This week, we interviewed Sochet In, Managing Director at Biz Dimension, a software solutions company that utilizes Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to help companies scale up effectively. Mr. Sochet founded Biz Dimension in 2010 and has since nurtured a strong team of young tech savvy professionals who work to maintain the company’s software (licensed by SAP) and find new clients. As Mr. Sochet notes, the business landscape is changing and he has a strong belief that for SMEs hoping to sustain their growth, they need to utilize ERP. Read more below!

Could you tell us a little bit about Biz Dimension?

I founded the company in 2010, after starting a career in business management software in 2006. Biz Dimension’s main service is basically providing software solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises who intend to grow. ERP is enterprise resource planning, and it includes all the resources you use to operate your business.

We focus on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) because after traveling to other countries around Asia, I see lots of companies that are growing and are able to sustain that growth. But back in Cambodia, a lot of people still do things manually, without a proper process or software in place. Their business is booming, but the challenge is that they cannot afford to get the results they need by hiring outside ERP consultants.

It’s expensive, especially given the mindset of local businesses in Cambodia. There aren’t many skilled ERP consultant and technical in Cambodia, so you have to fly these experts in from abroad and their rates are quite high, as of now cost around $600 to $800 per man-day.

Another factor is ensuring that the local employees can understand how to utilize the software efficiently. A lot of times, local businesses are happy to buy tools for their company but don’t take into consideration the internal processes and human aspect. So they might buy software and then expect that once it’s installed, the solution ends there. However, it’s much more than that, it’s about implementing a process, it’s about organizational change, and control.

How does it work?

We identify the pain points and the gap between the technology and their current internal processes. We cannot just push them to follow the software, we need to find this gap and provide software solutions that align with their business requirement and expectation. We’ll often start with financial and accounting management and then move to operations, such as inventory management, warehousing, procurement, cost management.

We offer trainings services to complement the software, including soft skills training on communication, office administration, project management.

Cambodian businesses are often family-oriented. When they expand, the bosses simply appoint new family members to take over more operations. This ensures things stay tight, and everyone is trusted. But there does come a point where if you want to sustain your growth, you need to have solid processes in place that hold people accountable.

There’s a resistance to hiring outsiders because there’s always that fear that they can’t be trusted, or not act ethically. If you want to grow and sustain growth, you need a system. If you don’t have a system, you cannot grow.

Digitalization is a heavily used buzzword these days. What does it mean to you?

Digitalization we referring to automate their processes from manual to systematic. I recruited and groom a good team in Cambodia, and I help them build their skillset to be able to deliver these services to companies.

Our clients that working with Biz Dimension because they can see real benefits. It’s not just about the price of our service, it’s about the real value being offered. These businesses are basically securing their investment. Investing in us is something abstract in a way, because they don’t see immediately what they get, but if your goal is to exponentially grow your sales, you need good ERP.

You can see how this digital has affected young people as well. The skills are out there to grab on the internet and the young population is hungry and demand more of themselves. So you can’t be using old technology and expect to attract talent. With this new hunger to learn and to prove themselves, there’s also a desire for a more modern lifestyle. These kids are smart, they know what they are worth, and there’s a lot of opportunity out there for them.

I’m pleased that I’m able to have such a young energetic team, and I take pride in training the next generation of workers. A big part of what I do is pass on my technical knowledge to them and empower them to grow their skillset and fine tune their skills, which in turn, I hope gives them a better future.

Could you tell us some success stories that involved Biz Dimension services?

We worked with a local wholesales and distribution companies, that has branches throughout Cambodia. Most of them started their business with a small software such own-build database, quickbook…. Like PTC Computer, they used the small software for about 20 years, from when they were operating out of a single flat shop house to now, with their giant stores and multiple branches across Cambodia.

In 2019, they called me, and we were able to transform their operation. They went from manual work managed by limited software to an ERP system that manages all of their branches seamlessly. To create this system, we partner with SAP, a world-renowned software company.

Kampuchea Tela is another customer, one of the big conglomerates in Cambodia, in oil and gas. They have a lot to manage within their company: convenience stores at the gas stations, restaurant and the Cafes. So they have food and beverage, they have a distribution center, a central kitchen and a central bakery to stock all their outlets.

We implemented a financial management system and a sales management system, which is different for the distribution of oil and gas and everything else. We also handle logistics management to track the delivery of petrol from different stations. It’s complicated and involves lots of mandatory compliance. The oil and gas industry are very specific and we need to stay in compliance. So we were able to transform that system, from the head office to the 60 stations and stores they have in the country.

How can smaller SMEs benefit, without a large budget?

We have special packages for small and medium-sized enterprises. When we deal with SMEs, we need to see their expectations and align with the value of the solution. They might be growing, and they have a plan to increase their product portfolio, increase their sales revenue, standardize their organizational structure and process, okay then they can come work with us.

Our software helps SMEs stay in compliance with the government too as they expand. If you use older, less dynamic software, it may not be able to easily comply with government regulations. It all comes down to standardizing processes. You need to register with the GDT and declare your accounts to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Standardizing processes, including financial transactions, which our software does, can help in this regard.

Life can be difficult for entrepreneurs in Cambodia, whether it’s dealing with demands from officials, turning around slow sales, or even trusting in their own financial reports. There are a lot of traditional structures and software around, for example using QuickBooks to manage finance. Or a boss may give a discount, forget about it, and then question the finance report. This is why a structure and modern software helps.

How has business changed post-Covid?

From 2020 to now, people changed the way they run business, it’s completely digital now. There’s increased trust in technology and software. Regardless of the scale of your business, you need software and you need to utilize tech. If you don’t, you’re working really slow.

Salaries are also higher now because utilizing this technology comes with a required skillset and this same tech has also allowed for higher salaries for lower skill positions. A delivery driver for an app can make 5-600 dollars per month easy, so you can’t pay people 2-300 dollars anymore to do a job for you.

This is also an ideal time to restructure business processes. You don’t want to restructure when you’re dealing with high volume sales, it’s easier when there is a lull in business. We expect in 2025, businesses will come back strong and the way you played the game before is not the same way you want to play it in 2025.