Highlighting innovation is among the themes for 2023, which fits in perfectly with Made Smarter West Midlands – a programme to help SMEs adopt digital technology and boost productivity – which has advised over 300 businesses in the region since the scheme started in 2021.

Made Smarter West Midlands is led by Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub with fellow support organisations Business Growth West Midlands and Worcestershire, The Marches, and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Growth Hubs on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Department for Business and Trade.

The Growth Hubs work alongside strategic partners WMG, at the University of Warwick, and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry to provide expert advice to businesses and improve their productivity.

Digital Transformation Specialists from Made Smarter West Midlands will be at stand H90 at the NEC along with representatives from the WMCA since this high-profile programme is part of its Plan for Growth. 

Owners and management teams from small and medium sized enterprises are urged to attend a seminar called ‘The West Midlands Plan for Growth: How Made Smarter can help transform your business with digital adoption’ at noon on June 7 in the Digital Transformation Theatre.

Jamie Elliott, Delivery Manager at the WMCA, will discuss how its Plan for Growth pinpoints precise clusters and technologies to boost the economy which improves consumer confidence and spending.

He will be followed by Paul Sullivan, Digital Transformation Specialist at Made Smarter West Midlands, who will highlight how Made Smarter fits within the Plan for Growth, and give an overview of the programme as well as discuss the benefits of taking part and how to register.

Tiago Teixeira, Senior Process Engineer at Impression Technologies, will tell the audience how the grant from Made Smarter helped the Coventry-based business implement a new data collection system.

The seminar will be concluded by Onur Eren, Principal Engineer, WMG at the University of Warwick, who will focus on the impact of digital technologies on business performance across the whole supply chain, including improving productivity, manufacturing and connectivity.

Craig Humphrey, CEO at the CW Growth Hub, said the seminar was an ideal opportunity for manufacturing and engineering businesses to hear first-hand about the benefits of joining Made Smarter West Midlands.

“Manufacturing and Engineering Week is held to celebrate the best in UK manufacturing and engineering excellence and innovation which fits in neatly with Made Smarter West Midlands,” he said.

“This innovative region-wide programme has been hugely successful in helping businesses adopt digital technology and access grants to put equipment in place to make their plans a reality.

“We have lined-up four speakers who will discuss Made Smarter West Midlands from different aspects to give businesses a total overview of the programme and the massive difference it can make to their productivity, innovation and future growth.”

Businesses interested in finding out further information about Made Smarter, please go to Madesmarter.uk.

Pictured: Craig Humphrey, CEO at the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub