Improving access to finance, aggregating national demand and leveraging down the supply chain will boost automotive OEMs’ £7.4 billion annual spend on UK sourcing, increasing the £4.8 billion value added from the supply chain to the UK economy.
These were some of the findings from SMMT’s recent Supply Chain Group meeting, which brought together more than 50 OEMs and large tier one suppliers, to discuss how to maximise the supply chain business opportunities and keep it an attractive business proposition to global OEMs.
“There is real interest from vehicle manufacturers and tier one suppliers to increase the level of sourcing undertaken in the UK,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. “SMMT is working with companies at all levels of the supply chain to realise current and future supply opportunities through a range of activities that support global competitiveness, improve access to finance and build stronger relationships with the key buyers.”
Aston Martin, BMW, GM, Honda, Nissan and Toyota were just some of the attending companies and keynote presentations from Alan Draper, Vice President of Purchasing, Ford of Europe and Dave Allen, Purchasing Director, Jaguar Land Rover underpinned large OEM demand in the UK, the scope for growth and areas for development in order to grow the UK supply chain.
“Essentially the question is what impact does an absence of affordable funding have on the UK automotive supply chain, and the answer is that it will impact on the competitiveness of the supply chain, leading to gaps in commodity sourcing that are filled outside of the UK,” said Dave Allen.
There was also discussion on growing the UK’s skills base, an increasing priority for the UK as it emerges from a challenging economic climate; “over the past few years, some UK automotive companies have reduced their workforces and as we emerge from a challenging economic climate, the UK must ensure it has the skills capability to compete with other countries,” said Richard Hall, Director and General Manager of the Schaeffler Group’s Automotive Division.
SMMT is committed to strengthening the UK supply chain and holds annual ‘Meet the Buyer’ events to encourage more local sourcing. Click through to register for the 2012 ‘Meet the Buyer’ event.
Click the play button below to hear what UK automotive directors had to say about the importance of investment in the supply chain.
