In a political climate where “industrial strategy” is too often reduced to a slogan, the Advanced Digital Manufacturing Centre (ADMC) stands out as a rare and practical example of what good policymaking looks like. It is place-based, business-led, academically informed and focused squarely on unlocking productivity, the one metric that ultimately determines whether the UK can compete globally.
At the heart of the ADMC’s approach is collaboration. National and regional policymakers are beginning to rediscover something that the East Midlands has quietly understood for decades: when government, industry and academia work side by side, innovation accelerates. This is particularly true in logistics and warehousing, sectors that are both ubiquitous and often overlooked. Warehousing underpins every supply chain, contributes billions to the economy, and (if properly supported) can become a powerhouse of skilled employment, automation and clean energy.
The East Midlands already punches well above its weight as the heart of UK warehousing, with an exceptionally high concentration of logistics real estate and a deep reservoir of operational expertise. But the sector’s challenges are real and intensifying: rising costs, labour shortages and energy volatility consistently come out as the top three pressures for businesses. Solving these issues requires more than isolated interventions or short-term grants. It demands a coherent, evidence-based, collaborative strategy.
That is where the ADMC can excel. By convening innovators, manufacturers, researchers and logistics operators around a shared mission, it should create the conditions for genuine transformation. Consider warehouse automation, an area where global investment is booming, and where the UK has both strong adopters and strong demand. Automation technologies are diverse, from high-end robotics to retrofittable cobots, and each one capable of improving safety, competitiveness and productivity when deployed effectively . But adoption is uneven, and many firms lack the confidence or capability to start. An institution like the ADMC can bridge that gap. It provides a sandbox for experimentation, a neutral space for testing, and a pathway for SMEs to scale innovations that would otherwise remain locked behind capital barriers.
Crucially, productivity gains from automation only materialise when the power supply is future-proofed, a point that warehouse operators know all too well. Through UKWA’s Solar Toolkit, we have shown how rooftop solar, batteries and smart-grid solutions can reduce costs and support electrification at scale. Integrating renewable energy and intelligent demand management into industrial strategy isn’t just good for decarbonisation, it’s essential for unlocking the next decade of automated capability. The ADMC’s cross-sector partnership model is exactly the right platform to advance this agenda.
If the UK wants a modern, competitive, digitally enabled industrial base, this is the blueprint. Support regional clusters. Convene business and academia. Focus on real-world productivity. And back the organisations like the ADMC, that already know how to make collaboration work. This is industrial policy at its best: practical, focused, and rooted in the places that drive our economy forward.
Clare Bottle
UKWA, CEO
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