In the twenty-first century, the world is more connected, and global trade is more globalized than ever before. But, with the expansion of global trade, it has become more complex and difficult to manage which means, to be successful, managing the business and the supply chain needs more time, manpower, and devices. In particular, the manufacturing world is changing now at the fastest pace in recent history and technologies are playing a pivotal role in this transformation. To survive and succeed in a fast-changing world, manufacturers must become more responsive, quicker, and innovative. In short, they need to be smart at anticipating the market landscape and should be able to react in real-time. To deal with the new market scenario, a combination of data, automation, and artificial intelligence is helping manufacturers across the globe to get connected, match the evolving consumer expectations, counter the supply chain disruptions and take advantage of the growth of new technologies. At the shop floor, digital tools have enabled manufacturers to conceptualize the entire manufacturing process in one software platform, helping them to collect and analyze data across the digital production lifecycle. The data help manufacturers to determine in real-time where exactly lies the bottlenecks in the production line or supply chain, which machinery need maintenance, the latest trends in customer choice, how much demand is likely to be there for specific products, and like. New digital manufacturing technologies increase their readiness to increase their productivity and respond rapidly to new customer needs and competitors’ challenges. In brief, digital manufacturing is the result of merging computer-aided design (CAD), and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and creating links between isolated processes which results in the development of more efficient processing by combining cyber-physical capabilities. For example, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) through a series of internet-connected sensors and devices permits clearer visibility of the machine performance on the shop floor using real-time data. Digital tools and advanced manufacturing like Cloud computing, Robotics, and Additive Manufacturing help in performing repetitive jobs and producing unique customized products and components.
Along the same lines, over the last couple of decades, supply chain logistics has transformed from a purely operational function that focused on ensuring the supply of production lines and the delivery to customers, to an independent supply chain management ensuring integrated operations from customers to suppliers. New development like the growth of the rural market worldwide, the emergence of the middle class in Asia and the Pacific, pressure to reduce carbon emissions, as well as the advent of eCommerce, have a profound impact on supply chain management in terms of increased expectations both for quality of the products delivered as well as service expectations. To cope with the vastly changed environment and its requirements, supply chains need to become much faster, details oriented, and more precise.
`There is no one-size-fits-all approach to digital transformation. The route and stages in the journey of transformation will differ for each manufacturer, depending on the size of the business, the availability of its technological infrastructure, and the sector in which it is operating. The pandemic has further accelerated the process of digital manufacturing across the globe, and India is no exception. Companies now understand its importance. India’s manufacturing sector is undergoing a profound transformation with the advent of smart and digital manufacturing technologies. Added to this, the possible realignment of supply chains away from China offers a significant opportunity for India to modernize its manufacturing with digitization. Several advanced technologies are being adopted in the country to revolutionize traditional manufacturing practices to increase productivity and quality. The adoption and application of digital manufacturing is not limited to big industries only. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India are also working to adopt these technologies to stay competitive in the highly competitive global market. However, the digitalization of manufacturing has some fundamental challenges, especially for small units in establishing the system for data collection, acquisition of the appropriate digital tools, additional capital cost, countering cyber security risk, and upskilling the workforce. While India has scientific talent, it lacks the enabling ecosystem to transform innovative ideas into useful realities. TheGovernment of India being aware of the potential of smart manufacturing, has launched several initiatives to create an ecosystem conducive to digital transformation. Smart Advanced Manufacturing and Rapid Transformation Hub (SAMARTH) Udyog Bharat 4.0 is an Industry 4.0 initiative of the Government of India under its scheme on “Enhancement of Competitiveness in Indian Capital Goods Sector” which encompasses manufacturers, vendors, and customers as the main stakeholders and under the scheme, five(5) experiential and demonstration centers for Industry 4.0 is being set up to propagate and support the process of adoption of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing practices by the Indian manufacturing industry. However, the industry too has to gear up to meet the challenge. The manufacturers willing to adopt digital technologies need to invest in upskilling their employees with special skills to manage the complexity of digital manufacturing processes and establish secure data transfer protocols. As production systems become increasingly connected, the risk of cyber-attacks grows.
Digital manufacturing has revolutionized the way products are made and has positively affected the industry by making it more efficient and agile. It has opened up new possibilities for manufacturers as well as customers. They can now get the products they need much quicker. As digital manufacturing technology continues to evolve, businesses can expect even more efficiency. No doubt, digital manufacturing is here to stay.
The need for the adoption of automation has also opened up opportunities for partnership with global leaders in the domain such as the UK. The prevailing gap in the technology in the smart manufacturing sector between the UK, ranked 4th in the Global Innovation Index (GII) and India makes a strong case for technology collaboration between the two countries. To tap the possible collaborations between India and UK, Innovate UK KTN in 2022 commissioned Finovista, India, and Unconventional Connections, UK, to conduct an Innovation Insight Study on Digital Manufacturing and Connected Supply Chains. The study provided a holistic understanding of the potential scale of collaboration between India and the UK. As part of this study, a rapid review of India’s manufacturing sector was initiated to get a broad understanding of its technological status, and the extent of adaptation of automation in the processes. Finovista and Unconventional Connections followed a three-pronged approach to conduct a very rapid, targeted Innovation Insight study. The approach comprises of desk based secondary research, one to one consultations and webinar. Through the methodology, recommendations were formulated and potential areas were explored for collaboration in sectors like Automotive, Defense and Aerospace, Telecom, electronics, healthcare and biotechnology and energy. The key insight from the study include details covering topics like Challenges and barriers to the adoption of digital technologies, supply chain automation, Industrial digital technologies – emerging application areas, Key enablers and opportunities for automation, Sectors with emerging opportunities and research and innovation. For detailed report.
Further, both countries also need to look for complementary strengths both in their academia and industry for finding appropriate low-cost automation solutions, skilling manpower, and advanced manufacturing.