Tatton Consulting

SMART

Digital Sandwich – details of Tatton’s £10m project

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Developing a modular value chain platform utilising DLT, IoT and AI to encourage a step change in manufacturing productivity, consumer safety, financing and trust within the food supply chain.

To demonstrate the benefits and value of the digitalisation of the food supply chain, the Digital Sandwich project will create an open multi-party software platform connecting organisations across the ready made food supply and value chain – from primary production to retail.  Ultimately, the demonstrator created by the project will be accessible to thousands of SMEs in the UK’s food supply chain for whom the technology would previously be out of reach.

Led by Raynor Foods, a leading UK sandwich maker, the Digital Sandwich project will exploit advanced digital technologies to revolutionise the UK’s supply chain for ready made food. This world first project is a cross-sector collaboration of manufacturers, food industry partners, industrial digital technology suppliers, universities, and trade and governmental organisations.

Some of the key priorities for the future of supply chains include:

  • Collaboration and sharing information to help reduce the negative impacts of shocks and strengthen supply chain adaptability, flexibility and resiliency in the long run.
  • Increased transparency and visibility to monitor the flow of products, money and information across the entire supply chain, delivering a virtual audit and end to end continuous assurance capabilities.
  • Supply chain optimisation, including artificial intelligence (AI) models to optimise supply chain inventory, improve services and reduce waste. Additionally this will lead to the standardisation of commercial terms, financing and settlement enabling the complete automation of data across supply chains.

As well as the benefits of reducing food waste by 10%, increasing productivity by 10% and significantly reducing the cost of capital and inventory for producers and retailers, consumers will benefit from the increased safety and traceability of ready-made food, improving public health and public trust in the food supply chain.

Innovate UK Smart Grants: October 2021 launched

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UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £25million for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy. This funding is from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.

Your proposal must demonstrate:

  • a clear game-changing, innovative, disruptive, and ambitious idea leading to new products, processes or services
  • an idea that is significantly ahead of others in the field, set for rapid commercialisation
  • a strong and deliverable business plan that addresses (and documents) market potential and needs
  • a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver significant economic impact, return on investment (ROI) and growth through commercialisation, as soon as possible after project completion
  • a team, business arrangement or working structure with the necessary skills and experience to run and complete the project successfully and on time
  • awareness of all the main risks the project will face (including contractor or equipment failure, recruitment delays, etc) with realistic management, mitigation and impact minimisation plans for each risk
  • clear, considerable potential to significantly impact either or both, the UK economy and productivity in a positive way
  • sound, practical financial plans and timelines that represent good value for money, which will always be a consideration in Innovate UK funding decisions

Specific themes

Your project should:

  • demonstrate realistic, significant potential for global markets
  • take customer and user needs into account to deliver more desirable and useful solutions

Proposals from innovation-based businesses with significant ambition and potential for growth or scale up are welcome.

12 new Innovate UK grants to support your R&D Autumn

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There are plenty of new and recurring grants now open to UK SMEs to support research, development and innovation work in 2022:

Innovate UK Smart Grants: August 2021 – UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £25 million for game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation that can significantly impact the UK economy. This funding is from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.

ISCF digital security by design – software ecosystem development – UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £8 million for projects to work on the development of the DSbD software ecosystem.

Healthy Ageing Challenge – Designed for Ageing – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £14.4million for service-led innovations to support healthy ageing.

SBRI – Digital transformation of Hanoi Metro Line 5, Vietnam – Organisations can apply for a share of £300,000, inclusive of VAT, to deliver feasibility studies to support digital innovation for the Hanoi Metro System in Vietnam.

SBRI Global Rail Export Innovation for Australia, Canada and India – Organisations can apply for a share of £450,000, inclusive of VAT, to support innovation on overseas rail opportunities in Australia, Canada and India.

EUREKA GlobalStars Taiwan digital industrial collaborations – UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £865,000 to develop collaborative innovation projects in partnership with organisations from participating EUREKA members and GlobalStars countries.

Growing Kent and Medway: Collaborative Research and Development – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £2 million for business-focused innovation in the horticultural food supply chain.

