Meet the sponsors...

Q How would Britain's best factories fare in a worldwide Top Factory competition? It would depend on the criteria, but we excel in so many areas in the UK, we can hold our own against all-comers! That isn't just lip service. There are so many examples of fantastic British engineering and manufacturing that I would say we are up there and able to compete with anyone on the world stage. Manufacturing is not just about price, but, for some countries, this is all they compete on. In the UK, it is our expertise that is sought after in a wide range of fields. Q What's the key challenge for UK manufacturers in the next 12 months? Recently, I have been seeing more and more positive news about the resurgence of the UK manufacturing sector, bolstered recently by the OECD's near doubling of its annual growth forecast for the whole UK from 0.8% to 1.5%. Closer to home a CIPS/Markit survey has also shown that confidence is returning, with the Purchasing Managers Index reaching 57.2 in August, its highest level for over two years! Things are moving in the right direction, but technology is a challenge and opportunity for the future. It gives competitive advantage and companies must move fast to add momentum. We encourage manufacturers to think about how they view their existing technology and the role it plays in customer engagement or giving them business insight that can have a significant impact on their operations. Is their ERP system really working like part of a well-oiled machine or are they fighting it all the time? Are they using each of the ERP modules they have invested in to their greatest potential to fuel innovation in the business? A great example of this is a recent global survey we conducted with IDC, which showed only 9% of leading companies have fully realised the importance of creating a customer-oriented culture and process workflows with their ERP solution – that is a huge opportunity for competitive advantage within UK manufacturers! Q What should manufacturers know about Epicor? Epicor has over 20 years' experience helping British manufacturers, with over 20,000 customers in 150 plus countries – the company has been around for 40 years. What separates us from other ERP companies is the level of functionality you get out of the box and the ease with which the system can be customised to meet your processes and rules, across a huge range of vertical industries. Epicor is designed to integrate easily with other systems where needed, but is designed to offer quote-to-cash support for your business with a quick ROI, whether you are a small, medium or large enterprise with sites across the world. Our vision is business-inspired: harnessing innovation to help companies attack their most important industry and operational challenges, and seize their greatest opportunities. We help customers see their business from a fresh perspective, to focus on core growth activities and to be inspired by the possibilities. Q What's your favourite UK-manufactured product and why? This is a tough question. My first thought is Tanglefoot Bitter, which I think is a fantastic British product and one of the best bitters I have tried. But in terms of discrete manufacturing, it has to be the Rolls-Royce Trent engine. In recent years, I have spent a great deal of time on planes, hopping around Europe and over the Atlantic, it is very reassuring to look out of the window and see that 'RR' logo proudly looking back at you – for me, it stands for British excellence in design and reliability. Q What do you wish was made in GB? It would have to be Apple products. At the heart of them has been the design genius of Brit Jonathan Ive since his first assignment on the iMac in 1997, as senior vice president of industrial design. The products are beautiful and deceptively simple, but achieving that takes a phenomenal amount of engineering and precision manufacturing. In my view, nobody does high quality and precision manufacturing better than the UK and, as products designed by a Brit, it would be wonderful to see them piling off of UK production lines.