Digital in Manufacturing helps in improving agility, building scale process efficiency and accelerating innovation

Saurabh Gupta, Head IT, Domestic Textiles,  Aditya Birla Group

Data is important for transformation, one cannot lead a transformation without getting the basic data in place. What cannot be measured cannot be improved, many companies do not measure the basic data, it has become a chore to collect data and people look at data in a scant manner. There is a massive data available out there that can be collected in a digital world and that is where Blockchain helps us.

 
Digital in manufacturing has many benefits: improving agility, building scale process efficiency, accelerating innovation, improving accuracy, reliability and traceability. IoT platform were used here and data from SAP ERP systems and PLC’s were used. Most manufacturing data and sales data have variability, digital helps to arrow down on that variability. In our business we have witnessed significant increase in productivity of workers and increase in asset utilization by leveraging digital platform in the journey of Industry 4.0, Analytics. 

Digital in manufacturing has delivered a 15% improvement in productivity pit to port, a 60% drop in safety violations and has built a proactive safety culture according to their case studies. Digital tracking helps to identify the people and thus one can take action – Technologies used over here were Machine Learning using Video Analytics.
 

Doing digital for the sake of digital does not work, one must be clear about the problem the person is trying to address through a digital intervention. Ways of working in a digitally led company vs a normal company are very different. Digitally led companies tend to work in terms of projects, in terms of deadlines and agility is crucial. Non digital companies work on yearly target and do not display speed. We have to get dramatically different on the digital journey in Textiles can lead the way.

 
A digital world has many business models on offer for brands – from free services, subscription models, return models etc. what can apply in our industry is about what we can imagine. 

However, strong brands always have a sound profitability model, have a clear role in consumers life and have market power (the eco system needs them). There is no free lunch. In my career, I have looked at advertising gearing; dollars spent on brand vs profit returned by brand, this is a good indicator of how you manage a brand and a portfolio.

 
A digital world has reputations built and unbuilt every 24 hours. Tracking brand commentary digitally tells about the brand trust and affinity.