Babcock launches SME Defence Charter to improve relationship with industry

Babcock International launched a new SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) Defence Charter designed to “enable, reshape, and accelerate” its relationships with smaller players in the UK defence sector on 16 March. 

The charter outlines 10 commitments and actions which Babcock will follow. The company says these are “practical, transparent, and measurable”.   

When DSEI Gateway asked Babcock about the timeline for the implementation of the charter, the company did not dislose any specific dates; however, they drew attention to a set of meet-the-buyer events planned for the coming year. 

The charter itself follows a report published with the University of Exeter in January which stated that “SME potential remains under-utilised in the defence ecosystem”, due to  the following blockers:  

• Complex procurement bureaucracy with both defence ministries and primes 
• Percieved gatekeeping by primes, rather than effective partnerships 
• Bottlenecks in attempting to access private finance 
• Fierce competition for talent 
• Outdated and siloed Ministry of Defence (MoD) digital infrastructure 

The charter aims to help address some of these blockers, such as improving prime-SME engagement. In answering this, Babcock  will make points of contact more visible, including through a “single digital interface”.  

Additionally, Babcock will actively scout for SMEs with “novel sovereign capabilities” and attempt to match them with relevant problem statements.  

Another key commitment outlined in the charter is ensuring  greater transparency around Babcock’s critera for selecting solutions. Decisions will now be based on challenge-led processes (much like the MoD is starting to adopt) and dependent on agility, merit, and outcomes.  

When it comes to contracting, the company will use simplified contracts for partnerships, engendering proportionate liability for risks, and maintaining protections around intellectual property.  

It will also ensure that contract funds are paid promptly to ease the cashflow issues faced more acutely by younger, smaller suppliers. As a result, Babcock will aim to pay 95% of invoices within 30 days, with the company highlighting progress in this area to DSEI Gateway. 

Beyond this, the company will look to provide digital and physical testing environments to reduce the costs faced by SMEs during testing in a secure setting. 

The charter’s other notable commitments are based around the building and scaling of SME companies, helping them with skills and training through targetting mentoring, and by piloting financial support mechanisms.  

Finally, the company  will aim to keep accountable by publicly tracking progress on these areas; however, it has not explicitly outlined metrics for most of these, at this stage.