Small and Medium-sized enterprises are focused on bringing manufacturing operations back to the United Kingdom, according to research findings published by the Manufacturing Advisory Service.
Manufacturing in the UK is experiencing a rebirth of sorts, with demand for locally manufactured products increasing over the last few years as UK customers look to support local businesses and consume eco-friendly products.
As businesses in the UK choose manufacturing reshoring operations to Britain, what other factors are driving this switch? Diminishing profits on foreign manufacturing operations, faster delivery times, and the possibility of higher quality?
Aside from these important factors, a huge number of UK business boast of knowing everything there is to know about their products, from beginning to end, which is actually not possible when manufacturing occurs abroad.
Make It British founder, Kate Hills said that working with UK companies is actually easier as there is no need to travel to the other side of the world every time you need to meet.
Producing her bags in Britain was important for Cambridge Satchel Company founder Julie Deane. According to her, being able to know that she has perfect knowledge of the product, through and through is essential.
She wonders whether locating her production operations in Britain made it possible for her to work with the many successful brands she has partnered with to this point.
However, she also says that the company would have been able to grow at a faster rate, and moved into new markets sooner, if it would have moved production operations abroad as this would have eliminated the production bottleneck.
She does however question whether a Cambridge satchel made in China or Vietnam would have attracted the same level of interest from buyers. In her opinion, the product would have lost most of its special appeal, and with it, the minds of the target customers.
Companies that choose to locate their manufacturing operations here get the opportunity to control their environmental footprint making it possible for them to decrease their environmental impact.
Goal oriented companies are able to offer their customers quality assured products in an efficient manner, thanks to the flexibility they gain by manufacturing in the United Kingdom, which is essential when swift changes occur.
On top of boosting innovation and the economy at large, customer concerns are quelled by the ability to realize initial concepts from thought to activation in a flexible manner.
