Digitalisation and smart manufacturing: The way ahead to a sustainable India

The integration and interplay of product lifecycle management, factory automation and digitalisation will be key to the future of manufacturing, says Ashish Bhat

Throughout industrial history, at the core of any thriving economy has been a flourishing manufacturing sector. Manufacturing industry in India has gone through various phases of development over the period of time and promises to be one of the high growth sectors in the coming years.

The government’s Make in India campaign aimed at facilitating investments, encouraging innovation and building high-class manufacturing infrastructure is expected to boost manufacturing activities in key sectors. India’s manufacturers have a golden opportunity to emerge from the shadow of the service sector and join the global league of manufacturing giants. The manufacturing sector has the potential to grow six fold by 2025 up to $ 1 trillion, creating up to 90 million jobs in the process.

 

Manufacturers have focused on innovation since the first assembly line was established. Every manufacturer understands that the primary way to differentiate its products is to deliver more customer-focused innovation than the competition. We have talked about best practices, but we really need to think in terms of next practices.

The reality of fast-moving markets and changing economic conditions has resulted in an increased emphasis on flexibility in both product and process. Modular and network approaches to development and manufacturing have become the norm. An increasing proportion of the overall innovation in a product will come from the interaction between product and process components. The integration and interplay of product lifecycle management (PLM), factory automation and digitalisation will be key to this progress which forms the basis of Industrie 4.0, or the future of manufacturing.

Industrie 4.0 will result in new ways of creating value and novel business models. It will transform the design, manufacture, operation and service of products and production systems. Connectivity and interaction among parts, machines, and humans will make production systems as much as 30 percent faster and 25 percent more efficient and elevate customization to new levels. Digitalisation will majorly impact and redefine the ‘productivity’ criteria and measure owing to digital real-time supply chain, digital product definition and digitally crafted and run production lines.

Ashish Bhat, executive VP and head, Digital Factory, Siemens India

As the world is moving towards industry 4.0, India will also have to move with it if Make in India has to succeed. This will mean that we have to adopt and adapt new technologies not only in our manufacturing but right through our supply chains. For those of you who are curious about the future of manufacturing, let me share with you an example of an electronic plant in Amberg (Germany). The main elements of a digital factory are already installed in this electronics plant today. Products communicate with machines and all processes are optimised for IT control, resulting in a minimal failure rate. The products control their own manufacture by means of a product code, which tells the machines their requirements, and which production steps are required next.

Given the above global manufacturing scenario; a growing domestic market; and relatively high manufacturing cost competitiveness, India should be the logical location choice for manufacturing companies. The Indian business world has to therefore begin a reorientation process by focusing on the production of complex goods with greater value-add through ‘world factories’. Adoptions of advanced manufacturing technologies will be vital to gain competitiveness in cost, speed, innovation and quality. Relevant investments also need to be made in skill and technology development as well as R&D facilities to develop the local market.

Indian manufacturers have the unique opportunity to blend the availability of advanced manufacturing technologies with low cost labour to create extra-ordinary competitive advantage. Automation, digitisation and digitalisation will needs to grow at a phenomenal rate to boost the manufacturing sector and the economy.
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Ashish Bhat is executive vice president and head, Digital Factory, Siemens India