Sustainable Production Management Model for Small and Medium Enterprises in Some South-Central EU Countries

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are main generators of employment and economic development in European Union. In Croatia and Slovenia, SMEs in wood processing (C16) and furniture manufacturing (C31) also play an important role in social cohesion and development of rural areas. The aim of this research was to investigate the current situation in SMEs in wood processing and furniture manufacturing regarding driving parameters of business and production management system in the time of a disturbed market situation caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Two different questionnaires in an e-mail survey were used to collect data for this research from companies and from experts in the field of management, production and marketing. Various statistical tests were used using seven driving parameters on data collected from 212 SMEs. Also, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used on the data collected from 20 experts. Results showed that companies in the time of pandemic crisis and during the time of major disturbances in supply chain pay the most attention to their production program and quality of their products, and then to marketing activities and situation on the market. According to the results presented in this research, the management model can help SMEs managers, micro and small enterprises in particular, to improve their decision-making process, make the necessary innovations easier and faster, and maintain the sustainable business and production management system of their companies.

Mapping the Supply of Colour Tones of Wood and Furniture Products in Slovakian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

“…As refs. [6,7,37,38] point out, current fashion trends are trying to increase in people the sense of connection with nature. This is also one of the reasons why brown or body colour have been ranked among the most fashionable tones since 2020.…”

“…The woodworking and furniture industry should present an important part of small and medium-sized businesses in the regions. Small and medium-sized enterprises are a typical segment of the successful economy of developed countries [7,8]. The wood-processing industry has been fundamentally affected in recent years by globalization and the opportunities for world trade, which also brings strong competition.…”

“…As refs. [4,7,18] state, in small-scale manufacturing, other special surface treatments are also used, which do not only change the colour of the wood but also its structure. The most common special surface treatments include, e.g., sandblasting, which is used in the production of imitations of old worn wood.…”

An Intelligent System to Ensure Interoperability for the Dairy Farm Business Model

“…Though SMEs substantially contribute to the economy, they tend to be underrepresented in the negotiation of large contracts [6]. This situation is mainly because of the lack of resources, which are required when engaging in large contracts [7,8]. Therefore, customers perceive SMEs as too risky and weaker counterparts for many large market players.…”

“…Similarly, using the same verbs, the guest DF3 will initiate one proposal: open(7,3) black node, open (8,7) white node, and assert(price = 60, fat = 4) (Figure 8). • Ready(n): this informs that a participant is satisfied with the information in the white node n and wants to accept the proposal.…”