Columnist

South Yorkshire bakery adopts digital strategies following leadership and management training

White’s Bakery, based in Worsborough Bridge, Barnsley, is set to embark on an exciting new era, with ambitious growth aspirations, following an intensive programme of strategic planning through Made Smarter and training through South Yorkshire Skills Bank.

The bakery, which manufactures cookies, mainly for schools, retailers, hospitality and wholesalers, was heavily impacted by the Covid lockdowns and closure of schools and businesses. Around this time, the fourth generation of the family had taken up key managerial positions and Enterprising Barnsley recommended they applied for Made Smarter, which had released £1.5m funding for manufacturers in the Yorkshire region.

White’s Bakery was able to take advantage of Leadership and Management coaching and Strategic/Digital Roadmapping through Made Smarter, which has helped the next generation of White family members to incorporate technologies in lean, digital and net zero into the business.

Made Smarter is now launching the Leading Digital Transformation course in South Yorkshire, which is part-funded by Made Smarter and will help SME manufacturers to deliver digital transformational change more effectively.

This course, which has been designed and will be delivered by expert practitioner-academics from Sheffield Hallam University’s Sheffield Business School will give you the skills, confidence and motivation to implement successful digital strategies across your business to enhance productivity, sustainability, excellence and customer satisfaction.

The course includes:

• 10 developmental workshops over 12 weeks (six online and four face-to-face)
• 40 hours of specialist change leadership training
• Courses running between September 2023 and February 2025.

Benefits

• By investing in your development on this course you will accelerate and de-risk the implementation of digital technology in your manufacturing firm
• You will create a tailored plan to transform your current operations into a new, digitally-enhanced and more productive operation
• You will be expertly tutored by practitioner-academics from Sheffield Business School
• You will build a close network of like-minded leaders and industry peers for sharing experiences, mutual support and encouragement
• 50% of the training is funded by Made Smarter you only pay £1,250.

Through Made Smarter, White’s Bakery received intensive technical support to formulate a strategic plan to grow the sales of its products throughout the UK and double turnover over the next three years. The strategy includes analysing future personnel and skills requirements and finance required to support the introduction of further automation. The company’s exciting plans also involve relocation to new, larger premises and the opportunity to incorporate digital technologies to improve productivity and reduce costs on this site.

White’s Production Manager also received Green Belt training through South Yorkshire Skills Bank programme to enable the company to move towards net zero with plans for new energy efficient ovens and electric vehicles.

In recent months, following the involvement of Made Smarter, the business has recovered to pre-Covid levels with increased profitability and sales are now on track to surpass £3m this year.

David White, Managing Director of White’s Bakery, explains: “Following the lockdown, we decided to embark on the Made Smarter programme to enable us to gear back up and put a plan in place for future growth. The coaching programme has given us the tools to become a leaner, more productive business and the Skills Bank training we have had in the use of digital and greener technologies will help to make us a stronger business for the future.”

Limited spaces are available with locations across South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, York & North Yorkshire, and East Yorkshire.

Express your interest in the Leadership & Management training and apply for the course here

Find out more about the Made Smarter and register your details at madesmarter.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by SYMCA .