Product management is an important foundation in running a business, especially for MSMEs which are limited in capital, resources and labor.
Many business owners often think that the most important thing is to increase sales as much as possible. But in fact, many small businesses fail not because their products don’t sell, but because they don’t manage their products properly. Starting from the development process, planning, costs, to launch.
According to Investopedia data, more than 20% of small businesses fail within the first year and only about 35% survive beyond 10 years. This figure shows that the challenge for MSMEs is not just about “how to sell more,” but how to ensure that the products sold are actually managed effectively from the start.
Many MSMEs Fail due to Product Management Mistakes
If you’ve ever wondered, “My product sells, how come I’m still making losses?”, the answer often lies in sub-optimal product management. Many MSMEs create products without research, incur costs without calculations, or develop features that customers don’t actually need.
Even though all of this can make a business lose direction and ultimately run out of capital.
The first mistake that is often made is thinking that a good product will definitely sell. In fact, if it is not supported by the right research, strategy and processes, even a good product can fail in the market. On the other hand, an ordinary product can explode if it is managed in a structured manner.
Another problem arises when MSMEs do not have a long-term plan and run only based on instinct. Production is carried out at any time, prices are determined without clear margin calculations, feature additions are carried out without looking at the data, and marketing is done as is.
This pattern makes businesses quickly run out of capital because costs are out of control.
Many business owners also develop products too fast and too big. They create many features at once, add product variations that are not necessarily needed, or produce large stocks without validating demand. As a result, products pile up in warehouses, capital money runs out, and businesses struggle to turn around.
On the other hand, there are also MSME businesses that are too slow. They only make simple versions, minimal features, and don’t dare to iterate. Products like this are difficult to compete with and are immediately drowned out by competitors.
All of this happens because there is no clear and measurable product management.
Product Management Helps MSMEs Survive and Develop
For MSMEs, product management is not just making products, but managing their entire life cycle. Starting from ideas, research, development, costs, production, marketing, to evaluation.
With good product management, you can ensure that customers really need products, costs are more efficient, and processes are more stable. For example, with proper research, you can find out:
- Who are the customers most likely to buy your product?
- What is the most ideal price
- What features are most important
- The most effective marketing strategy
With the right development process, you can avoid wasting time and money by making the wrong product. You can also detect early if there are design errors, inefficient materials, or ideas that are less relevant.
In modern product management, MSMEs can take advantage of their speed and agility. Unlike large companies that have to go through many approvals, MSMEs can move quickly, carry out small trials, and improve products with alacrity.
This is a competitive advantage that small business owners often don’t realize.
How Can MSMEs Optimize Product Management?
You don’t have to have a large team to implement good product management. MSMEs can start with simple steps, such as:
- Conduct small market research, such as customer surveys, short interviews, or competitor analysis.
- Create a clear product development plan, including goals, costs, target customers, and launch time.
- Testing ideas before large production, for example through simple prototypes or early versions of the product.
- Involve an internal team, even if small, to provide input from multiple perspectives.
- Monitor product performance, such as return rates, customer complaints, and profit margins.
This process helps you see whether the product is profitable, customers are satisfied, and the business is going in the right direction.
Product Management Made Easier with Profit
Many MSMEs have difficulty implementing product management because they do not have an adequate system. Data is spread across multiple applications, stock records are manual, cost calculations are inaccurate, and production processes are difficult to monitor. As a result, a small mistake can become a big loss.
This is where Labamu Manufacturing Management comes in as a solution. It is an integrated manufacturing management platform specifically designed to help MSMEs manage products, production and distribution in one easy-to-use system.
Here are some things you can do with your Profit Manufacturing Management.
1. Manage the entire sales process in one flow
Starting from price offers, orders, to delivery, everything can be tracked automatically. You no longer need to dig through WhatsApp chats, emails or Excel files to look for order status. Everything is neatly recorded and easy to monitor.
2. Plan Production Accurately
With Profit you will be helped:
- Determine the ideal production amount
- Monitor the progress of each order
- Ensure sufficient raw materials
- Avoid bottlenecks in the production process
With accurate planning, you don’t need to worry about running out of stock or producing too much.
3. Automatic Stock Management
One source of losses for MSMEs is miscalculation of stock. Profit records the stock of raw materials and finished goods in real-time so you know when to restock and which items will run out the fastest.
So, no more lost goods, dead stock, or waste.
4. Labamu Product Management Has Access to Global Financing
Your profits can connect you to a network of international trading partners that provide funding in more than 70 world trade corridors. This means you can expand your business and produce more without always having to worry about additional capital.
5. More Efficient Operations
With one application, you can manage production, stock, sales, distribution, reports and financing. Everything is integrated reducing the risk of manual errors and saving a lot of time.
6. Faster Decision Making
Labamu provides a complete dashboard that displays all production and sales activities in real-time. You can make decisions more quickly because all the data is available and accurate.
So, if you want your business to develop more stably, efficiently, and measurably, then you need a good management system like Labamu which provides all of that in one platform. With Labamu Manufacturing Management, you can reduce production errors, increase profits, speed up work processes, improve product quality, and build a business that is ready for long-term growth.
