15 Aug 2007
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Ian Atkinson, Procurement and Supply Chain Director
Frontline magazine - August 2007
BAE Systems is at the forefront of a new initiative to transform the supply chain performance of local companies in the aerospace industry.
Working through the North West Aerospace Alliance(NWAA), Military Air Solutions(MAS) and fellow prime manufacturers, Airbus and Rolls-Royce, have each committed ten mentors, and put them to work among local small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) with the aim of building a strong and vibrant supply chain in the region.
Ian Atkinson, Procurement and Supply Chain Director - Integrated Operations & Large Aircraft, who is BAE Systems' nominee onboard of the NWAA, told Frontline: "We believe this may be the first such coordinated approach to supplier development in the UK aerospace industry, and the mentoring programme could have huge potential benefits here in the North-West. It's a mix of industryself - interest and corporate social responsibility - we all want to put something back to help local businesses".
The initiative, anchore firmly in the partnering and transformational principles of the Government's Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) and the SBAC Supply Chains in the 21st Century (SC21) programme, is an excellent example of a innovative approach with a regional body, prime manufacturers and SMEs working together to transform supply chain performance.
"The MAS mentors have been chosen from within our operational community, and they bring strong industrial experience to the programme. Some mentors are working with an external company for the first time in many years - a few may never have worked anywhere but at BAE Systems. They all have masses of experience in areas such as project management, operations and risk management, which can be invaluable to the smaller companies they are helping".
Mentors and the small partner companies are carefully matched by the NWAA, and independent consultants assess the SMEs against a range of capabilities before preparing a "gap analysis" chart that provides the catalyst for improvement plans supported by the mentors.
Ian said: "MAS has also made available a suite of courses and facilities - including those taught at the Lean Learning Academy - that the SMEs can utilise to help strengthen their ability to compete in the national and global market place".
"The North West aerospace supply chain is as old as aerospace itself. The mentoring programme is something that will benefit us all in the industry and the region in particular".
Ian Atkinson,
Procurement and Supply Chain Director
