Risk management in small trading companies: theoretical approaches and pilot testing of tools on the example of "Excellent Tools" LLC

the presented article examines theoretical and practical aspects of risk management in small trading companies operating under the conditions of digital transformation and increasing market uncertainty. The study outlines the current state and development prospects of small business in the Russian Federation, highlighting the specific risks inherent to small trading enterprises, including operational, logistics, financial and digital risks. Special attention is paid to the possibilities of adapting modern risk management instruments – based on the ISO 31000 and COSO ERM frameworks as well as digital monitoring and analytics tools – to the resource constraints of small firms. The article proposes an integrated toolkit for risk identification, classification and assessment in small trading companies, including a probability-impact matrix, a risk map and a step-by-step algorithm for managerial response. Using the case of the small trading company “Excellent Tools” LLC, a pilot implementation of the proposed approach is carried out: key risk factors are identified, their level is evaluated, and a targeted risk mitigation programme is developed. The results show that the introduction of a systematic risk management mechanism contributes to higher resilience of business processes, reduction of the likelihood and consequences of adverse events, and improvement in the quality of managerial decision-making.

small business, trading companies, risk management, risk classification, risk assessment, digitalisation, SME risk management, business resilience