What’s holding SMEs back from joining global supply chains?

Hi PH community 👋

I’m Burak Kandemir, Co-Founder & CEO of Pronize AI. After 15+ years working at the intersection of law, manufacturing, and technology, one problem has always frustrated me: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are excluded from international trade because they lack the right digital infrastructure.

From my experience, here are some of the biggest barriers SMEs face:

Fragmented communication (emails, WhatsApp, spreadsheets) that create chaos and lost accountability.

Language and cultural barriers that discourage technically capable suppliers from exporting.

Manual trade documentation full of errors that leads to delays, penalties, or lost trust.

Lack of traceability and compliance, which keeps SMEs out of EU tenders and high-value contracts.

Over-reliance on middlemen who create opacity and cost without real accountability.

These are exactly the challenges we’re addressing with Pronize AI, but I’d love to hear from you:

👉 What do you think is the single biggest reason SMEs struggle to participate in global supply chains?

Is it compliance and regulation?

Lack of affordable tools?

Resistance to change?

Or something else you’ve experienced firsthand?

Your insights will not only help shape Pronize’s roadmap but also shed light on how we can make global trade more inclusive and efficient.

Excited to hear your thoughts! 🚀