BLIS has undertaken several projects in collaboration with the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, and local councils. These projects aimed to provide assistance to local businesses and improve their business processes by adopting Information Systems. Assistance was provided through onsite visits, workshops, conferences and courses specifically developed to address their needs and help encourage employment in the region.

Completed Projects

MaGNeT – Manufacturing Global Network

The MaGNet project aims to provide advice and support for eligible Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the North West of England. The project was developed and implemented by the Department of Business Logistics and Information Systems at the University of Bolton. The project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF|) and North West Development Agency (NWDA|).

Project focus

The MaGNET project helps businesses in functional areas and provides assistance to improve business performance by applying state-of-the-art Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Some of the core areas of expertise in the project include:

• e-Business development and the application of ICTs in various business functions
• Supply Chain Management
• Knowledge Management (KM)
• Innovation and optimisation of business process, service and product
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Staircase

The project aims to enable SMEs in the region to produce more competitive products by exploiting existing technology or reducing manufacturing costs by innovation. The project will continue the introduction of new technology by means of partnerships with companies to enable them to repeat the process with less help and support in the future.

CoPSE – Collaborative Partnerships between SMEs

CoPSE is a European Union Funded project that assisted SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) in their supply chain activities. With a budget of £868,000 and a time span of three years, the project assisted one hundred and seven SMEs in the North West of England. Three levels of assistance were provided viz

• Awareness creation of technological development
• Strategy development to improve business
• Assistance provision to implement strategies

It was accomplished by organising workshops, conferences and company visits. As a result, the participating organisations witnessed increased sales, retained customers and saved jobs. This resulted in overall organisational growth. Moreover an array of tools and benchmark reports were developed to assist SMEs in their decision making process.

Advanced e-Skills

Advanced e-Skills is a collaborative project between the European Social Fund and the University of Bolton which provided training for unemployed graduates, individuals threatened with redundancy and individuals interested in furthering their career. The beneficiaries were trained in the latest developments in e-Business and Supply Chain Management to address skills shortages in the North West of England.

At the end of the project, successful beneficiaries were awarded either Master's, Diplomas or Post Graduate Certificates in Business Information Systems. The delivery of the project involved an innovative combination of lectures from experienced academics and consultants, inspiring speeches from Industry Leaders and group activity games to support the theoretical concepts taught in class.