MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS （MAN2092）教学：SME.pdfVIP

What is a Small-to-Medium Enterprise (SME)? According to European Commission, the main factors determining whether a company is an SME are: number of employees and either turnover or balance sheet total. Source http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/sme- definition/index_en.htm Thursday, 24 September 2015 1 SMEs characteristics Small, Single, Local • Small - SMEs are small in nature - either in terms of number of (a) employees - 10 persons for small to 200 persons for medium, depending on the countrys laws, (b) capital and assets - limited working capital and assets and (c) turnover - the overall turnover of the enterprise is small, compared to larger businesses. • Single - Most SMEs have a single owner who could also be the sole employee. While this may predominantly be the case, definitions set 250 to 500 employees as the limit for enterprises to be called an SME. The single also refers to single products produced or service provided. • Local - SMEs are essentially local in nature - their market is usually localized to the area where they are located (same city, district or state); or may be local in the sense that they operate from a place of residence - also called SOHO [Small Office Home Office] Source /sustbiz/what-are-smes.html Thursday, 24 September 2015 2 SMEs Exceptions • Some SMEs while having a small output, can have a global market for its product/service or SMEs may produce more than one product or provide service. • SMEs are not limited to any particular type of industry or service, and can include small manufacturing facilities, small processing units, trading companies, export