Yorkshire Manufacturing 2012: Protecting supply chains
POLITICAL instability and erratic weather patterns could prove to be an opportunity for UK manufacturing, according to experts.
Flooding in Thailand last year had a significant impact on its electronics industry with a knock on effect on slew of companies including West Yorkshire-based Pace.
It is just one example of how global events are leading companies to take a fresh look at how they secure their supply chains and where they locate operations.
Andy Tuscher, EEF’s regional director for the north, says: “The UK needs to capitalise on this window of opportunity to re-shore production and rebuild key manufacturing capabilities.
“This means removing obstacles for manufacturers looking to expand capacity or diversify into new areas and creating a business environment that pulls
in every pound of vital investment to our economy.”
Supply chain security is one of the issues discussed in Yorkshire Manufacturing 2012, the new supplement from TheBusinessDesk.com in partnership with Deloitte and DLA Piper.
Significant changes to supply chains can take a long time to implement and in the meantime companies are urged to make more resilient contingency plans.
“Unfortunately, there is no way in which to fully prepare for such natural disasters as they are unexpected,” says Dave Alberts,director at end-to-end supply chain
consultancy Crimson & Co.
“However, the frequency at which these occur validate that contingency plans must be put in place wherever possible and organisations must attempt to protect product supply through efficient, planned out strategies and best practices.”
