Speaking at the recent Subcon show, Andy Brown — divisional team leader at the software specialist Access Group — said reports indicate that many companies are becoming too focused on mitigating disruption from potential trade barriers at the expense of longer-term investment to improve productivity.

“The true objective should be to improve productivity over the longer term in order to increase competitiveness in the context of global markets.

“It is no secret that the UK struggles to compete when it comes to productivity; in 2016, workers in Germany took on average around four hours to produce what UK workers do in five.”

In his presentation Collaboration is Key to Productivity, Mr Brown outlined what is possible today and said that more emphasis should be placed on longer-term thinking to ensure success.

“The Purchasing Managers’ Index hit 55.1 in March, indicating that manufacturers are tying up a lot of capital in stock.

“With this taking over the focus, we’re in danger of missing an opportunity to invest in longer-term strategies to boost productivity.”

He added (www.theaccessgroup.com): “Getting the basics right is key, and that involves improving collaboration and the way information is shared, so that decision-makers can act quickly without having to go through reams of data.

"We are not necessarily talking about mega-investment to create super-futuristic ‘smart factories’, but upgrading how we work and the introduction of technology — often into legacy systems — that enables people to work together better and allows key information to be shared with clarity and in real time.”

Access Group will be publishing a new productivity guide in the coming months.