Tag: transformation

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InterAct Blog

Breaking down the barriers to deep tech adoption will be critical to improving supply chain resilience in the UK

Factors such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing global regulatory hurdles have all exposed the fragility of global supply chains. It is now more essential than ever that continued collaboration, and the adoption of digital technologies are encouraged to help build more sustainable, efficient and resilient supply chains that remain strong in the face of external challenges. Doing so will be critical to improving supply chain resilience in the UK, but the barriers to adoption must be broken down first.

Addressing the SME gap

Research from the Made Smarter Innovation | Digital Supply Chain Hub reveals organisations’ top priorities and interests when it comes to digitalising their supply chains, and the barriers preventing them from doing so. What’s clear is that interest in adopting digital supply chain technologies continues to grow in parity with the changing commercial climate, but that barriers to adoption amongst SMEs must be addressed as a priority.

A total of 502 large UK manufacturers and 502 UK SME manufacturers were surveyed as part of this research. The findings show that SME manufacturers are less likely to prioritise adopting digital supply chain technologies than large businesses. Adopting new digital supply chain technologies is a top three priority for large manufacturers along with improving market reputation and reducing costs. The discrepancy between SMEs and large businesses is particularly important, given the economic value of SMEs and the role they play in broader sectoral growth and development.

In fact, the research further found that adopting new digital supply chain technologies is less likely to be cited as a top business priority for SMEs than reducing costs, increasing brand awareness, improving market reputation, and enhancing customer satisfaction. Despite the lack of prioritisation, the research did find growing interest in advanced digital technologies amongst SMEs, promising a new era of supply chain innovation amongst SME leaders.

Recognising the growing interest in digital supply chain technologies

While falling behind their larger counterparts, the tide may well be turning for SMEs, with a growing number looking to improve their supply chains, with digital technologies and innovation holding the key. The SMEs surveyed are slightly less likely to be prioritising supply chain digital transformation, with 14% saying they don’t currently have any supply chain top priorities. That said however, 44% of these businesses are looking to enhance supply chain efficiency and automation, while a third are prioritising building resilience against disruptions, developing a more sustainable supply chain, and improving visibility and traceability.

While it may appear that SMEs fall behind their larger counterparts when it comes to the adoption of digital supply chain technologies, it is clear that innovation will play a critical role in helping these businesses to achieve their business goals in the long-term, despite the barriers to adoption.

Understanding the barriers to adoption

Above all, businesses are looking to enhance efficiency and automation by digitalising their supply chains, but the barriers to adoption pose a pressing challenge that may inhibit economic growth. While enhancing efficiency and automation, building resilience against disruptions, and developing a more sustainable supply chain are most likely to be cited by large manufacturers as top priorities, the barriers to achieving these commercial objectives vary.

The research shows that businesses of all sizes are facing similar challenges when it comes to adopting digital supply chain technologies. Respondents in both large businesses and SMEs are most likely to say that the most significant barriers hindering digital transformation in their organisation are existing processes, resources and work culture. In light of these barriers to adoption, initiatives and programmes are available to businesses to help them to accelerate the practical application of deep tech solutions and improve UK supply chain resilience.

The value of the Digital Supply Chain Hub and UK SCALE Centre

These barriers to adoption are why initiatives like the Digital Supply Chain Hub and the UK SCALE Centre are vital interventions within often traditionally operated organisations and sectors.

The Digital Supply Chain Hub delivered by Digital Catapult, facilitates the necessary connections, collaboration and knowledge sharing between industry and technology solution providers to improve UK industrial supply chain resilience through the application of deep tech solutions. So far, the programme has 37 funded projects with industry, technology and academic partners, and 255 industry engagements across all manufacturing sectors, demonstrating the value of the programme in supporting both SMEs and larger businesses.

We have been keen to work with the UK SCALE Centre since it’s inception in June 2024 as a way to further develop the future supply chain ecosystem and cross-regional partnerships. I encourage UK industry, academia and supply chain professionals to join and collaborate with the Digital Supply Chain Hub and UK SCALE Centre to further this vital mission across the UK supply chain ecosystem, as we seek to build a more productive, resilient and sustainable future.

This article was published by Loughborough University, read the original version here.

About the author

Tim Lawrence is the Director of the Digital Supply Chain Hub, Digital Catapult in this article, Tim outlines the importance of breaking down technological barriers to improve supply chain resilience in the UK.

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News

InterAct expands global programme with research mission in Malaysia

At the end of November 2024, the InterAct team continued their series of InterAct Global research missions with a visit to Kuala Lumpa, Malaysia. InterAct Global is an expansion of the project, designed to bring insights from international manufacturing and technological innovation in the UK sector. The visit enabled the team to engage with those in the defence aerospace sector that are working towards an increasingly digitalised defence aerospace industry in Malaysia.

