Ben Griffiths set up Shrewsbury business Ply Van, a specialist supplier of bespoke van racking systems, in late 2019 following a long career in general carpentry services. Within months, the impact that the Covid pandemic would have on growing the business became clear.
Ben comments: “Launching a business just as the world was entering an unprecedented lockdown was far from ideal but thankfully, via The Marches Growth Hub, I found out about the UK-Centric Supply Chains programme and was connected to Jamie Pratt at Aston University.
“The guidance that the programme could provide in terms of reaching out to new suppliers and growing our network was particularly appealing and Jamie’s advice proved invaluable. We met initially via Zoom and then exchanged some emails over the course of a year and even though we’ve not met in real life, his energy was infectious and made me believe I could take on the world!
“Jamie was very knowledgeable and gave us some great ideas on how to make the business more visible and, importantly, he was always very positive and allowed me to see on how I could take the business forward in spite of the challenges that Covid had posed.”
Marches Growth Hub programme manager Yasmin Sulaman said: “Many businesses are facing supply chain challenges at the moment, in particular manufacturers and food and drink producers following the impact of both COVID-19 and Britain’s exit from the EU.
“There is a real need for this support in the marketplace to help address supply chain issues and build resiliency.
“The project provides SMEs with access to short-term collaborations with university academics. It focusses on supporting companies in the food, automotive and manufacturing sectors to gain a better understanding of their supply chain in terms of geography, location and relationships with suppliers and customers.”
The aim of the project is to support businesses to improve their operations and turnover and to develop their risk management strategies with respect to their supply chains, with the view to growing/maximising the UK content of their supply chains.
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