MANOJ KABRE, MEMBER, EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD (EAB)
You get what you pay for in life. A very bizarre phrase but very true, almost 99.9% (if not 100%) of the time. Having been a globetrotter, I have had multiple chances of experiencing this phrase to assess comparative quality of items and people with an additional opportunity of benchmarking them. It all relates to ‘value for money’, not just for us as users of the commodity or service, but also for the manufacturer. If he does not pay enough, he sacrifices on his incoming quality as well, thereby affecting the quality of his output.
The world has become digital as people and businesses are now able to interconnect more seamlessly using technologies. It is hard to predict and defend. Therefore, businesses need to start building sustainable competitiveness and flexibility in order to react fast and reap benefits as the first mover to gain an upper hand in competition. We have the benefit of leapfrogging technologies around us.
In their attempts to become future ready, many businesses have IT as the key business driver across diverse sectors, which is creating systems that promise to make them future-proof. While on the one hand robots are being used, on the other hand, companies are putting devices like tablets to new and innovative uses, empowering their sales force — be it pharma, FMCG, banks or even the online marketplace.
For instance, if IT is enhanced one minute faster, three more cars will get produced every minute, in a typical passenger car production line. IT can support both the top line and the bottom line. The four ways that technologies can make work smarter and better are SMAC — Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud Computing. As a result, digital technology is becoming all-pervasive in the supply chain. Real-time information helps improve inventory turns, helps rescue capital engagement and enables faster cycle times.
According to one of the KPMG reports, manufacturers are rethinking their product development strategy and are increasingly focused on enhanced spending, shifting towards breakthrough innovation objectives and exploring new collaborative business models to create competitive advantage. Ask a manufacturer to identify their biggest supply chain challenge and you’ll more than likely hear the word visibility. But to achieve greater visibility, organisations will need to improve the integration of their supply chain by deeper penetration of IT. There is a need to utilise technology and build trust to create better visibility and transparency across the supply chain. The global industry stakeholders need to address the ‘disruptive complexity’ caused by the accelerating pace of change, advances in manufacturing process, material science, decision support tools and breakthrough innovation.
India has 65% of its population below 35 years of age. Prime Minister Modi has focused on good and effective governance. Making progress a national participative mass movement, he has launched a website www.Mygov.nic.in, to invite worldwide suggestions and engagement.
Being genuinely contrite about the current manufacturing disproportion in the country’s GDP, he has launched a “Make in India” campaign to encourage manufacturing in India. He has launched a 3D campaign — Democracy, Demographic dividend and Demand.
Corporate Japan is reporting record profits again, as thriving companies in pedestrian industries like parts and materials help make up for the lagging fortunes of the ones who used to be hot-makers of consumer goods. After having lost its competitive advantage in consumer electronics, Japan has begun going up the value chain focusing on high-end materials and high-value parts.
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