Lucy Cross, a Digital Transformation specialist, will open the first few minutes explaining what the Made Smarter programme is. After, James Black from WMG will make his presentation covering the challenges and opportunities for AI adoption in small manufacturing businesses, introducing WMG’s insights, methodologies and benchmarks alongside real-world examples of how WMG is working with small manufacturers to accelerate AI adoption.
James Black is Principal Engineer for Business Transformation at WMG, leading a team of industry experts to help small and medium-sized manufacturers make big changes. He heads WMG’s Clean Transport Accelerator, a collaboration with NatWest, and WMG’s strand of the Supply Chain Transition programme, funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority. James is passionate about leveraging WMG’s industrially relevant research to drive real-world impact in manufacturing.
With over 13 years of experience guiding businesses from startup through to strategic growth mapping and planning for established SMEs, Lucy has worked across various sectors within the business ecosystem. This extensive experience now enables them to collaborate with ambitious SMEs focused on accelerating their growth by adopting new technologies as part of their digitalisation journey.