Building on their strong track record bringing practical education and business support to the regions SME sector, Aston Business School is hosting a series of breakfast events to give manufacturers and innovating technology companies an insight into its latest fully funded support package for manufacturing SMEs.
Product manufacturers are often involved in providing customers with spare parts or consumables to ensure their products are always available for use. Some of the manufacturers assume responsibility for maintenance of the product to ensure the product is always in the best condition possible. A small group of SMEs, however, have evolved their services to include advanced services such as Âcapability contracts or Âavailability contracts taking on more responsibility for their customerÂs operations.
The programme is designed to deliver sustainable growth to the regions SMEs by helping them to capture significant untapped value from their customers by providing services such as maintenance, spare parts provision, training and outcome-based contracts, to complement the products produced and provide customer with the capability to perform their business more effectively.
The programme provides 75 hours of personalised one-to-one support over a two-year period by a dedicated transformation manager and strategy experts, which is fully-subsidised for SMEs in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership region.
Businesses can find out more by attending an introductory breakfast meetings being held around the region. Senior managers from manufacturing SMEs who have already joined the programme will be on-hand to share their experiences while experts will be on hand to provide advice and guidance on financial and contractual detail associated with adding services to a business and benefits they are seeing.
Megan Ronayne who works directly with each SME said, ÂThe manufacturing landscape is changing, SMEs are transforming their businesses by engaging more intimately with their customers to understand their challenges, and how to explore how these challenges can be overcomeÂ.
To register for one of the networking breakfast meetings contact Jill Forrest at Advanced Services Group or register go to the Advanced Services website here.
14 September: Bromsgrove Hotel & Spa, Bromsgrove
13 October: IET, Austin Court, Birmingham
8 November: Best Western George Hotel, Lichfield
This programme of support is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is delivered by the Advanced Services Group, Aston Business School, with expertise provided by project partners Lloyds Bank plc and Trowers & Hamlins LLP.
In order to be eligible for the programme, businesses must be a manufacturing SME or technology innovator, located in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Region with a turnover of less than £42m, and not in receipt of more than Â200,000 (£168,000) of State Aid in the last 3 years.
