The Manufacturer, in partnership with the newly launched Digital Catapult Supply Chain Hub, has published the new: Supply Chain Research Report – Risk and Resilience.
Speaking in the report, Tim Lawrence, Director of the Digital Catapult Supply Chain Hub, commented: “The increasing globalisation of supply chains in the 21st century has led to more cost effective supply of goods and services, especially through low cost sourcing policies businesses have employed into Asia and Eastern Europe, but this approach has also increased the vulnerability of UK supply chains to global trade.”
Click on the image below to download the report
Transparency and resiliency within their operations is one of the key pain points for manufacturers today. A swathe of varying challenges has impacted the reliability and vulnerability of supply chains over the last few years, which has in turn had a knock-on effect on lead times, inventory, production efficiencies and, in some instances, brand reputation.
From COVID to conflict, UK manufacturers have had to spin a variety of different plates in order to keep operational and profitable over the last few years. A swathe of much needed government support to help shore up manufacturing was pledged at the back end of last year, only to be swiftly followed by a changing of the guard in the recent general election. And while the new incumbent in number 10 is making the right noises, the recent change in government will inevitably bring with it its own degree of uncertainty.
However, manufacturers don’t have to wait to enhance and improve their supply chains and there are strategies that organisations of all sizes, from all sectors, can do to alleviate supply chain pressure and give them greater control and visibility within their processes.
While taking a closer look at the challenges that exist, this report also speaks to some award winning manufacturing businesses on how they’ve faced down these pain points. Via the successful deployment of emerging technologies these innovative organisations are enhancing supply chain robustness and placing their businesses in a state of readiness for the next disruption – which is a case of when rather than if.
From greater collaboration and transparency with customers, to gathering actionable insights from shop floor data, to connected ERP systems that provide end-to-end visibility of supply networks, there are all manner of future factory strategies that manufacturers are deploying today to give their value chains the robustness they will need going forward.
The only future certainty for manufacturers is uncertainty, and prevention is always better than cure, so the report will also cover some recommendations and indicators for potential disruption, the trends around reshoring and the role of emerging digital technology. It also discusses the role of The Made Smarter Innovation | Digital Supply Chain Hub, a digital innovation ecosystem that empowers individuals and organisations to work together to make supply chains smarter.
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