Teamwork – the Supply Chain North East team of ( left to right ) Deborah Fletcher , John Heslop , Rachel Tang , Suzanne Tibbo and Alan Whittaker .
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURE : LEE DOBSON
Business support in extraordinary times
DIVERSIFY WITH A HELPING HAND
Supply Chain North East can help
companies in the region amid the storm of Covid and Brexit .
Launched in 2018 , the Supply Chain North East business support programme aims to work with 900 companies by the end of 2021 – with 500 companies signed up to date .
With the extra challenges of a pandemic and Britain ’ s EU exit , it ’ s more vital than ever that businesses know their markets , ambitions and own strengths and weaknesses .
This is where Supply Chain North East can help – starting with an initial ‘ holistic ’ diagnostic discussion , the support is aimed at helping local SMEs diversify , expand their customer base and unlock untapped opportunities .
A team of experienced advisors is on hand to highlight supply chain opportunities and give an impartial and honest overview of where companies stand to face the future with confidence .
Business advisor John Heslop explained : “ We all have years of hands-on experience . “ We ’ ve owned or led companies – and it ’ s that experience which is key . It ’ s vital so that we can gain the trust of the business owners and they can openly share their ambitions , challenges and concerns .”
A key part of the service is the initial business diagnostic discussion – reflecting on critical areas including ambition , sales , competition , operations and staff management .
John adds : “ It can be a revelation to business owners as they can become consumed by daily demands , with little opportunity to stand back and look from a distance .
“ It ’ s typical of the lonely entrepreneur syndrome – but we can give them confidence and reassure them on the best ways forward . “ We look at the whole company – not just one particular department , process or person . Again , this is important as we seek to help to find the root cause of an issue – only then can we collaboratively develop effective solutions .”
Supply Chain North East has already helped firms face the Covid situation in several ways , including providing grants to support the need for PPE products , developing workshops aimed at crisis management , recovery planning and business resilience , and creating a new peer to peer ‘ list and search ’ platform called
Supply Chain Exchange .
As well as continuing to cope with Covid , John says all companies need to realise that the EU exit will affect them - from staffing and trade issues to sales and transportation of goods .
To help , Supply Chain North East has created a suite of fully funded “ virtual ” workshops – backed by partners offering expert legal advisors – and aimed squarely at small-and medium-sized North-East businesses .
Embedded within the workshops will be a range of proven business tools and techniques designed to help companies strengthen their business resilience ahead of the challenges of the next 12 months .
John added : “ This is just a slice of a full calendar of workshops planned , with future themes including business continuity planning , creative marketing and lean business , as well as sector themed events around rail and energy .
“ Businesses need to get things in place now to take advantage of opportunities – and Supply Chain North East is here to help !”.
Visit supplychainnortheast . co . uk
Supply Chain North East brings together four key partners to work with over 800 businesses through to 2021 , supporting them to identify opportunities in new and existing markets . An integral part of the North East Strategic Economic Plan , that has a vision to create 100,000 more and better jobs between 2014 and 2024 , Supply Chain North East is delivered across the region by RTC North , Generator , North East Automotive Alliance ( NEAA ) and North East Process Industry Cluster ( NEPIC ).
Supply Chain North East is a multi-million-pound programme aimed at revolutionising the way SMEs diversify their offering and embrace new markets . The programme has received more than £ 3m of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund , which is part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 .
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