The High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult could make it easier for domestic manufacturers to connect with a new, free to use, UK Supply Chain Directory.
The platform harnesses the power of machine learning to provide up-to-date information on UK manufacturers. It combines publicly accessible data with web scraping to create the single most data-rich source of UK's manufacturers and suppliers. It also allows companies to put up their company profile to update and enrich their content.
HVM keep Companies House as a reference and it joins information coming from companies' websites, CreditSafe, and Dealroom.
This new tool is bringing together hundreds of thousands of businesses across UK industry in one online resource.
The tool is free to sign up for and access, and businesses can use it to:
- find new suppliers and customers; and
- map the UK's capability in their sector or area. Users can search the directory according to company size, location, and specialist areas, with a wide range of other filters. Using data-driven classification, users can also find suppliers or supply chains based on manufacturing capability. See: [uksupplychaindirectory.com](https://uksupplychaindirectory.com/)
The government has published a raft of consultations on tax and business policies. It is worth being aware of these, as they are a good indicator of future policy direction likely to impact small businesses.
Employers may worry about the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) following a series of press stories that have highlighted the abuse of the system.