UK manufacturers boast innovation
24 Aug 2015
Manufacturers in the UK are using innovation to deliver productivity improvements and export growth despite a lack of resources, a new survey suggests.
The Innovation Monitor survey, conducted by the manufacturers’ organisation EEF and telecoms firm Vodafone, reveals that 94% of manufacturers engage in innovation, while 65% said they had developed new products in the last three years.
The survey, in which 273 companies took part, also suggests that manufacturers are investing heavily in innovation.
It’s essential that we create the right environment for continuous innovation in manufacturing
Vodafone head of manufacturing Tim Hancock
Despite this, however, manufactures claim they are not always achieving the desired results, with a lack of resources blamed for the harm done to their overall chances of success.
“Innovation is a resource-hungry process, and manufacturers are finding that the results they achieve do not always match their ambition,” said Lee Hopley, EEF chief economist.
“Shortages of expertise, equipment and finance are [also] holding manufacturers back,” Hopley added.
“This matters for manufacturing, and it matters for the UK, because manufacturers are now more concerned about falling behind competitors.”
What’s more, the amount of UK manufacturers that engaged in three or more innovative activities has fallen from 43% in 2013 to 34% last year.
However, although the breadth of innovation has fallen, 52% of manufacturers are increasingly using innovation to develop new markets, while a third of companies said that growing exports was a long-term business objective.
Of these, over half (54%) thought innovation would have a significant impact on their exports, while 40% thought innovation would have some impact, the survey reveals.
“It’s essential that we create the right environment for continuous innovation in manufacturing which is the backbone of UK industry,” said Tim Hancock, Vodafone head of manufacturing.
“The good news is that almost all manufacturers are innovating in one form or another and with a variety of business goals, but they are doing so with decreasing diversity,” Hancock said
“This seems to be down to an organisation’s size and access to resources which can impact the level of innovation that can be taken on without disrupting day-to-day operations,” he added.
