Accelerating digital adoption and productivity for suppliers, makers and their customers in the South East

EDGE Digital Manufacturing Limited is working with network partners in the South East to boost the productivity of small companies using digital technologies.

The long-term aim of our project, currently at proof-of-concept stage, is to overcome organisational, cultural and management barriers to adoption of digital technologies that are right for suppliers, makers and their customers. Relevant digital technologies include those identified in the Made Smarter Review and in British Standard PAS 1040 on Digital Readiness, including artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, virtual and augmented reality, industrial internet of things, data management and analytics.

These technologies are tried and tested, and existing support programmes are promoting their use. However our experience in working closely with smaller manufacturers and their suppliers and customers clearly demonstrates the range of barriers resulting in slow take-up of digital technologies by smaller companies in particular. These barriers include lack of awareness of how emerging technologies can help, perceived complexities and high costs in integrating digital with existing technologies, lack of management capacity to investigate the business case for adoption, lack of digital skills within the business, and simply not knowing where to start in a confused landscape of support programmes and vendors.

We are testing three approaches for supporting companies to overcome these barriers, to adopt the right digital technologies, and to accelerate productivity improvements. Our approaches are: (1) Webinar series; (2) Interactive face-to-face Workshops; (3) Online roundtable Forums. All three approaches will start with using the existing Digital Readiness Level Tool (https://drl-tool.org) and a comprehensive briefing to make sure that companies understand the relevance and opportunities afforded by digital technologies. The DRL-Tool is a secure online resource run by a not-for-profit Community Interest Company involving Digital Catapult, High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Knowledge Transfer Network, HSSMI and EDGE. All companies will have the opportunity to engage peer-to-peer and with the project team through a secure online community.

The underlying scope of each approach is similar, covering the core themes of leadership, technology and business value. Each approach is designed to address organisational, cultural and management barriers to digital adoption in different ways, each aiming to make it clear how the right digital technologies are essential for future success. Finally, all participating companies will receive recommendations for further support from qualified organisations, helping them to continue forward and make their planned productivity gains happen.