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Manufacturing Strategy Review 2008

The Government’s manufacturing strategy, 'Manufacturing: New Challenges, New Opportunities', published September 2008, sets out an ambitious new vision for a globally competitive manufacturing sector that leads the world in capturing higher value components of the global value chain, whilst consolidating areas of existing comparative advantage, including activities within high technology manufacturing.

The environment facing manufacturers has undergone and continues to face significant change. Consultations with the Ministerial Advisory Group on Manufacturing and other stakeholders as well as academic and survey evidence identified five major dynamics that are reshaping global manufacturing:

• The increasing prevalence and complexity of global value chains, underpinned by developments in information and communication technology and consequent fragmentation of processes, encouraging specialisation;
• The accelerated pace of technology exploitation as the pace and demand for change in implementation as increased;
• The growing importance of investment in intangibles such as design, branding and R&D;
• The increased recognition that investment in people and skills is among the most important for companies to make;
• The move to a low carbon economy as the response to climate change creates both new challenges and opportunities for manufacturing firms.

The strategy focuses support on helping UK manufacturers to meet these challenges and seize the new opportunities they are creating. This new strategy sets out a framework that will inform a dynamic process of developing and implementing current and future policies and programmes for manufacturing.

For further information please contact Russell.Kerr@bis.gsi.gov.uk