Indian smart ecosystems will drive global efficiencies

In addition to a global supply chain, global OEMs explore manufacturing opportunities in India considering the cost-effective nature of the country. Indian manufacturers are able to deliver high quality products with uncompromised global quality, feels Rajeev Kaul, MD & CEO, Aequs Aerospace.

India is at the cusp of a digitally connected future. Organizations must realign their strategy and business goals to remain agile to such change. Disruptive technologies will be at the centre of this new transformation and organizations will be able to leverage these technologies to improve their productivity, efficiency and quality.

The industrial automation market in India is worth US$2 billion but the degree of automation depends on the organization. Major manufacturers in the industry are shifting to an automated line or shop floor by phasing out older equipment and upskilling the workforce. They have also deployed Internet of Things (IoT) in various stages to track processes and minimize redundancies. Other technologies such as Flexible Manufacturing System, AI, 3D printing, AR/VR solutions and robotics have also witnessed significant growth in India’s shop floors. Such adoptions help to improve quality of production, reduce lead time, manage dynamic changes in requirements and equip a workforce with digital skills.

Creating smart ecosystems

According to a study by Deloitte Manufacturer’s Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), manufacturers who have invested in smart factories believe that they have been receiving a return on their investment through increased productivity and profit gains. The report further highlights that these manufacturers have seen over 12% increase in labour productivity, 11% increase in factory capacity utilization and 10% increase in total production output.

Smart factories are an amalgamation of these disruptive technologies that connect the physical and digital worlds of a manufacturing company. In order to do this, manufacturers must adopt a smart ecosystem that enables the convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operation Technology (OT), vertical integration of manufacturing systems and end-to-end connectivity across the value chain. Smart factories take automation to the next step and give organizations an edge in their respective industries by creating efficient, agile and flexible processes.

Fulfilling customer expectations through smart ecosystem

With the changing global marketplace, customers now demand world-class products with aggressive deadlines. A smart factory will be well equipped to meet changing customer needs. These ecosystems have already witnessed accelerated levels of productivity. This means, manufacturing processes can now keep up with such short lead times. Besides this, integration of other technologies such as manufacturing automation, robotics and sensors, reduces human intervention and subsequently the chances of human error. They also monitor processes in real time to possibly prevent downtime or detect any other red flags such as potential equipment failure.

Future of digitization in aerospace manufacturing

With air traffic growing year-on-year, there is an increasing demand for aircrafts in the country. Aerospace manufacturing companies must combat this demand while ensuring zero errors, leveraging the benefits of digitalization and a smart manufacturing ecosystem. Several leading aerospace manufacturers have shifted their focus to digitalization to make a key priority for their business. A strong digitalized approach will help create an ecosystem of innovation within the organization.

Technologies such as big data and sensor-based data analysis like automated dashboards are currently redefining the industry. Along with a Flexible Manufacturing System, AI and Machine learning, this creates an intelligent ecosystem that is adaptable to changes and has predictive maintenance capabilities.

Leveraging global competencies

Today’s supply chain spans across geographies and leverages global competencies to provide the best results to customers. By definition, a global supply chain is large and has multitude of vendors, distribution centers, suppliers and manufacturing facilities among others.

A manufacturing company’s digital transformation will also have a positive impact on its supply chain. With an integrated approach, leading Industry 4.0 technologies can be used to improve productivity and streamline traditional processes to minimize redundancies.

M&A—knowledge transfer

Companies must equip their supply chain with the right technologies that can help them fulfill changing requirements. They need to meet aggressive deadlines without any compromise on the quality. Predictive analysis can help manufacturers by forecasting expected demand, upcoming market trends and also identify potential points in the supply chain that could be inefficient.

Considering that a global supply chain will have multiple points of intersections, digital tracking enables to monitor the status of the manufactured part on a real time basis. This will further help companies update their customers and identify any bottlenecks in the supply chain. Mergers and acquisitions with leading OEMs can further help improve global competencies by driving international standards of technology and knowledge transfer.

Making in India

In addition to a global supply chain, global OEMs explore manufacturing opportunities in India considering the cost-effective nature of the country. Indian manufacturers are able to deliver high quality products with uncompromised global quality. They provide significant savings throughout all the processes.

Manufacturing is set to drive India’s GDP in this new decade. The Indian government has extensively provided opportunities through initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ emphasizing on the need to digitalize manufacturing processes. Digital elements such as flexible manufacturing, robotics and 3D printing have now found its way into the shop floors of India’s manufacturing companies and have managed to create efficient smart ecosystems. Additionally, organizations need to reskill or upskilling existing employees and nurturing new talent in order to adopt relevant technologies rapidly.

Preparing for the future

Reliability is integral in every manufacturing process. Customers rely on OEMs to manufacture parts based on their requirements and OEMs depend on their suppliers and partners’ support, in this process.Such technology forward ecosystems and reliable supply chain will enable the Indian aerospace manufacturing sector successfully deliver parts to global OEMs as per the agreed competitive time. This will create the roadmap to India becoming a preferred destination for global aerospace manufacturing.