seen the business cycle change over the last six months and we believe this is an opportune time for businesses to reflect and identify ways to improve Operations, leading to less waste and more profits.”
“There are a number of things that businesses can do to enhance profits,” he said.
These include reduction in direct costs involved in offering the product or service (e.g. raw material costs, energy costs, and manpower costs), enhancing productivities of assets, process and people, streamlining supply chain to meet customer requirement and optimise inventory and reducing indirect costs by considering spend on travel, administration, marketing etc.
KPMG in Qatar has launched a new Operations Consulting service to help businesses meet this challenge. The new service addresses both the top and bottom-lines of a business and identifies ways to increase efficiency and enhance profitability.
KPMG offers this service in many larger more cost competitive markets around the globe and it has had a proven and significant impact on many organisations in industries including the public sector, oil and gas, financial services, retail and manufacturing.
Mackay said, “We are introducing our Operations Consulting Service to help our clients gain direct and tangible impacts on their businesses’ top and bottom lines. Businesses are looking for ways to adapt to a tougher economic situation and we are bringing our proven experience, global capabilities and benchmarks to Qatar to help them do this. We have a new partner leading this service who brings international experience and insight to Qatar.”
