Industrial production floor for bench manufacture

Route to market

Build it all ourselves, or borrow a manufacturer's capacity and approvals

Neither answer is obviously right, so the platform scores both. In-house keeps every pound of margin and every job in Manchester. A co-branded joint venture buys capacity, approved-supplier status and national distribution on day one, at roughly half the unit margin. The hybrid keeps the story and rents the capacity.

The trade-off in numbers

Estimated: modelled at year-3 capacity

Margin gap per unit, in-house vs JV

Estimated

Estimated: what a co-brand costs us on every bench it sells

Capacity gap, year 3

Estimated

Estimated: units per year a partner can build that our own line cannot

Manchester jobs, in-house

Estimated

Estimated: direct line, refurbishment, moulding, assembly and logistics roles

Manchester jobs, JV only

Estimated

Estimated: design, materials and impact roles only if the partner builds

Candidate manufacturers

Fit scored on material overlap, capacity and procurement access

No records

Execution model per candidate partner

Revenue share, capacity, unit economics, IP and brand split, and timeline risk at your chosen annual volume

Annual demand modelled

900 units

Estimated model

Estimated: JV gross to us = (JV price − JV COGS) x our revenue share x units, capped by the partner's dedicated line capacity. In-house gross = (our price − our COGS) x units, capped by our own Manchester capacity at that phase. Where demand exceeds our capacity the JV column wins on volume even at half the unit margin, that crossover is the whole decision.

No records

How the decision actually gets made

Sequenced, not guessed

Step 1

Pilot on our own line

The first 150 units are built in Manchester regardless of route: it proves the material spec, the generation figures and the circular story that any partner would be buying into.

Step 2

Take the dataset to two manufacturers

With metered performance and a live public-realm reference, a co-brand becomes a supply conversation rather than a pitch, and the margin split negotiates from evidence.

Step 3

Let the pipeline choose

If Tier 1 demand fills our own capacity, in-house wins on margin. If Tier 2 and 3 frameworks land first, the partner's approvals and capacity are worth the margin share.

Specified route to market parameters

The procurement thresholds and award routes each order size is scoped against.

Designated centres per borough

Value in use: 160 designated town and district centres across the ten Greater Manchester authorities
Method: Counted from the adopted local plan and Places for Everyone centre designations for each authority, held as a fixed constant behind the procurement model.
If it moves: A ten centre counting difference moves programme order value by about 6 percent at six benches per centre.

Route into borough public-realm procurement

Value in use: Under 30k GBP: direct award against borough highways minor works. 30k to 213k: three-quote mini competition. Above that: ESPO furniture framework or a GM dynamic purchasing entry.
Method: Mapped from standard English local-authority contract standing orders and the thresholds boroughs apply to street furniture, then matched to the pilot and programme order sizes we actually quote.
If it moves: A borough that insists on full framework entry adds roughly four months, which is why the first order is scoped below the direct-award ceiling.

Parameter	Value in use	Method	If it moves
Designated centres per borough	160 designated town and district centres across the ten Greater Manchester authorities	Counted from the adopted local plan and Places for Everyone centre designations for each authority, held as a fixed constant behind the procurement model.	A ten centre counting difference moves programme order value by about 6 percent at six benches per centre.
Route into borough public-realm procurement	Under 30k GBP: direct award against borough highways minor works. 30k to 213k: three-quote mini competition. Above that: ESPO furniture framework or a GM dynamic purchasing entry.	Mapped from standard English local-authority contract standing orders and the thresholds boroughs apply to street furniture, then matched to the pilot and programme order sizes we actually quote.	A borough that insists on full framework entry adds roughly four months, which is why the first order is scoped below the direct-award ceiling.

Modelled