Originally Posted by
Uplinker
If what you say about RR is correct and if RR production is as bad and as inefficient as you say, then it sounds that RR have also had bad CEOs, so perhaps I was right ?
You also say that "Derny", Derby perhaps? are decades out of date, but I was under the impression that RR were still innovators - single crystal turbine blades etc. ?
having spent a fair amount of time with the modernisation team (and quite a few board members) , the amount of 'not done here' within the company is massive. It still consist of tiny fiefdoms. Doing to most simple things takes months, if not years. the CEO can only do so much and you just have to look at the defence and power businesses to see how profitable and well run they are. they cant even provide the most basic of finance functions as everything is tuned to produce engines, but nobody can actually work out how much an actual engine costs in practice. Warren had a huge pile of Post-Its of major issus to eb solved and having a funcioning finance system was not even close to the top of the issues.
The civil aerospace business is completely different. Its massively bloated and full of people who are largely unemployable outside of RR - and getting rid of anyone takes far too long. There is huge duplication. They rely upon multiple UK locations for components - each with their own leadership, supply chain, transport etc etc . It all come together in Derby - which to be fair has had millions spent on it and is getting physically better - but should have consolidated its entire Uk manufacturing chain. But if you take the digital business for example - its housed literally in an old rotten brick building, leaking gutters and utterly unsuitable for a 'digital' company it professes to be. I laughed the first time I visited, as it was so terrible.
RR are undoubtedly innovators - but Derby isnt the only place in town and who in their right mind sets up leading edge digital business in Derby ? they had a succession of leaders, none of whom would make it in silicon fen, let alone valley. Seletar looks, feels and operates like a modern company and cut its ties from Derby years ago - so Derby stayed in the 1970's while Seletar is what you wuld imagine RR to actually be like.
It was one of the previous RR Chairmen who said "RR is a small Derby engineering firm trying to do business internationally' and the mentality is well and truly stuck there.