UK discrete manufacturing is a success story. However, for its finance departments, it’s often a story of stress.
70 percent of the UK’s financial investment in R&D is made by manufacturers and the sector provides 13 percent of business investment. 2.6 million people are employed in the sector – around 12 percent of the UK’s workforce.
In short, not only is the UK the world’s ninth-largest manufacturing nation, the UK manufacturing sector is a significant contributor to investment and employment. Discrete manufacturing itself is expected to grow by up to 33 percent over the next couple of years.
This level of growth comes at a tough time for many manufacturing organisations. They already face challenges in making sure that processes and technology can cope. Compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has become finance’s responsibility as well, while HMRC audits now take place every three years instead of every six.
In addition, while online activities can find and bring in new customers and new orders, they can also increase the chance of fraud.
So, how can you minimise these growing pains? Because, if you can reduce the pain, you’ll find it easier to help increase the gain and achieve sustainable growth.
If you’d like to find out how you too can take advantage, click here to view your FREE copy of a new e-book from Microsoft and Technology Management.
Realtime control – impossible dream or realistic objective for the smaller manufacturer?
Have you ever wondered what you could achieve if you could stop firefighting and start strategically directing? Or where your business would be now if you had up to the second, totally trustable data?
Find answers to these and more key manufacturing challenges in this upcoming webinar on 12 December at 2:30pm
In this FREE 60-minute webinar you’ll learn:
- How the scale and security of the cloud are an affordable reality for smaller manufacturers
- How you can create the flexibility to cope not only with what your customers demand today but what they will demand in the future
- How you can compete with anyone for your service as well as your product.
