The UK aerospace industry must embrace the potential of electronic business more wholeheartedly if it is to compete successfully on the global stage. That is the key finding of a survey into the importance of e-business within UK aerospace companies, released on the eve of Farnborough.
The report, commissioned by the UK Council for Electronic Business (UKCeB) and the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), calls for greater board level impetus in the expansion of the electronic marketplace.
Citing a Financial Times study which concluded that UK aerospace sales would fall by 10% this year, the survey implores UK industry chiefs to adopt a complete change of mindset.
Isolation
Paul Adler, responsible for the aerospace and defence practice at report author Accenture, says: "No single organisation can thrive in isolation. The key is collaboration with suppliers and customers at all levels and e-business capabilities are now mature enough to make a real difference. However, to achieve change on this scale, the developments should be sponsored at board level."
The idea of collaborative supply chains has already drawn support from some of the UK's leading aerospace companies. Rolls-Royce, Westland Helicopters and BAE Systems are among the major players to support a UKCeB-led initiative to tackle the gaps in e-enabled business.
The Joint Enterprise Integration Task Force also includes representatives of the UK Ministry of Defence.
UKCeB says one of the fundamental challenges for UK aerospace businesses is to understand the different supply chains which exist in the USA and Europe. It wants to position the UK as the bridgehead between these two markets.
Source: Flight Daily News