The case study of the Mayflower Vehicle Systems PLC supply chain improvement programme offers a window onto a change programme implemented by one supply chain cluster of the UK automotive industry. The discussion details the transformational nature of change agent empowerment, stakeholder engagement, team-working and the dynamics of intra-firm and customer-supplier collaboration between a first tier company and its sub-suppliers. It shows that improvement programmes have a crucial function in helping customer and suppliers to closer collaboration through enabling them to work towards common objectives, to understand each other's positions, and to build on a platform of mutual trust as they strive to improve their individual and collective competitiveness and establish mechanisms to ensure that improvements are sustainable. The study has further value in illuminating the adaptation of a lean production model akin to the Toyota Production System to a specific case supported by the Accelerate Initiative and facilitated by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' Industry Forum.
Defence industry cutbacks impact at national and local economy levels by triggering business deaths and job cuts, leading to lost workforce and production skills and a contracting manufacturing and technology base. Diversification is a key responsive mechanism to defence industry contraction, but how this can be funded and managed is a major issue. One route is to provide the structure and mechanisms for technology transfer. The 1980s and 1990s have seen a number of initiatives established which prioritised this route and some have received European funding under KONVER I support for defence diversification. These constituted the primary focus of research for this paper and form a practice review of diversification experiences between 1993 and 1995 through selected case studies from Lancashire, the West Midlands, the South West and Hertfordshire. Discussion of the mechanisms, structures and operational issues is contexualised by outlining public and private sector strategies and support.
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