Recently, the UK Government announced trade measures to support domestic steel production, echoing a growing focus on protecting critical national capability. With ambitions for up to 50% of steel used in the UK to be produced domestically, alongside reduced import quotas and tariffs of up to 50% outside those quotas, the direction of travel is clear.
While centred on steel, it highlights a broader reality facing UK manufacturing.
Increasing pressure on global supply chains and ongoing volatility in commodity markets are reinforcing the need for a more balanced approach, where international reach is supported by strong, dependable regional networks.
Balancing Global and Regional Supply
For decades, UK manufacturing has successfully operated within global markets. However, recent geopolitical events have reinforced an important lesson: global reach is strongest when it’s supported by strong regional supply chains.
This has exposed the vulnerability of complex supply chains, alongside the volatility often seen in commodity pricing. Steel markets have experienced estimated increases of between 20–25% in recent days alone.
In response, many UK manufacturers are now reassessing their supply chains and placing greater emphasis on managing them as a strategic priority.
For Dyer Engineering, this starts close to home, with 71% of its suppliers located within a 50-mile radius of its site – a model the company has consciously adopted to better support its teams and clients and mitigate risk where we can.
So how can UK manufacturers take a more considered approach? Dyer Engineering believe it starts with three key operational areas.
More Effective Planning and Forecasting
For many, it should begin with strengthening short and long term planning and forecasting. Greater emphasis should be placed on scenario planning to anticipate potential pressures and cost-to-serve increases before they impact production. A good place to start is by utilising loading and capacity models to manage today’s workload, alongside capacity horizon planning to identify future peaks and troughs. This helps manufacturers plan ahead, balance workloads and avoid bottlenecks before they affect production.
Strong regional supply networks play an important role in enabling this, providing greater visibility and shorter lead times – all of which make planning more accurate and responsive in practice.
Smarter Procurement
Alongside this, there needs to be a greater focus on supplier integration, moving beyond transactional purchasing towards a more joined-up, strategic procurement approach that’s aligned to how the business actually runs. In practice, this means improving visibility of demand, linking procurement more closely with production plans and giving suppliers the right information to support delivery.
This is often easier to achieve within regional supply networks, where shorter lead times and clearer visibility help teams stay on track, respond quicker and keep production moving.
A More Balanced Approach to Sourcing
However, it’s important to remain realistic. Global suppliers will continue to play a critical role, as not everything can or should be sourced locally. The focus should instead be on mitigating risk while maintaining international supply chains.
This starts with taking a more considered approach to sourcing. In practice, this means carrying out regular supply base analysis, reviewing where suppliers are located and how the overall network is structured. This helps identify critical materials and components, while highlighting any over-reliance on a single supplier or geographic region.
Introducing alternative suppliers and developing contingency options can help reduce exposure when disruption occurs.
Looking Ahead
As global markets continue to evolve, regional ecosystems will play an increasingly important role in supporting stability across UK manufacturing.
Futureproofing will define the next phase of the sector. This won’t be achieved by stepping away from global markets, but by strengthening the foundations that support them. Manufacturers that strike this balance are better positioned to adapt to change and continue delivering for clients in an increasingly uncertain world.