Future flight challenge phase 3: strand 2 – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £65 million to develop and demonstrate integrated aviation systems and new vehicle technologies. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Eureka Eurostars 3: call 1 – UK registered SME’s can apply for a share of up to £2.5 million to develop collaborative research in partnership with organisations from participating Eureka Eurostars member countries.

Women in Innovation Awards 2021/22 – Women with exciting, innovative ideas who will inspire others can apply for a £50,000 grant and bespoke business support.

Audience of the Future – Design Foundations 2 – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £800,000 for early-stage, human-centered design projects in creative or immersive experiences.

APC 19: Developing automotive technologies and growing capability – UK businesses can apply for a share of £25 million for late-stage research and development projects that help accelerate the UK towards a net-zero automotive future.

ISCF digital security by design – software ecosystem development – UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £8 million for projects to work on the development of the DSbD software ecosystem.

Healthy Ageing Challenge – Designed for Ageing – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £14.4million for service-led innovations to support healthy ageing.

SBRI – Digital transformation of Hanoi Metro Line 5, Vietnam – Organisations can apply for a share of £300,000, inclusive of VAT, to deliver feasibility studies to support digital innovation for the Hanoi Metro System in Vietnam.

SBRI Global Rail Export Innovation for Australia, Canada and India – Organisations can apply for a share of £450,000, inclusive of VAT, to support innovation on overseas rail opportunities in Australia, Canada and India.

EUREKA GlobalStars Taiwan digital industrial collaborations – UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £865,000 to develop collaborative innovation projects in partnership with organisations from participating EUREKA members and GlobalStars countries.

Growing Kent and Medway: Collaborative Research and Development – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £2 million for business-focused innovation in the horticultural food supply chain.

Future flight challenge phase 3: strand 2 – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £65 million to develop and demonstrate integrated aviation systems and new vehicle technologies. This funding is from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Eureka Eurostars 3: call 1 – UK registered SME’s can apply for a share of up to £2.5 million to develop collaborative research in partnership with organisations from participating Eureka Eurostars member countries.

Women in Innovation Awards 2021/22 – Women with exciting, innovative ideas who will inspire others can apply for a £50,000 grant and bespoke business support.

Audience of the Future – Design Foundations 2 – UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £800,000 for early-stage, human-centered design projects in creative or immersive experiences.

APC 19: Developing automotive technologies and growing capability – UK businesses can apply for a share of £25 million for late-stage research and development projects that help accelerate the UK towards a net-zero automotive future.

Tatton appointed the official Grants Partner of KQ Labs @ The Francis Crick Institute

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Run once a year by the Crick and supported by LifeArc, ten start-ups with the potential to make an impact on global health outcomes have access to unrivalled support and resources.

KQ Labs helps early-stage data-driven health startup founders to validate their ideas and put their startups on a path to receive investment from business angel investors, venture capital and other sources including non-dilutive funding in the form of grants.

The accelerator is called KQ Labs to represent the ‘Knowledge Quarter’ area around the King’s Cross, Euston and Bloomsbury regions of the city. The KQ Labs accelerator represents a unique opportunity to foster a vibrant ecosystem for data-driven health.

The 16-week programme includes funding (£40k) in the form of a convertible loan, weekly workshops with experts tailored to digital health, training in transferable skills, mentoring by a hand-picked network of experts, and discussions with investors and corporates. In addition, the KQ Labs network facilitates access to data (eg from Health Data Research UK or Genomics England) for start-ups that need to validate their technology further. The programme culminates in a Demo Day, when the startups pitch their propositions to potential investors and partners. All selected startup teams have access to a powerful network of global experts in entrepreneurship, health sector expertise, data science and investment strategies.                                                                           

KQ Labs logo

The KQ Labs accelerator programme

  • Specialised investor introductions
  • Introductions to major corporates, especially pharma
  • Mentoring opportunities with a hand-picked network of experts
  • Tailored and customised weekly workshops covering:
    • Data accessibility and ethics
    • Finance and fundraising
    • Customer and market focus
    • Leadership and team building
    • Communications and pitching practice
    • Regulatory requirements
    • Protecting Intellectual Property
    • Corporate legal aspects
    • Market access (UK and international)
    • Scaling
    • Grant funding and writing

Alumni

Find out more about the previous cohorts of KQ Labs start-ups on our alumni page.