Babcock Australasia (Babcock) is amplifying its push to introduce more Australian suppliers into its international supply chains as part of a Commonwealth initiative to increase the nation’s participation in global defence markets.
Babcock has been chosen as a key Defence prime to join the expanding Global Supply Chain (GSC) Program – which is aimed at creating export opportunities for Australian businesses.
As part of its commitment to putting Australian suppliers front and centre on the global stage, Babcock has established a dedicated GSC delivery team to identify, assess and qualify national suppliers with capability solutions across all Technology Readiness Levels. They will then work with these suppliers to embed, develop, and scale their solutions within Babcock’s international programs.
The team has been strategically recruited in both Australia and the UK to provide continual advocacy at a global level and identify gaps in requirements across international operations that have the potential to be filled by Australian supplier capability, including R&D work, current program enhancement, and bidding activities.
“Australia’s global supply chains are under increasing tension from traditional and geopolitical competition so boosting the number of Australian suppliers supporting defence endeavours and investing in their resilience is critical,” Babcock Australasia Chief Executive Officer Andrew Cridland said.
“Babcock’s global supply chain currently reaches more than 10 countries cross Marine, Aviation, Mission Systems, Nuclear and Land domains and through the GSC Program we will build further depth into the nation’s industrial base creating increased sovereign capability.
“Our approach aims to provide protection and assurance over the pipeline of work for our suppliers, so they can remain viable through the peaks and troughs of domestic contract cycles and thrive long term. Structured supplier development activities and coaching will assist in strengthening our local supply base.”
Industry collaboration is also key to the program’s success. Constructive relationships with new and existing GSC Program participants will help ensure cross-pollination and increase the number of touchpoints suppliers have with prime contractors. This sharing of information will boost exports and reduce duplication of effort.
“By working together we can allocate more suppliers to more work packages and better contribute to key Commonwealth objectives,” Mr Cridland said.
“We look forward to working proactively and cooperatively with Defence, state governments, industry leaders and the other GSC primes to share best practice, supplier contacts and capabilities, and contributing to improved outcomes for the entire industry.”
Since the program was first trialled, participating primes have delivered thousands of contracts to more than 240 Australian suppliers worth over approximately $1.7 billion.
The export initiative is a continuum of the Australian Industry Capability (AIC) Program, whereby AIC builds capability in Australian industry and the GSC Program exports that capability into new markets.
Babcock’s first official engagement under the GSC Program will be a symposium held in Canberra from 23 to 25 July 2024, where its GSC delivery team will meet with other program participants to gain a greater understanding of the expectations and opportunities that exist. This will be followed by a defence industry engagement event later this month to build connections with industry representatives and further refine outcomes.
To discuss how your company can be involved in Babcock’s global supply chain and better understand the capabilities being sought by Babcock, please register your interest via the Babcock Australasia website.