Bentley Flying Spur

Have You Ever Felt Your Industry's Supply Chain Just Isn't Good Enough?

Oct. 9, 2013
According to Bentley's Wolfgang Schreiber, there aren’t enough skilled workers available to fill all the high-tech jobs the UK auto industry now requires. He's calling for policies that will support the creation of technical schools and colleges offering training in much-needed skills.

They must have more confidence in the government in the UK than we do in the US. That’s one conclusion to draw from recent comments by Wolfgang Schreiber, chief executive of Bentley Motors, the high-end luxury automaker, where he basically asked for the British government to lend a helping hand to the auto industry.

Speaking to Louise Armitstead, a reporter with the UK newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, Schreiber said, rather matter-of-factly, “The supply chain here in the UK is not good enough for being robust enough for the future.” By the supply chain, he’s talking specifically about “less sophisticated areas, like making basic metal parts, sealants, rubber parts.” (Read the full story at Telegraph.co.uk.)

Part of Schreiber’s lament is a familiar one to US manufacturers: There aren’t enough skilled workers available to fill all the high-tech jobs the auto industry now requires (mechatronics, for instance). And his call for policies that support the creation of technical schools and colleges that would offer training in these much-needed skills makes sense, too.

But meanwhile, Bentley saw third-quarter sales grow by 9%, enjoyed a 22% jump in annual sales last year and is looking at another double-digit-percentage growth this year, and that’s on top of the company having recently introduced a new luxury car for the Chinese market. If ever there was a company that you’d think would be able to champion the ability of private enterprises to develop their own talent, funded from their own resources, Bentley would seem to fit that model.

To his credit, though, Schreiber is very much a stickler for “Made in England” production, as this Daily Telegraph sidebar points out. When Volkswagen, Bentley’s parent company, wanted to offshore production of a new SUV to Slovakia, Schreiber said, no. “I knew that our customers want a real Bentley, and a real Bentley comes from the UK, from Crewe, made by our people here.” So at least you get the sense that he supports his local supply chain… he’d just like the government to kick in a little bit more, too.

About the Author

Dave Blanchard | Senior Director of Content

Focus: Supply Chain

Call: (941) 208-4370

Follow on Twitter @SupplyChainDave

During his career Dave Blanchard has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. He also serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2010), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its second edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

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