FOCUS 2
THE UK – AN ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT FOR GLOBAL MANUFACTURERS
W
elcome to FOCUS ON Manufacturing, our new magazine that explores the latest matters surrounding the manufacturing sector.
This comes at a time when manufacturers continue to face many challenges, although there are signs of an improving situation globally and in Europe, our most signifi cant export market.
The future of our manufacturing sector increasingly depends on multinational operators. The UK attracts more foreign investment than any other country in the world with the exception of the US, particularly in manufacturing. In recent months and years the relative weakness of Sterling, particularly against the Yen, has worked in UK exporters’ favour. It is critical that the UK remains an attractive investment for global manufacturers.
We have a strong and proud history of manufacturing, but it is clear that what brings foreign investors into the country is not our industrial strength but our ability to innovate. The labour part of the manufacturing process can usually be done cheaper elsewhere; incoming
investors are looking for scientifi c knowledge, skilled people, intellectual property expertise and our ability to innovate.
We all need to work together to nurture and protect the things that make our sector so attractive. It means trumpeting engineering from the rooftops as an attractive and exciting career. It means improving access to funding for small and medium-sized fi rms, and it means keeping our eyes open to innovation. As we point out in this issue, our latest Global Manufacturing Survey showed clearly that fi rms are concentrating on their supply chain partners as a source of ideas. They recognise that in the modern world, the best ideas do not necessarily come from within an organisation. Instead, they come through collaboration with other experts in the fi eld, from specialist business partners or even crowdsourcing.
© 2013 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member fi rm of the KPMG network of independent member fi rms affi liated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.
As a nation, we are very good at engineering, and as the world changes we need to ensure that manufacturing keeps up and, wherever possible, stays ahead of the game. As we also explain in this issue, manufacturers continue to wrestle with a broad range of people-related issues that could threaten their competitiveness. I hope you fi nd the ideas explored in this issue thought- provoking as well as informative.
Many thanks,
Stephen Cooper Head of UK Industrials KPMG LLP (UK)
BACK TO CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27