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Leading manufacturers are increasingly transforming into hyper-efficient value-added service providers. Those who are doing so most successfully not only understand the value of their data, but also see it as a strategic asset. With the proliferation of data, how can you understand, curate and utilise your data to enable transformative business decisions and accelerate digital transformation? It is fundamental to understand the value of your data, the whereabouts of your existing data assets, how to govern it, and make it accessible and widely available across the business. A discussion session held as part of Manufacturing Innovation Summit 2020 explored best practices to help manufacturers learn how to achieve a data-driven digital transformation. Moderated by The Manufacturer, the session had expert insight from Greg Hanson, VP EMEA for Informatica, and Giovanni Milani, a Senior Director for Cognizant.  Read on more The Manufacturer here and share your thoughts on why data is important to your manufacturing business.

More than 100 small to medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and business associations, with significant experience of trading with the EU, have all signed a letter to the Prime Minister highlighting the economic damage a potential 'no-deal Brexit' would cause. Read more here on The Manufacturer and let us know your thoughts on a 'no-deal Brexit'.  

With Make UK reporting that around three-quarters of manufacturers they surveyed expecting to make job cuts this year the question we must urgently address is how do we re-purpose those losing their jobs? The Prime Minister called for a 'Build, Build, Build' mentality this week and proposed a British New Deal, but as critics pointed out, Roosevelt's New Deal, which successive governments have tried to emulate, was underpinned according to the Guardian by 'about 40% of the US national income of 1929', whereas Britain's New Deal amounts to just 0.2% of current UK GDP. Today Juergen Maier, Chair of Digital Catapult and Co-Chair of Made Smarter said on Twitter that 'I do think we have lost the race to lead the technology revolution on electric cars; there is still a chance on Hydrogen, electric Flying and a few more, but it needs more scale, more ambition and a more strategic & joined up approach'. The question arises as to why the UK with so much talent is losing this race? The answer as Juergen Maier alludes to is the lack of a joined up approach - the same lack of joined up approach that we witnessed with the response to the pandemic. If the UK is to avert mass job losses in the manufacturing industry it needs an urgent joined up approach in government now. Let's not wait until tomorrow to build roads, reopen railways (and let's open more than just 50 old lines - where's the ambition?) build green homes and green cities, green vehicles/transport. Whilst we're still trying to work our way out of a pandemic we must be ambitious for the future but we must also be clear on who leads on what - for the landscape is too confused and needs urgently addressing if manufacturing is to bounce back better. Those in line to lose jobs must go into a national pool so we know exactly where the talent lies for when the economy bounces back - a national registration scheme that manufacturing companies can sign up those in line of redundancy so we don't leave thousands of talented people to fend for themselves. The industry cannot afford to lose skilled workers if Britain really wants to lead the world in a green revolution. Let me know your thoughts on the topic.

Below is an announcement from the government about a new funds to invest in cutting carbon emissions from homes and energy intensive businesses. Let us know your thoughts on this announcement.  The most interesting impact for manufacturers from the announcement is the announcement of '£30 million towards the first phase of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), which supports energy intensive manufacturers, like car factories and steel plants, to cut their carbon footprint.' From the gov.uk the following announcement was made: On 29 June 2020 Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced nearly £80 million of government investment to help cut carbon emissions from homes and energy intensive businesses. 'The funding will be invested in a wide range of programmes, including pioneering heat networks and an innovative new programme to bring down the cost of retrofitting residential properties with the latest energy efficiency technologies. Funds announced today include: £30 million towards the first phase of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), which supports energy intensive manufacturers, like car factories and steel plants, to cut their carbon footprint £25 million for heat networks, which reduce carbon and cut heating bills for customers, including one which will harness geothermal water sitting in disused mines to heat 1,250 homes £24 million for innovative projects to help develop energy efficient homes by installing green tech and insulation in houses Phase 1 of the IETF, for which guidance is published today (29 June), is worth an initial £30 million in support of the manufacturing sector. The fund allows companies with high energy use to apply for grants to install technology that reduces their energy bills and cuts carbon emissions. Worth an eventual £289 million in England, Wales and Northern Ireland up until 2024, the IETF also seeks to help bring down the costs of technologies that reduce energy consumption and emissions in heavy industrial processes. £25 million will go towards heat networks, including one in Gateshead, which will harness geothermal water sitting in disused mines to heat 1,250 homes. With thousands of redundant mine shafts criss-crossing the country, experts say that if the mine shaft technology proves successful and economically viable, it could be scaled up to power around 6 million homes around Britain. The final £24 million green homes investment will comprise of: £7.7 million to install green technology and insulation in over 300 council houses, to bring down the cost of retrofitting homes – with pilot projects in Cornwall, Nottingham, and Sutton £14.6 million to pilot the roll-out of innovative heat pumps to 750 homes in the South East of Scotland, the South East of England and Newcastle £1.8 million to support the development of innovative green home finance products by lenders The announcements today form part of the wider efforts to ensure the UK meets its legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Below is information from gov.uk on the flexible furlough scheme which started on 1 July 2020. Let us know what this will mean for your business and how you plan to help workers back into what may now be a different workplace after covid-19. 'Businesses will have the flexibility to bring furloughed employees back to work part time from 1 July as part of the government’s plan to re-open the UK and kick-start our economy.' From Thursday 1 July businesses can bring furloughed employees back to work on a part time basis Firms will be given the flexibility to decide the hours and shift patterns of their employees – with the government continuing to pay 80% of salaries for the hours they do not work Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has so far helped protect more than 9.3 million jobs For more information see the gov.uk website here 

Hi @Kate Woods Thank you, much appreciated. Best regards, Daniel.