IT in Manufacturing


Why should your business participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

1 April 2020 IT in Manufacturing

Organisations are pondering their level of participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by looking into the technologies and opportunities that these can bring. But what if you don’t participate?

We note six outcomes that will compromise or even close your business.

A client recently asked me the following question: “What if we don’t do 4IR?”

After thinking for a moment, my response was more or less the following: “To go forward, we need to look back at the past. This is not the first industrial revolution. We have learnt that each revolution is about closing a gap. The previous industrial revolution (the one where we got computers and access to the Internet) reduced the distance gap. Suddenly the world got smaller and we could experience the most remote of places. Before that, we closed the power gap. By using machines, people could produce more effectively, and with access to transport, they finally dropped the shackles of living under feudalistic rule. They could move, engage in trade with others and were no longer dependent on their landlord for provisions and services. 4IR is about trust. We are closing the trust gap. Technologies such as blockchain and AI allow transactions to flow more efficiently, and without middlemen. Factors of production will be connected and operate collaboratively to produce the most efficient of output. But there is a first step. That step is data. Without well organised harvesting and structuring of data, it will not turn into information. Without information, we will not be able to trust. The fourth industrial revolution is about having access to information, within your business about what is coming in and going out. By not participating in this generation and exchange of information, your organisation will not be trusted and you will lose.”

Afterwards, I thought of a more practical response as follows:

Dropping out of the customer journey

Should you choose not to participate in the fourth industrial revolution, you are likely to be dropped from your customer’s journey into 4IR. You see, they are taking the opportunity. If you are not available to participate with access to information, more efficient operating models and participating in a healthy ecosystem, well, you will be replaced.

Missing out on operational benefits

Noted already, but can you really afford missing out on more efficient operating models? Will you maintain your production process in its slow and inefficient form? Will your people do the same mundane repetitive tasks? Will you continue to drown under administrative load? 4IR gives us access to the phenomenal opportunity to augment human strengths (creativity, organisation and conversation) with tools to produce more efficiently (think AI, robotics and VR/AR), while replacing the burden of the mundane repetitive work (non-value adding administration, etc.).

Missing out on scalability

Perhaps your mission is not to grow your business. Okay, but can we agree that shrinking is also not an option? Yet 4IR gives the opportunity to scale. Combining the efficiency from operational benefits, improved access to market and enhanced delivery into the customer journey, we can also benefit from real-time access to information that further enhance our ability to respond to growth opportunities. Participation will make you better; non-participation makes businesses less efficient than they could be, or even worse, irrelevant.

Losing key skills to the competition

You have good people on your team, people who have found motivation to help you grow your business to what it is today. Can you afford to let them go? What if you need to cut costs following your key customer having a more cost-effective alternative? Or what if you simply don’t offer the stimulation and engagement that comes with deploying new technology and making positive changes in your business? Can you afford having your best people leave and join a competitor? Double whammy – they win, you lose.

Falling behind the curve (will require massive investment to get back)

By now, I’m sure some will say: “Yes, sure. It sounds exciting and probably worth getting into. But we’ll wait and let others mess around and then we’ll learn from their mistakes.” Well I cannot argue against the latter principle. Others will make mistakes and you will be able to learn. However, many will succeed! They will make significant strides towards improved operations, better customer experiences and engaged workforces. You will be left behind. To catch up, you will need to buy solutions in high demand, pay a premium for access to resources and go through change that will be unprecedented and perhaps too daunting to deal with considering your historic thinking. You will be replaced, or worse, your business will be replaced.

You face disruption

Yes, we’ve said it, you risk being disrupted. Kodak, Blockbuster and Musica can all tell you about being disrupted. They fell behind the curve, perhaps too arrogant to believe they could not fail. Maybe they thought they would check out how others failed, and then act. They ended up as the experimental reference cases in their industries. Only one could act quick enough, divest, reinvest and then repurpose to demonstrate some kind of continuity. It came with pain.

The fourth industrial revolution offers immense opportunities for business and society. Let’s work at embracing these opportunities and actively channel our resources towards adoption and refinement. Else we, as individuals or as businesses, risk becoming irrelevant relics following this period of change. This has proved to be unavoidable during each of the previous three revolutions.

So what to do?

Do you have the required skills and knowledge to benefit from 4IR? Have you engaged an ecosystem of solution providers that can help you on your transformation journey? You need a partner to assess your 4IR maturity and help strategise how you will achieve the necessary cultural change to maximise your potential. If you have not planned your strategy and organisation, get help. The journey is arduous and can be so much more satisfying if you have a clear plan and the resolve to deliver against it.




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

From Trojan takeovers to ransomware roulette
IT in Manufacturing
Cisco’s Cyber Threat Trends Report offers a comprehensive and overview of the evolving cybersecurity landscape, leveraging its vast global reach through the analysis of DNS traffic.

Read more...
The road to decarbonisation in mining
IT in Manufacturing
The mining industry is a key player in global carbon emissions, and ABB’s eMine is at the forefront of efforts to drive the sector’s decarbonisation.

Read more...
Siemens democratises AI-driven PCB design for small and medium electronics teams
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Siemens Digital Industries Software is making its AI-enhanced electronic systems design technology more accessible to small and mid-sized businesses with PADS Pro Essentials software and Xpedition Standard software.

Read more...
Siemens’ PAVE360 to support new Arm Zena Compute Subsystems
IT in Manufacturing
Siemens Digital Industries Software is expanding its longstanding relationship with Arm and adding support for the newly launched Arm Zena Compute Subsystems in its PAVE360 software, designed for software-defined vehicles

Read more...
Empowering OEMs in industrial automation
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Organisations are increasingly focusing on empowering OEMs within the industrial automation sector

Read more...
Fortifying the state in a time of cyber siege
IT in Manufacturing
In an era where borders are no longer physical, South Africa is being drawn into a new kind of conflict, one fought not with tanks and missiles, but with lines of code and silent intrusions. The digital battlefield is here, and cyber space has become the next frontier of conflict.

Read more...
Levelling up workplace safety - how gamification is changing the rules of training
IT in Manufacturing
Despite the best intentions, traditional safety training often falls short, with curricula either being too generic, too passive, or ultimately unmemorable. Enter gamification, a shift in training that is redefining how businesses train for safety and live by those principles.

Read more...
Reinventing data centre design: critical changes to meet surging
Schneider Electric South Africa IT in Manufacturing
AI technologies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible which, in turn, is presenting data centres with a whole new set of challenges. Fortunately, several options are emerging which include optimising design and infrastructure for efficiency, cooling and management systems

Read more...
Watts next - can IT save the planet
IT in Manufacturing
The digital age’s insatiable demand for computing power has collided with an urgent and pressing need for sustainability. As data centres and AI workloads consume unprecedented energy, IT providers are pivotal in redefining how technology intersects with environmental stewardship.

Read more...
South Africa’s digital revolution:
IT in Manufacturing
South Africa stands at a pivotal moment in its technological evolution, poised to redefine itself as Africa’s leading digital powerhouse. Over the past two years, political leaders and media narratives have painted a picture of rapid digital transformation, underscoring the government’s ambition to position South Africa at the forefront of innovation.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved