Aston University set for key role in £40m supply chain centre

ASTON University is to take part in a £40m scheme to develop a Midlands-based national centre for supply chain innovation as part of a government project to develop business and manufacturing.

Focused on the competitiveness and growth of companies in the transportation sector – automotive, rail and aerospace – Regional Growth funded project will help companies boost their competitiveness with the help of university research, training and advice.

The centre will form part of a new ‘Innovation Campus’ being built as part of a 215-acre business park next to Rolls-Royce’s headquarters in Derby. Aston University, in collaboration with the University of Derby, will provide academic and engineering expertise to fast-track manufacturing supply chain innovation.

The centre will be supported by grants and loans from the Derby Enterprise Growth Fund.

A total of £20m will be spent on the overall business park scheme, which will focus on science and technology industries. The remaining £20m of the RGF money is being spent by Derby City Council on business support that will create 27 new businesses and 3,000 new jobs.

Professor Tim Baines’ team at Aston Business School – already delivering a European Regional Development Fund programme to transform 400 West Midlands SMEs – will lead the outreach programme to develop business expertise in ‘servitisation’.

This emerging competitive strategy is designed to help manufacturers increase their competitiveness, growth, profits and resilience by offering advanced services related to their products. One of the leading proponents of the business model is Rolls-Royce.
 
Companies will also be able to access engineering expertise at Aston University with Aston also brokering further relationships with other universities.

Cllr Paul Bayliss, leader of Derby City Council, said the aim of the project was to bring together expertise in supply chain research and development.

“Plans to create a global Technology Cluster and Innovation Campus in particular are essential for Derby and the UK’s manufacturing future and for the creation of jobs,”he said.

Patrick Keen from Aston Business School’s Operations & Information Management Group, said the new centre would provide a fantastic opportunity for manufacturers in the region to get practical support to invest in the right technology, skills and business model.

“Our mission, at Aston Business School, is to help more manufacturers understand and benefit from servitisation, and I’m delighted that Derby City Council and Central Government have recognised the potential and are exploiting it through this project partnership,” he said.