Authors: Dimitrios Anagnostakis and Les Hines

The new Supply Chain Transition Programme (funded by the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund) will help businesses involved in more traditional sectors of the region’s economy to adapt to new technologies and take their transferrable skills into new and growing sectors.

One part of the programme - Electric Light Vehicles and Very Light Rail - is being delivered Business Growth West Midlands by C&W Business Solutions - part of the CW Growth Hub Group. Two other streams of the programme are being delivered by Midlands Aerospace Alliance, focusing on Aerospace and Space, and WMG at the University of Warwick will be delivering on Micromobility.  

In this blog, Dimitrios Anagnostakis, Supply Chain Specialist at C&W Business Solutions, and Les Hines, Strategic Relationship Account Manager at the West Midlands Growth Company, outline why local businesses should sign-up to this free programme.

We are working with small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to raise awareness of new opportunities and help them diversify – particularly among traditional manufacturing and automotive companies – so that they have the ability to supply parts for the greener transport markets of the future.

We want to develop their understanding of these sectors, pass on knowledge about current and future procurement requirements, and provide information about how to access opportunities to become a future supplier for light vehicle manufacturing – road to rail.

There will be several on-site visits with key customers and buyers involved in the programme, for SMEs to see first-hand the technology in operation. This will be a brilliant chance for SMEs to hear about some of the opportunities available as well as develop relationships with potential future customers. 

Between us we have a vast range of experience to pass on to SMEs after working in different sectors, and we have seen how manufacturing companies can use digital tools to innovate to adapt and expand into new markets.

We would love to hear from manufacturing SMEs who make traditional materials but may not realise that their processes can be opened up to components that are required in other industries. One example is a local manufacturer of bathroom accessories that we have spoken to which may seem an irrelevant sector for electric light vehicles, but they have the ability to make different components which are needed for other industries.

Software companies who provide cyber security will have digital expertise that can be utilised in electric light vehicle and Very Light Rail since they have diagnostic experts which everybody needs in that supply chain. These kinds of skills are needed by larger companies as well as SMEs.

Buyers that we have been talking to are looking for new ideas for lighter materials which can be difficult to find because some supply chains are not as forward-thinking, and it can sometimes depend on the size of the business whether they have the capacity to free staff up to look for these growth avenues - so we want to investigate this further to keep up with current demand.

This is an emerging sector and it is now looking for materials and components which we’re sure many businesses in the region have the transferrable skills to help with.

Key customers, such as Aurrigo, Watt Electric Vehicles and BSA Company, are getting involved in the Supply Chain Transition Programme to build their local supplier base, which underlines the innovative nature of our region, and emphasises that this is open to all businesses whatever sector they are associated with.

When we launched the SCT Programme with a Market Education Event in July to introduce the Very Light Rail and electric light vehicle sectors to SMEs across the region, to make them aware of the opportunities available, we were delighted that almost 80 companies signed up to attend.

But we know that so many more SMEs would benefit from being involved so please do get in touch with us to find out how to make the most of this exciting opportunity to diversify your customer base and win new orders.