As aerospace production rates continue to rise, manufacturers are under increasing pressure to improve quality, strengthen delivery performance and build the resilience needed to meet customer expectations. Across the UK and international supply chain, operational excellence is becoming a key differentiator, helping businesses move from capability to competitive advantage.
Supporting that journey is the ADS SCS Framework team, including Head of SC21, Steve Collins, and Head of Aero Excellence Sarah Barnard, who leads activity in the UK, US, India and other territories.
While the programmes serve different markets and customer requirements, both share a common goal: helping businesses develop the operational maturity, continuous improvement culture and customer-focused performance that aerospace manufacturers need to succeed.
In this blog we meet the team and explore how SC21 and Aero Excellence are supporting capability development to improve competitiveness.
Steve, Sarah, tell us about SC21 and Aero Excellence…
Steve:
“At their heart, both programmes are about helping companies measure performance and improve the things that matter most to their customers.
SC21 provides a structured framework to strengthen quality, delivery and business performance, while connecting organisations to a community of practitioners and improvement experts who can help them overcome challenges and seize opportunities. One of the strengths of SC21 is its flexibility. Companies can start by completing the free assessment. That’s enough to identify and prioritise opportunities for improvement.
Others choose to take a more strategic route, using the programme’s tools, resources and expert support to drive transformation and work towards Bronze, Silver or Gold recognition. For the many companies achieving their awards, success has come from learning from others, sharing best practice and embedding a culture of continuous improvement across the business.”
Sarah:
“Aero Excellence takes a similar approach to SC21 but through a global lens, directly driven by 26 OEMs across 33 countries.
It provides a common framework that customers and suppliers can use to assess industrial maturity in a consistent way. That creates transparency, helps businesses understand where they are today, and identifies practical opportunities to improve. The standardised assessment is shared across multiple customers, reducing the burden of managing different customer assessments. But ultimately, both programmes support capability development by turning improvement into measurable action.”
Sarah, Aero Excellence has seen significant international growth. How is the programme helping address the ramp-up challenge in aerospace?
Sarah:
“The pace of growth has been remarkable. Recently we’ve had a flurry of onboarding activity and assessments across the United States, with companies such as Honeywell, RTX, Collins Aerospace and others actively engaging with the programme. We’ve also welcomed participation from more countries than ever before.
Today, more than 1,000 trained assessors are supporting 648 supplier sites worldwide. We’ve awarded 91 Bronze awards, and three companies globally have achieved Silver status, two of which are UK manufacturers. That’s a fantastic achievement, but it also demonstrates how challenging the journey is and how much opportunity remains for companies that are committed to continuous improvement.
What’s driving that growth is collaboration. Customers need confidence that suppliers can scale production effectively while maintaining quality, consistency and operational performance. Aero Excellence helps address this by providing a common framework. Rather than every customer asking suppliers to demonstrate capability in different ways, everyone is working from a shared understanding. That allows businesses to avoid duplication and focus more on continuous improvement.”
Steve, SC21 celebrates its 21st year soon. What makes it continue to stand out?
Steve:
“For me, it’s the alignment with customer needs and the strength of community. SC21 has always been about bringing companies together to learn from each other and improve collectively. We were proud to see this recognised at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) Excellence in Procurement Awards, recently. Boeing’s Cluster Training Programme, which uses SC21 as its assessment framework, was Highly Commended in the ‘Best Initiative to Build a Diverse Supply Chain Base’ category. The award demonstrates the value of collaboration and adds to the success of a growing number of SC21 clusters across the UK.
Northern Ireland is another fantastic example. We’ve seen companies working together regionally, sharing knowledge and supporting each other’s improvement journeys. For example, SC21 Gold Award winner RTA is piloting the use of SC21 as a practical supplier development framework to improve quality and delivery performance across its lower-tier suppliers. That’s where SC21 is at its strongest, when the supply chain realises they aren’t tackling challenges alone. The programme provides structure, but often it’s the people and collaboration that create change.”
What are you both looking forward to next?
Sarah:
“I’m excited about helping more companies access Aero Excellence in UK. We’ve already seen incredible momentum since launching a few years ago, but there remains a significant opportunity for UK businesses to engage and become visible within this important global network.
The UK has already produced two of the world’s three Aero Excellence Silver award holders, which is something I’m incredibly proud of. I’d love to see more companies take that first step, build on the expertise they already have and gain recognition for the progress they’re making.”
Steve:
“It’s worth mentioning that Denroy and Hyde, who are the two UK companies achieving Aero Excellence Silver, are also SC21 Gold award holders. That reinforces how the disciplines developed through SC21 can provide a strong foundation for success in global supply chains. Looking ahead, it’s about reaching even more businesses, and helping them unlock the benefits of continuous improvement. It starts with taking our Baseline Maturity Assessment, but my hope is that even more companies will pursue the awards and gain recognition for the progress they’re making.”
One goal, two frameworks
While SC21 and Aero Excellence serve different markets, they share a common purpose: helping manufacturers build stronger businesses through operational excellence, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Whether your focus is strengthening quality and delivery performance in the UK or aligning with global customers, both programmes provide practical routes to building capability and supporting aerospace growth.
Contact the team: scs@adsgroup.org.uk or via the contact form.
