How can businesses digitalise supply chains to meet demand?

The pandemic, as well as geopolitical challenges, have triggered a rise in digitisation across sectors, and manufacturing is no exception. According to a report by Goldman Sachs, manufacturing in India witnessed an increase of 210 percent in FY2022, which clearly highlights the importance of scaling and increasing efficiency in manufacturing in today’s digital era.

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, India is the third most in-demand manufacturing destination in the world and has the potential to export goods worth US $1 trillion by 2030. With emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) disrupting the enterprise technology space across various industries, the manufacturing sector in India is gradually advancing towards an automated and process-oriented industry to yield better results.

In fact, numerous initiatives undertaken by the Government of India, such as the National Manufacturing Policy, aim to increase the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 percent by 2025. Furthermore, the ‘Make in India’ program has been playing a critical role in fostering innovation and enhancing skill development to build the best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure.

Therefore, digital transformation has become a top priority for manufacturers to meet supply demands. However, the opportunities for digitalising supply chains are just the beginning.

Tackling supply chain issues head on

Whilst manufacturers are feeling the effects of labour shortages, more still needs to be done to address this issue-at-large. To do this, manufacturers must first recognise the potential that digitalisation has to offer their sector.

Businesses need to invest in digitalising the entire supply chain to make it more resilient and agile, in order to prepare their businesses for a highly dynamic and constantly changing global economy. Frontline workers can be supported with digital technologies to assist with meeting supply demands. Without the deployment of the right solutions, companies are at risk to be left behind because of failing to act on their full digital potential. So, what more can be done to digitalise the frontline?

Working smart with smart glasses

Manufacturing and logistics workers can be equipped with smart glasses to improve their daily performance working on the shopfloor. Smart glasses work by projecting instructions directly into the workers view, using AR like a head-up display in a car, helping frontline workers with safety and efficiency. Wearing smart glasses also allows the worker to be hands-free for the physical activity with automated documentation of work steps, increasing the workers capacity and productivity.

For instance, smart glasses can assist in the food industry, using artificial intelligence to validate the quality of goods through image recognition. For this the software running on smart glasses compares the actual versus target states of manufactured products, increasing the accuracy of the worker and the outcome for the customer.

Another important application of smart glasses in the food manufacturing industry is by supporting maintaining health and safety standards. The glasses can verify if employees are wearing the mandatory hygiene gloves, improving food and workplace safety.

Smart glasses work to enhance the performance of a frontline worker, increasing capacity, efficiency, and accuracy to meet the supply chain demands of the business.

Deploying AI

Deploying AI for frontline workers is designed to enhance the everyday working lives and regular routines of manufacturing and logistics staff. By deploying AI on the shopfloor, the accuracy and ergonomics of manufacturing and logistics staff will be improved.

Other benefits of deploying artificial intelligence include automation and quality control. AI can automatically alert workers to hazards in the workplace, such as load whereabouts in a warehouse. AI can check and confirm work steps, therefore, improving the working quality control of processes and significantly increase accuracy.

Therefore, deploying AI on the frontline not only improves efficiency for the business, but also increases worker satisfaction and maintains health and safety standards - all of which are important factors for retaining staff in an industry where this is a challenge for businesses.

Futureproofing supply chains with Industry 4.0

By combining both AI and wearable technology to create ‘Augmented Intelligence’, businesses can unleash the full potential of their supply chains and more importantly, their frontline workers. Augmented Intelligence will change business as we know it. With Industry 4.0 driving the future, soon companies worldwide will be using it in various scenarios. Businesses need to ensure they keep up with these new technologies, such as wearables, to safeguard their future production line, mitigate labour shortages, and carry the industry into a new era of digitalisation.

Author: Dr. Hendrik Witt, Chief Product Officer at TeamViewer