UK engineering & manufacturing
Guides for UK manufacturers and defence suppliers
British manufacturers are being asked for more than a good price: traceable parts, secure data, the right certificates and licences, and paperwork that stands up to scrutiny. These guides explain the rules and processes behind those requests, step by step, and name the authority that decides each one.
Winning defence work
How to become an MOD supplier
Registering on the Defence Sourcing Portal and Find a Tender, and the steps before a first bid.
Read the guide →Selling into the defence supply chain
Working with prime contractors: pre-qualification, first article, flow-down terms and security.
Read the guide →The Procurement Act 2023 for suppliers
The central digital platform, new procedures, exclusions and the rules for defence contracts.
Read the guide →JOSCAR registration
How shared supplier pre-qualification works for aerospace and defence buyers, and what to prepare.
Read the guide →DEFCON 658 and defence cyber
Cyber Risk Profiles, Def Stan 05-138, Defence Cyber Certification levels and Cyber Essentials.
Read the guide →Export controls
Classifying goods on the control lists
How the UK Strategic Export Control Lists are organised, and a method for finding the rating.
Read the guide →OGEL vs SIEL
Open general and standard individual export licences compared, with registration and record-keeping.
Read the guide →AUKUS and export controls
The US and UK changes that ease defence trade between AUKUS partners, and what still needs a licence.
Read the guide →Products, quality and regulation
UKCA marking for manufacturers
When UKCA or CE applies in Great Britain, the sectors with their own rules, and the steps to conformity.
Read the guide →AS9100 certification in the UK
The aerospace quality standard: audits, OASIS, AS9120 and AS9110, and the move to IA9100.
Read the guide →UK drone class marks
UK0 to UK6 for manufacturers, importers and distributors, and the 2028 conformity change.
Read the guide →Space industry licensing
How the CAA licenses spaceports and launch, and what that means for suppliers.
Read the guide →Trade, supply chains and people
Digital trade documents
The Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023: when an electronic bill of lading counts as the real thing.
Read the guide →Modern slavery statements
Who must publish under section 54, what to include, and how manufacturers map supply chain risk.
Read the guide →Hiring engineers in the UK
Checking Engineering Council registration, right to work, Skilled Worker sponsorship and vetting.
Read the guide →Where to start
- New to defence? Read how to become an MOD supplier, then the cyber requirements, because they take longest to put in place.
- Exporting for the first time? Classify first, then choose a licence.
- Selling a new product in Great Britain? Start with the marking rules for its sector.
- Preparing for a customer audit? Check your quality certificate's scope and your traceability records.
Traceability is the common thread
Each topic comes back to the same question: can you show where something came from, who handled it, and what happened to it along the way? A defence prime asking about part provenance, a bank relying on an electronic bill of lading and an auditor checking a first article all want the same kind of record.
That record is what Cargovate for manufacturers is built to keep, including serial and lot genealogy and a custody chain for goods in transit. Cargovate is a Vexidus Corporation company, as is this site.
How to use the guides
Each guide explains how the process works and names the authority that decides it. None of them is legal advice. Use them to prepare better questions for the regulator, your customer or your adviser. Each page shows the date it was last reviewed. For leading engineering teams in the AI era, see our sister guide Engineering Lead.