Kadin Chairman Says Digitalization Increases Business Competitiveness In The COVID-19 Transition Period

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Arsjad Rasjid said digitalization can increase opportunities and competitiveness of companies in facing global economic conditions during the transition period for the COVID-19 recovery.

"Wherever there are challenges, there must be business opportunities. This opportunity can be achieved through several things, one of which is through automation or digitalization in increasing productivity and continuing to innovate to increase the added value of goods and services so that companies can be more competitive and at the same time improve operational cost efficiency in the long term," said Arsjad Rasjid as quoted from Antara, Monday, August 15.

The Kadin chairman also added that apart from digitalization, companies are also required to adopt Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) values in increasing company value.

Companies that have undertaken ESG initiatives enjoy many benefits. These include 15-30 percent higher prices for sustainably produced products and services across business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sectors, 50 percent faster sustainable product growth, and increased return on capital.

In 2022, Indonesia still faces a lot of uncertainty because COVID-19 is not over yet.

Cases of the spread of COVID-19 gradually decreased in 2022, and various restrictions were relaxed in hopes of economic recovery.

Indonesia's economic growth in the 2nd quarter is a signal that the country is gradually recovering as household consumption is the main driver of economic growth and a strengthening gross domestic product (GDP).

However, geopolitical tensions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine had an impact on Indonesia domestically in many areas.

At the same time, Indonesia and arguably most other countries in the world are facing multidimensional challenges in reviving the health sector after the pandemic, strengthening national food security and national energy security, and protecting Indonesia's financial stability.

In the face of this economic uncertainty, Indonesian businesses must be able to adapt to respond to the situation.

At times like this, said Arsjad Rasjid, companies are required to continue to optimize their business.

"Of course, besides that, inclusive collaboration between the government and the private sector is needed because the business world cannot solve this problem alone," he said.

Separately, economic researcher Dandy Rafitrandi from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said, some of the advantages of digitization and automation trends during the pandemic are increasing business efficiency, expanding market access and information and improving product quality and innovation.

"By using technology, the allocation of raw materials and other resources becomes more precise and planned. In terms of sales, for example, the use of e-commerce platforms not only provides easier and wider market access but also data related to market information that can be used. by efforts to determine business decisions," said Dandy.

However, what must be underlined is that the company requires a large amount of capacity and investment to be able to digitize, for example capital investment (such as infrastructure) as well as human resources.

These two things are important factors for the business digitization process.