Problem
The last four years have seen many supply chain disruptions in the UK caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, driver shortages, border crossing delays, etc. Companies need efficient communication and collaboration with supply chain partners to respond effectively. However, this collaboration is becoming more complicated as some (larger) companies automate their operations with modern digital systems while others (typically smaller companies) still use old software or manual processes. Even for companies with modern IT systems, there are often barriers to effective information sharing. Identifying the key information that SMEs and larger manufacturers want to share and aiding the collection and sharing of this data could improve the resilience and productiveness of our UK supply chains.
Solution
A workshop was designed to identify the key data suppliers and customers can share and to see if there is key information within a supply chain that could aid operations. The workshop built on previous proven approaches used by the Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring project.
The workshop got manufacturers to think about the data they wanted to share with their customers and suppliers and how they could share it. An initial workshop was conducted at the University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing. Eighteen participants from 12 companies attended the workshop and participated. A summary of the results from one of the activities on sharing data is shown below.
Future Plans
There are two sets of activities planned. The first step is to focus the workshop on a single supply chain within the UK. The workshop will be conducted with employees at a large company and various other SMEs supplying that company. Initially, this will focus on providing data about what can be exchanged between partners in the supply chain.
The second activity is to expand the existing low-cost digital solutions used in our demonstrator to aid the sharing of key data (such as order status or quality check results). These solutions will focus on helping SMEs gather and share key information with their customers to facilitate greater collaboration.