SME business
strategy development

We help bring direction, clarity and advancement to SME business strategy development through insights, tools and industry expertise.

Challenging and disruptive business environments demand a considered and robust business strategy, clearly articulated and including realistic plans for implementation. IfM Engage helps equip SMEs for the future and to accomplish sustainable profit and growth.

We help bring direction, clarity and advancement to SME business strategy development through insights, tools and industry expertise.

Challenging and disruptive business environments demand a considered and robust business strategy, clearly articulated and including realistic plans for implementation. IfM Engage helps equip SMEs for the future and to accomplish sustainable profit and growth.

HOW WE CAN HELP

Through extensive work with SMEs, we have developed a fast and effective approach to business strategy development and ongoing review.

Company diagnostic assessment

This tool helps your company to quickly, yet thoroughly, assess the business, agree priorities and establish a plan to build the necessary capabilities.

Business strategy development

This highly collaborative four-step approach consists of a series of structured yet creative workshops that will generate and review ideas identifying clear strategic options for your business. The process allows you to take shared ownership and get commitment to the direction the company should take from key stakeholders involved in each workshop. Finally this leads to the definition and prioritisation of the projects needed to put the strategy into practice.

Business strategy review

Whether a change in circumstance (internal or external) threatens your company’s ambitions for growth, or you simply want a highly collaborative way to review or refresh your business strategy, this approach introduces roadmapping approaches and portfolio management tools to review and explore your capacity to grow, and to help you identify your best market opportunities.

These highly-collaborative workshop approaches will help you to:

  • Develop a clear vision for the future of the business.
    • Create a shared understanding of which markets and product groups to focus on.
      • Clarify your competitive position within those markets.
        • Pull together the key elements of your strategic landscape to illustrate the short-medium and long term view including a range of perspectives on the why, what, how and when.
        • Develop a prioritised set of capability development projects.
          • Create a tailored framework for exploring further business development and growth.
            • Develop realistic roadmaps for the realisation of these most attractive opportunities
              • Build these tools and techniques into your ongoing strategy development cycle for future use
              • Develop a clear vision for the future of the business.
                • Create a shared understanding of which markets and product groups to focus on.
                  • Clarify your competitive position within those markets.
                    • Pull together the key elements of your strategic landscape to illustrate the short-medium and long term view including a range of perspectives on the why, what, how and when.
                      • Develop a prioritised set of capability development projects.
                        • Create a tailored framework for exploring further business development and growth.
                          • Develop realistic roadmaps for the realisation of these most attractive opportunities.
                            • Build these tools and techniques into your ongoing strategy development cycle for future use.

                            “We were very impressed with how ‘lean’ the entire process was. Very little time taken up at the interview stage, relative to the highly insightful and ‘on the button’ conclusions….I recommend the approach to any (time-strapped) SME, you will be greatly rewarded”

                            Manufacturing SME

                            ENGAGE WITH US

                            IfM SME
                            membership

                            Become a member of a vibrant industrial community and gain access to strategic, technical and innovation expertise from one of the world’s leading centres of manufacturing research and practice. As a member you will collaborate with like-minded industry peers and can access IfM’s leading researchers, practitioners and students.

                            Consultancy
                            services

                            Our global network of SME experts combine the latest insights with senior level industry experience. We take a collaborative approach and understand our client’s individual objectives and draw from research, world class tools and industrial knowledge to empower impactful decisions and action.

                            Funded programmes
                            and development

                            We provide prioritisation and business strategy consultancy services to SMEs primarily through funded programmes. At the moment these include:

                            Sharing in Growth
                            A UK government-funded programme aimed at developing the capabilities of small and medium-sized suppliers to the aerospace and civil nuclear sectors.

                            ENGAGE WITH US

                            SME membership

                            IfM SME membership

                            Become a member of a vibrant industrial community and gain access to strategic, technical and innovation expertise from one of the world’s leading centres of manufacturing research and practice. As a member you will collaborate with like-minded industry peers and can access IfM’s leading researchers, practitioners and students.

                            Consultancy services

                            Consultancy services

                            Our global network of SME experts combine the latest insights with senior level industry experience. We take a collaborative approach and understand our client’s individual objectives and draw from research, world class tools and industrial knowledge to empower impactful decisions and action.

                            Funded programmes and development

                            We provide prioritisation and business strategy consultancy services to SMEs primarily through funded programmes. At the moment these include:

                            Sharing in Growth
                            A UK government-funded programme aimed at developing the capabilities of small and medium-sized suppliers to the aerospace and civil nuclear sectors.

                            HOW THIS SOLUTION WAS DEVELOPED

                            The IfM’s Business Strategy tools are developed through research conducted at the Centre for Strategy and Performance and the Centre for Technology Management at the Institute for Manufacturing.

                            HOW THIS SOLUTION WAS DEVELOPED

                            The IfM’s Business Strategy tools are developed through research conducted at the Centre for Strategy and Performance and the Centre for Technology Management at the Institute for Manufacturing.

                            FEATURED EXPERTS

                            Nick Sullivan

                            Industrial Associate

                            Liz Salter

                            Industrial Associate

                            Andi Jones

                            Industrial Associate

                            Duncan Hurlstone

                            Industrial Associate

                            GET IN TOUCH

                            If you are an SME or a funding body and you would like to find out more about our SME business strategy workshops contact us.

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