Made Smarter North West has launched a new peer-to-peer network to accelerate digital adoption among SME manufacturers.
The Digital Champions Network brings together businesses who have engaged with Made Smarter’s adoption programme, including graduates of its Leading Digital Transformation and Leading Change for Digital Champions programmes.
The initiative will connect those employees actively engaged in digitalisation, from the top floor to the shop floor, at different stages of technology adoption. In-person and online events will be facilitated throughout the year to enable participants to share learning and experience, forging long-lasting connections.
A launch event, at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Liverpool, attracted North West businesses from across industries, including: CNC Robotics; Palace Chemicals; JFM Workwear; Farrat, Gardner Engineering; Majas Switchgear and Beagle Orthopaedic.
It kicked off with a panel discussion about digital transformation featuring Max Barnett, digital champion for CNC Robotics, Made Smarter’s technology adoption specialists Will Kinghorn and Claire Scott, and Mark Sutherberry from the MTC.
This was followed by a workshop session, led by Karen Lancaster from the Centre for People-Led Digitalisation, exploring the role of dignity at work and how this can be affected by technology.
The event finished with a tour of the MTC, a demonstrator backed by the High Value Manufacturing Catapult which showcases how advanced manufacturing equipment can be applied to industry to support skills, productivity and growth across UK manufacturing.
Commenting on the launch, Ruth Hailwood, Organisation Development Lead for the Made Smarter North West Adoption Programme, said: “The Digital Champions Network is an opportunity to build something sustainable by harnessing what a manufacturer learns as they embark on their digital transformation journey and sharing it with their peers. This approach means every member of the network can benefit from sharing experiences and new ideas, creating a bigger impact for their own business and for the SME manufacturing community in the region.
“Made Smarter’s activity through the Leading Digital Transformation and Leading Change for Digital Champions programmes has already created strong and impactful connections between cohort groups. Many have offered site visits to each other to demonstrate their practices and technologies, which have proved really valuable. The Digital Champions Network is looking to extend these connections across the region to all manufacturers that engage with Made Smarter.”
Mark Sutherberry, Senior Business Development Manager at the MTC, said: “Made Smarter complements all our thinking and best practice in how to support manufacturers to adopt technology and skills in a sustainable, high impact way.
“It has been a pleasure hosting the launch of the Digital Champions Network, an initiative which brings together the North West’s SME manufacturing community to learn how to approach digital transformation and innovation.”
Among those attending the Digital Champions Network launch was Max Barnett, Sales and Marketing Engineer at Liverpool-based CNC Robotics, a specialist in advanced machining applications.
He said: “The role of the digital champion is like an internal salesperson who advocates and communicates the changes a business needs to make to move forward.
“This network is a great idea which brings together people involved in digital change in their manufacturing businesses to encourage discussion and compare notes.”
Angela Murphy, Accounts Manager for Majas Switchgear, a St Helens-based manufacturer of high-powered electrical power distribution products, said: “The Digital Champions Network is a fantastic idea. As a business we took a lot from Made Smarter’s digital roadmap process and then the Leading Digital Transformation programme, but these networking events really add value to what we’ve already learned.
“It is the simple fact that we can just speak to other manufacturers - from all levels of the business - about what they've done or what they're trying to do. It is very helpful to take on board what others, who are at a different stage of their digital transformation, have experienced.”
Launched in 2019, Made Smarter has engaged with 2,500 manufacturers, with hundreds receiving support through grant funding, impartial technology advice, leadership, and skills training to help transform their businesses.
