Industry Talk

Regular Industry Development Updates, Opinions and Talking Points relating to Manufacturing, the Supply Chain and Logistics.

10% of manufacturers have no contingency plans in place for Brexit

Statistics* from Ivalua and research firm Vanson Bourne  highlight the impact of Brexit to UK manufacturers.  What’s worrying about this continued uncertainty is the overall lack of readiness to deal with the UK’s exit from the EU – for UK manufacturers, 10% still have no contingency plan in place for Brexit. According to new findings, just 20% of UK manufacturers are prepared for the impact of Brexit, with fully developed contingency plans. The remaining 70% of UK manufacturers are still preparing to mitigate the impact of Brexit. Drawing up plans is vital to ensuring UK businesses can navigate turbulent political waters as Brexit draws closer, helping mitigate the damage caused by disruption to goods and services.

Alex Saric, smart procurement expert at Ivalua, says it’s vital that organisations ensure they are prepared for Brexit, regardless of the outcome. He made the following comment  :

“Despite the spectre of leaving without a deal, many businesses are in no-deal denial, completely unprepared for the free movement of goods to come to an abrupt end. There will be no transition period and no time to prepare, meaning the business environment will literally change overnight. Businesses must ensure that they are preparing for every outcome of Brexit, evaluating their supply chain and identifying potential bottlenecks for the movement of goods, as well as how new tariffs would affect prices. By developing contingency plans now, businesses can pinpoint contracts that could be at risk due to incurring late fees or missing SLAs, allowing organisations to plan and communicate with customers about how they will mitigate against shortages and delays. By taking a smart approach to procurement, companies can ensure supply chains are kept flexible, and gives complete visibility across all suppliers. Those that don’t prepare will be left facing the no deal cliff edge and possible supply chain chaos.”

*These statistics are based on a UK study of 200 procurement, supply chain and finance professionals in financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications and retail organisations with over 1,000 employees carried out by Vanson Bourne.