InterAct is hoping to create both local and global impact by exchanging knowledge with international players in the worldwide manufacturing ecosystem. These missions will help to better understand the competitive advantages of other countries, learn from them, and exchange best practices and processes. Providing these insights to UK businesses and policymakers, the project aims to tackle the future challenges of digital transformation across three key areas: ecosystems, economies, and workplaces.

Malaysia represents an interesting case study for innovation, with clearly defined priorities in the shift from Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) to aerospace manufacturing, as well as upskilling the future workforce and making the sector attractive to Gen Z. The team had the chance to explore this in more depth through various to companies including:

  • AIROD
  • Galaxy Aerospace

InterAct had the chance to expand upon these visits and discussions with two workshops, hosted in collaboration with National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) and Ministry of Defence Malaysia (MINDEF). These events brought together a range of high calibre attendees, including those from defence aerospace and civil aerospace sectors, as well as those from academia, to collaborate and strategise for their shared vision of a digital future.

These engaging sessions offered participants a chance to hear from the InterAct team, MINDEF and industry stakeholders as they discussed:

  • The role of Malaysia in the 2040 defence aerospace Global Value Chain (GVC)
  • The importance of academia in the future progression of the defence sector
  • The future of work in the Malaysia defence aerospace industry
  • Bridging skills gaps and Gen Z in the labour market

Attendees also contributed to an extended shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities for the sector through the workshops built around the approaches of the InterAct Future of Work and Future of Digital Manufacturing Ecosystems teams, led by Dr. Robert Stewart, Dr. Carolina Marin-Cadavid, Dr. Usman Ghani, Anna Mate, Jose Hernandez and Millie Rodgers.

We want to thank all of our generous hosts and partners for the success of this mission and look forward to bringing more insights from our further global engagement activities.

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Productivity Resources

Webinar – Unlocking the UK’s regional manufacturing productivity

Watch the full recording.

Webinar overview

This webinar, led by InterAct researchers in partnership with The Productivity Institute’s ‘Midlands Productivity Forum’, offers an analysis of the comparative productivity of the manufacturing sector across different UK regions, specifically the East Midlands, West Midlands, and Yorkshire. Drawing on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the manufacturing sector has been identified as the largest contributor to output growth per hour, with a rate of 0.7 compared to 0.1 for the total UK industries, underscoring its critical role in driving regional economic performance.

Expert researchers from InterAct’s ‘Future of the Economy’ team will examine findings of a recent report exploring key factors affecting regional productivity. You’ll hear more about the impact of collaborative R&D grants that foster technological advancements and innovation, as well as labour market dynamics that ensure the availability of skilled and adaptable workers. Our team will then highlight how the innovation ecosystems of these regions contribute to building resilience in the manufacturing sector.

The insights derived from this analysis are intended to support stakeholders—including regional policymakers and industry leaders—in making informed decisions to enhance regional economic growth. Join us on November 4th to find out more, as we work to promote a more productive, resilient, and sustainable manufacturing sector across the UK, ensuring long-term economic growth.

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News

InterAct Storytelling Fellow wins  Science and Research Award from International Digital Storytelling Festival

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From 27 – 29 September 2024, leaders from the InterAct Storytelling Fellowship programme joined fellow experts at the first International Digital Storytelling Festival in Zakynthos, Greece.

This event brought together practitioners of digital storytelling from across the globe to share and screen visual stories from a wide range of academic disciplines. The festival saw over 60 selected for screening over three days and six categories including:

  • Culture
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Science and Research
  • Society

InterAct submitted several stories from across the Storytelling Fellowship programme for consideration, from which fellow Susan Lattanzio’s story ‘Digital Dinosaurs’ was selected as winner of the ‘Science and Research Award’.

Dr Susan Lattanzio is the Research and Industry Engagement Manager for the Made Smarter Innovation: Centre for People-Led Digitalisation. The Centre specifically focuses on the role of people and culture, and how these both influence and are influenced by the adoption of digital technologies.

Discussing the success of this story Professor Michael Wilson, Head of the Loughborough University Storytelling Academy, said: “This has been a unique adventure in using storytelling, particularly digital storytelling, in collaboration with the manufacturing industry to tell impactful stories relating to the onset of technological development. It’s not something that I, or others at the festival had encountered before, and I think it lends credence to the idea that storytelling is a valuable tool to apply across contexts to generate meaningful insights.”

Professor Michael Wilson, Pip Hardy and Tony Sumner collect the ‘Science and Research Award’ on behalf of Susan Lattanzio.

