Cyber and supply resilience key for UK industry - survey

PwC’s Reinventing Manufacturing Survey found that cyber security is an urgent priority for 63 per cent of UK manufacturers, with one in five having experienced a cyber attack. Almost half of those surveyed (43 per cent) are investing in application security, firewalls and antivirus precautions, although upskilling cyber security staff is a lower priority in the UK (35 per cent) than for manufacturers elsewhere around the world (43 per cent).

Manufacturing a national economic recovery

The survey also revealed that Covid-19 and Brexit have highlighted supply chain vulnerabilities and have caused many organisations to reconsider their approaches. As a result, demand forecasting (48 per cent) is among the top supply chain priorities in both the short and mid-term for UK industry.

“As the pandemic took hold, manufacturers faced unprecedented disruption revealing some weaknesses in end-to-end activities and an increasing prevalence in cyber attacks,” said Cara Haffey, UK industrial manufacturing and automotive leader at PwC. “When combined with the impact of Brexit, it’s clearly shown just how vital it is for UK manufacturers to embed agility and resilience into their business models - and that they need to act swiftly.