Overcoming the challenges of I4.0 implementation

A Dell official said different sides of the business must partake in the transformation process.

Whilst digitalisation has become a buzzword in enabling transformations in recent years, this comes with the necessary challenges that must be addressed promptly to ensure smooth operations.

Following the rise of Industry 4.0, industry leaders have been discussing different ways businesses can adapt to the rising need to be future-ready with the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) and other digital tools.

In the recently concluded ITAP 2022 held at Singapore EXPO, the theme centred on “Industry 4.0 for Business Sustainability” and invited industry leaders to be part of its panel.

Cecilia Ku, General Manager for Delta Electronics International Singapore, said the company adopted digitisation for all its 69 production line factories across the globe. 

Whilst operations ran smoothly, there were notable disruptions, such as the US trade war and the Ukraine-Russia war. 

The company turned things around by utilising its digitised data to analyse how it can use different technologies like AR and XR. Its engineers assembled the needed pieces of machinery, which then led to the improvement of the overall supply chain.

“In the past, we used our human brains to analyse two-dimensional data or three-dimensional data, but for AI modelling, we can actually [go through various] parameters [using] supplier data supplied to us,” Cecilia said.

Willie Reed, General Manager for Safety Security, Computer Vision, and Industry Edge at Dell Technologies, said that the key to achieving a successful transformation is to have the different sides of the business partake in the entire process.

“I think one of the biggest challenges is just getting access to get out of silos and getting the right people both from the business side, for the factory side, and from the IT side. [The key is to] create the work together to create the model to start the process,” William said.

Jonathan Tan, Planning & Logistics Manager in the Global Supply Chain for GlaxoSmithKline, echoed this.

“To embark on the digitalization journey, I think the most important thing is whether the initiative that you're driving, how does it align to the business objective and the values,” Jonathan said.

To drive its digital journey forward, GlaxoSmithKline used data-driven analytics in the last three and a half years. The company complemented this with research to address concerns such as improving efficiency and sustainability for the company.

A customer-first mindset

For Joseph Wong, Director, Technology & Transformation in Smart Manufacturing for Fong’s Engineering & Manufacturing Pte Ltd., having a customer-centric transformation continues to be the key factor for a successful transition into becoming Industry 4.0 compliant.

“I would say, being bigger SMEs, doing digital transformations, is a big undertaking. So right in the centre of the equation, when we executed our transformation journey in 2018, the most important thing that we had in mind was to be customer-centric. When we do transformations, we must add value to customers,” Joseph said.

“Are you going to disrupt my delivery? Are you going to affect my quality? Are you going to increase my costs or destroy costs?” he added, sharing some woes that customers might have whenever a business transition and go through transformation journeys.

Prashasta Kumar, Senior Director of Emerson Automation Solutions Singapore, said the main takeaway is that a successful transformation requires collaboration between the company and its customers.

“The space is evolving so fast… There's a new evolution, new technology which comes in. How do you make sure that whatever you invest in [will lead to] embarking on the next technology?” Prashasta said.

“So I think all these challenges [centre on] real customers. That's where a collaboration, or clusters of collaborations and partnerships between the solution provider and the user personas [comes in],” he concluded.