Speaking afterwards, Susan added: “I’m delighted to have won this award. I want to thank InterAct for providing funding for this programme and the Storytelling Academy at Loughborough University for running such great teaching sessions. Their support and guidance inspired so much creativity and a range of different approaches among our cohort of fellows.

“I think sometimes it can be too easy to focus just on KPIs when considering manufacturing challenges and miss the bigger picture. This was a very exciting opportunity to take a new approach to communicating that we wouldn’t normally use in engineering and offer up insights in a compelling, narrative format.”

“The concept of ‘Digital Dinosaurs’ came from my personal experience, but it was a subject that I found almost everyone I spoke to could relate to with someone in their life. I think it aligns really well with our aims at the Centre for People-Led Digitalisation, where we’re committed to putting considerations of the impact of change and new technology on people at the heart of our research.”

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News

Made Smarter publishes ‘digital transformation roadmap’ for SME manufacturers

leonidkos / Adobe Stock

The Made Smarter programme has recently published a new ‘digital transformation roadmap’ to support SME manufacturers with the complex challenges of adopting new technology within their businesses.

Made Smarter was created following an industry-led review of how UK manufacturing industries could be supported to prosper through digital tools and innovation. It is comprised of two key elements; Made Smarter Adoption, which offers practical support and funding to assist businesses with implementing new technology, and Made Smarter Innovation which aims to use research to tackle the current and future challenges to successful digitalisation in UK manufacturing.

In their latest whitepaper, the Made Smarter team have highlighted the process of how they support SME manufacturers with digital transformation through grant funding and skills and leadership training programmes. The report showcases some of the hundreds of businesses who have benefitted from their intervention across the country.

The paper also includes features on several partner organisations such as Make UK, the Centre for People-Led Digitalisation (PLD) and InterAct. Find out more about how we, and others, are working with Made Smarter towards a common goal and access links to the best resources available to start your digital transformation journey today.  

Access the made smarter whitepaper
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People Productivity Resilience Resources

Digital Transformation: A Made Smarter roadmap for SME manufacturers

leonidkos / Adobe Stock

Research overview

Are you running a UK manufacturing business and looking to embark on a digital transformation journey? If so, this free whitepaper is the perfect place to start.

Aimed at ambitious SMEs it acts as a guide, explaining the concepts of digitisation, digitalisation, digital transformation, and continuous improvement.

Made Smarter help manufacturers better understand and navigate current and future trends and make the case for how industrial digital technologies can solve problems and create growth opportunities.

This whitepaper explains the process of how we support SME manufacturers with digital transformation through grant funding and skills and leadership training programmes. It also showcases some of the hundreds of businesses who have benefitted from our intervention across the country.

Finally, hear from Made Smarter partner organisations such as Make UK, the Centre for People-Led Digitalisation (PLD) and InterAct on how they are working with Made Smarter towards a common goal and find links to the best resources available to get you started with digital transformation today.

access the made smarter whitepaper
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News

InterAct partners with GW+Co to start change in manufacturing perceptions

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Recent InterAct research from the Strathclyde University based ‘Future of Work’ team has highlighted the major issue of UK public perception of the manufacturing sector. In the emerging ‘war for talent’, perceptions are essential to providing a snapshot of public opinion about the attraction of the sector and the desirability of working in manufacturing. They may not measure up against ‘reality’, they may be ‘misinformed’, but ultimately they significantly shape the workforce of the future.

In an effort to start changing the narrative around manufacturing, InterAct has partnered with expert creative change consultants GW+Co to deliver an online workshop for manufacturing leaders on 23rd May. The session explored the underlying issues for manufacturing, address the myths of modern branding and introduce ways for you to enact meaningful change within your business.

An image of online workshop participants.

Attendees had the chance to work with GW+Co’s CEO, Gilmar Wendt, to learn about his innovative approach to tackling the brand and perception challenges of their own organisations, including:

  • How three manufacturing businesses have changed perceptions by aligning their people with brand, culture, and strategy.
  • Tools and approaches that deliver successful brands by tapping into the existing skills and knowledge within a business.
  • Training in a technique developed by GW+Co that helps businesses to identify the pitfalls specific to their business, and documents outcomes in a way that ensure project success and team cohesion.

If you are interested in learning more about the perception challenge facing the manufacturing sector, read our recent reports, which will be joined later this year by further work on practical guidance for rebranding.

You can listen to a summary of some of the key takeaways from the report by Dr. Robert Stewart for ManufacturingTV below

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News

InterAct joins Innovate UK’s Made Smarter Innovation Showcase

On the 5th June, Innovate UK’s Made Smarter Innovation Showcase took place at Smart Factory Expo.

