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October 2022 - Industrial

35% of manufacturing SMEs in northwest England are focussed on survival for the year ahead: A survey by Made Smarter has revealed that whilst achieving growth is the main priority for SMEs in northwest England, more than a third (35%) are focused on survival, which particularly includes smaller businesses. This follows a period of economic challenges including Brexit and Covid-19 and the current Cost of Living Crisis.

The survey polled 200 SME manufacturers in the North West looking at how the last couple of years have affected them and their focus on the future.

Two in five manufacturers polled (35%) said they have plans to adopt or invest in new technology over the course of the next two to three years in order to boost their business. A third of respondents also said their organisation has a current business strategy that includes integrating digital technology, or steps towards automation.

Looking at the types of technologies businesses are interested in investing in, the survey revealed that 44% are looking towards data and systems integration technologies, while two-thirds are exploring industrial machinery, robotics and automation.

Drivers

When it comes to key drivers for the manufacturing industry in 2022, the survey revealed that the leading driver cited was productivity, efficiency and output (29%), followed by increasing revenue to invest in new digital tools (18%) and attracting and winning new clients/customers (17%).

Barriers

Barriers towards adopting new technologies included 'lack of capital and funding' (42%) as well as a 'lack of time' (10%), this is despite eight in 10 respondents stating that they know what they need to do when it comes to investing in new technologies and the benefits of doing so.

Almost a fifth of respondents said that the main barrier to accessing support and funding was a lack of awarness of what is available to them.

Donna Edwards, programme director for the Made Smarter adoption programme in the North West, said:

"SME manufacturers have endured a few unsettling years and continue to face a multitude of recovery challenges. They are aware that technology brings significant benefits and they risk being left behind by not capitalising on the opportunities on offer. But it is also clear that they need support and advice to create a roadmap to digital transformation to enable them to adopt the right digital tools, progressively and sustainably, to avoid risking wasted time, money and effort.”

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