A £10 million programme to help make the UK’s aerospace manufacturing supply chain more competitive was launched by Business and Industry Minister Andrew Stephenson.

The programme was launched as he visited aerospace and defence supplier MEP in Aylesford, Kent.

Along with other national providers, SMMT Industry Forum will help deliver the new approach, called NMCL (National Manufacturing Competitiveness Levels), which is part of the SC21 Competitiveness & Growth (C&G) programme.

The NMCL initiative starts with an in-depth assessment of a company’s competitiveness, based on interviews with its key customers. This then identifies which business capabilities areas need to boost performance, such as improvements in quality, cost, delivery, flexibility, products/technology and customer experience. SMMT Industry Forum has been involved in piloting the new NMCL model with aerospace companies in the North West of England, including the competitiveness viewpoints by companies such as Airbus and Rolls Royce.