For the past four years, Made Smarter Innovation Alley at Smart Factory Expo has been a key platform for connecting technology companies with manufacturers, however this year it had a strong focus on celebrating the incredible achievement of organisations the industrial challenge (ISCF) has supported.

The event was an opportunity for the dynamic display of cutting-edge companies and academic organisations. The showcase highlighted success stories where organisations have leveraged the Challenge’s support to become leaders in areas like carbon abatement, resilience, and productivity and people running through the heart of the Showcase.

Smart Factory Expo saw over 13,000 attendees across the 2 days who explored over 200 exhibitions. Made Smarter Innovation hosted over 30 organisations, including InterAct, on their stand.

Made Smarter Innovation supported a number of engaging talks across the Smart Factory Expo theatres:

InterAct also had the chance to showcase the latest animated videos from the ‘Insights from History’ project, highlighting the important lessons for innovators that can be drawn from past industrial revolutions. You can watch the full series on our YouTube channel.

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News

InterAct delivers message of human insight driven digitalisation at MACH24 and Future of UK Manufacturing Conference

On 16th April, InterAct Co-directors Professor Janet Godsell and Professor Jillian MacBryde joined audiences from across the manufacturing, digital technology, policy and academic communities at MACH24 and the ‘Future of UK Manufacturing’ Conference to discuss the strides InterAct is making to deliver new human insights into the digitalisation of manufacturing.

MACH24 is one of the UK’s largest manufacturing focused trade shows, bringing together over 500 exhibitors – all eager to showcase their latest cutting edge, innovative products and services across many sectors. InterAct was present for three days this year, with a stand in the Engineering Supply Chain Show where researchers and InterAct staff had the chance to engage with dozens of businesses.

The ‘Future of UK Manufacturing’ conference is an event organised by High Value Manufacturing Catapult, EPSRC and the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge, which brings together leaders from academia, government and industry. This year’s line up of speakers included: Sarah Sharples, Chief Scientific Advisor for the Department for Transport, Katherine Bennett CBE from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Benjamin Nicol from the Advanced Manufacturing team at the Department for Business and Trade, and Professor Jillian MacBryde, InterAct Co-director and Vice-Dean of Strathclyde Business School.

Visiting the events at the NEC, Birmingham and Cutlers’ Hall, Sheffield respectively, Professors Godsell and MacBryde delivered talks focusing on the scope of the InterAct Network’s projects, our growth over the past two years and the exciting forthcoming research outputs.

Discussing her session at the ‘Future of UK Manufacturing’ conference, Professor MacBryde said: “It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to be here with so many voices from across the industry, policy, and academic divide, all discussing how we can drive forward a bold vision for the future of manufacturing in the UK.

We are conducting a lot of really valuable work concerning the integral role of people and human insights in the digitalisation process, and it’s been great to have the opportunity to deliver a overview of what we’re doing to such a receptive audience. The discussions we’ve engaged in here today will definitely help to inform our research going forward.”

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News

Made Smarter Centre for People-Led Digitalisation launches call for papers

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To improve productivity and efficiency the manufacturing sector has regularly looked to evolve its systems and embrace new technologies. More recently the pace of change has intensified as we see the emergence of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, advanced analytics, cobotics, and smart manufacturing. Learning from past challenges, particularly in the 1980s when the adoption of robotics faced obstacles due to insufficient consideration of human factors, centres like the Made Smarter Innovation: Centre for People-Led Digitalisation have recognised the important role that people play in the adoption and acceptance of new technologies.

Although digital technologies have the promise of creating significant economic, environmental and societal benefits, they also have the potential to substantially alter the future of work – the jobs people do and how people work. The world is currently at a crucial decision point – what do we want the future of work to look like?

Taking a people-led approach to digitalisation aims at improving the outcome of the adoption of digital technologies. This is achieved through prior explicit consideration and planned appropriate action that prioritises human needs and working patterns in the design and implementation of digitalised work systems.

The team at People-Led Digitalisation are seeking to publish innovative research which explores the human element of digitalisation, be that in the design of digital technologies or the implementation of digital technologies within a manufacturing environment.

They are welcoming original research, reviews, impact and industrial case studies, from the perspective of improving manufacturing performance such as (but not limited to); increased productivity, reduction in environmental impacts, re-imagining manufacturing jobs, people-led digital change. The following top-level themes should be used as a basis:

  • The future of work in manufacturing to 2030 and beyond,
  • Stakeholder engagement in digital change,
  • Digital skills,
  • Industrial Digital Tools for good work,
  • Metrics of success in digitalisation projects,
  • Enablers and barriers to the adoption of digital technologies,
  • Readiness for digital change,
  • People-led approach to design of digital technologies.
Find out more and apply