<< Back

Project Summary:

The project will investigate and assess the potential applications and benefits of emerging integrated virtual reality environments (based on CAD, Web, Database, Video Streaming & Wireless Technologies) and manufacturing systems to the UK Jewellery and Whiteware sectors. This type of integrated online ICT system has the potential to directly and immediately convey customer preferences to the manufacturer who is able to use advanced rapid proto typing, high speed machining and laser based manufacturing technology together with automated information data capture technologies to produce and supply customised products. Overall lead time for delivery of customised product/service being measured in days and not weeks or months.

Project Partners:
Technology Innovation Centre
CERAM
Technical Specialist: DeskArtes Oy
Technical Specialist: VTT Research Institute Finland
Evaluator: DDC Technologies Ltd.
SME Collaborators: Alfred Terry Ltd.
Andra Jewels Ltd.
R. Platnauer Ltd.
J.A. & O.M. Tait Ltd.

Need:
The DTI’s Analysis of the Competitiveness of the UK Jewellery Industry, published in 2002, highlighted the need to integrate design with manufacture and identified low productivity as a major problem. Primary causes of low productivity being:

• The lack of strategic thought being given to value-adding strategies
• No growth culture
• Over emphasis on the UK
• Lack of sector leadership and hence of collective action
• Inadequate attention to the consumer
• Staid jewellery retailing sector
• Sector fragmentation

UK volume jewellery manufacturers need to drastically improve their productivity if they are to meet the aspirations of their customers. Major retail clients such as Argos, Littlewoods, Signet (Ernest Jones and H. Samuels), and Beaverbrooks are placing their suppliers under severe price pressure and are increasingly sourcing jewellery from abroad.

Worse still, many UK manufacturers are beginning to feel that the only way to meet such pressures is to themselves source from China, India and the Pacific Rim where labour costs are a fraction of those in the UK. Over three hundred jobs have been lost in the West Midlands alone in the last six months through companies either failing or running down UK factories and switching production to the Far East. The trend is likely to be accelerated by the entry into the UK market of the world’s biggest jewellery retailer, WalMart, via the Asda supermarket chain.

Solution:
The project will provide a generic action plan outlining the technical developments and support required to unlock the potential for ICT convergent technologies to achieve widespread improvement in customer oriented product innovation and disintermediation of the supply chain. Investigations will be focused on the Jewellery & Whiteware sectors and contents of generic action plan disseminated all sub-clusters within the West Midlands HVCP cluster (including Furniture, Glass & Leather). ICT convergent technologies have the potential to revolutionise many other design lead supply chains. HVCP cluster needs analysis estimates that in the West Midlands region there are at least 3,440 businesses employing 57,300 people.

Benefits:
The main positive impacts of implementing advanced ICT-based systems based on an e-commerce business model have been on improving relationships with customers and suppliers (over one-half of respondents) and service provision (one-quarter). Jewellery companies are increasingly using e-mail to communicate with retailers, as well as exchanging design ideas via data files. The impact of e-commerce on financial measures has been limited perhaps linked to the level of adoption across the sector. A significant majority of firms (between two-thirds and three-quarters) do not believe that e-commerce has had a major impact to date on turnover, costs or profits. This appears to be due to a lack of understanding of the potential benefits of implementing e-commerce and other convergent ICT technologies. They are also aware that foreign and domestic competitors can potentially cheaply replicate successful designs from digital images and or CAD files which continue to act as a barrier to acceptance. However, there are examples of companies such as R. Platnauer Ltd, Ortek and Wedgwood who have well developed ICT strategies and have achieved significant improvements in productivity and competitiveness and who are seeking support to move forward with further investments and supply chain performance via the implementation of integrated ICT technology.