– Driving value-added technology in the industry NO V E MB E R 2 0 2 0
manufacturingglobal.com
AI PLATFORMS
Digital Transformation in the Tobacco and Vaping Industry
Digital Transformation in Semiconductor Procurement Arm’s Alisa Bornstein, Group Procurement Senior Director, on procurement transformation
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FOREWORD
H
ello, and welcome to the November edition of Manufacturing Global Magazine; a publication that explores the trends shaping the market today, through the individual journeys and stories of leading manufacturers and executives in the industry. Within these pages, we’ll be deep-diving into the depths of the industry, exploring digitisation, and checking out the growing trends across the sector. Take, for example, November’s lead story: an exclusive interview with Richard Kenedi, General Manager of Manufacturing and Digital Plant at GE Digital, with whom we discuss the importance of IIoT, data analytics and the growing importance of customercentricity across the industry. On top of that, Matt Tichon, Vice President of Industry Strategy at LLamasoft, took the time to discuss the effectiveness of digital twins, and the impact that the concept has had on manufacturing.
Elsewhere, Mark Hermans, Managing Director at PwC, United States, takes the hot seat in a sit-down Q&A about how the manufacturing and supply chain space has transformed over the years and its current role in the industry. Also inside, find insights from Richard Waterhouse and Rafi Billurcu, as they deep-dive into the role of blockchain technology in manufacturing. Oh, and, don’t forget to keep an eye out for this month’s ‘Top 10’, which takes a look at the leading AI platforms in 2020. Fancy seeing your name featured in an upcoming edition of the magazine? Get in touch today at oliver.freeman@bizclikmedia.com From the team at Manufacturing Global, we hope you enjoy the issue. Oliver James Freeman
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03
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PUBLISHED BY
SENIOR EDITOR
Oliver James Freeman EDITOR
PRODUCTION DIRECTORS
PROJECT DIRECTORS
Georgia Allen Daniela Kianickovรก
Karl Green Manuel Navarro Stuart Irving
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Owen Martin DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS
Sean Galea-Pace
Kieran Waite Sam Kemp
EDITORAL DIRECTOR
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Scott Birch CREATIVE TEAM
Oscar Hathaway Sophia Forte Sophie-Ann Pinnell Hector Penrose
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Lewis Vaughan
Leigh Manning
MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR
James White DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR
Jason Westgate CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER
Shirin Sadr
Stacy Norman PRESIDENT & CEO
DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE
Matilda Pilkington
Glen White
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CONTENTS
10 30
40 54
THE TRANSFORMATION OF DIGITAL TWINS IN MANUFACTURING
DRIVING DIGITALISATION IN MANUFACTURING
70
104
The role of
LTTS
BLOCKCHAIN
in manufacturing
86 AI PLATFORMS
116
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148 130 Waygate JTI
Technologies
178 Henkel
164 TSP Engineering
10
Digital Transformation in Semiconductor Procurement WRITTEN BY
WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY
GLEN WHITE
NOVEMBER 2020
11
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ARM
Arm’s Alisa Bornstein, Group Procurement Senior Director, on the transformation in procurement worthy of Arm’s high-tech reputation
A
rm is a British multinational semiconductor and software design company headquartered in Cambridge, UK. Arm
technology touches more than 70% of the world’s population, and its processor designs have ena12
bled advanced computing in more than 180 billion chips to date, powering products from the sensor to the smartphone and the supercomputer. One of the key functions enabling its success is the supply chain. Alisa Bornstein is Group Procurement Senior Director at the company, with over 25 years’ experience in procurement at companies including Ericsson, BT, Telia, Millicom, IHS and now Arm. “I have experience of procurement start-ups, green-field and significant transformations, as well as leading teams in multicultural, complex and fast moving environments and mature and emerging markets. At the places I’ve been I’ve professionalised and digitalised procurement and brought in innovative, agile, lean and efficient service and solutions to the business.”
NOVEMBER 2020
13
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ARM
“ Strategic partnerships with suppliers are critical to supporting an organisation’s objectives” — Alisa Bornstein, Group Procurement Senior Director, Arm
and effective function supporting the business’ objectives and future plans.“ That transformation program was undertaken with the aim of digitalis-
On her decision to join Arm, Bornstein
14
ing core procurement processes to
says: “Arm stood out for its unique
enable efficiencies, boost controls,
people, culture of collaboration and
minimise risks, and improve the experi-
brilliant minds. Almost two years in,
ence for end-users. “Procurement
and after 18 months of the transforma-
digitalisation has exploded across
tion program, I am proud to say that
the entire business environment, and
procurement at Arm today is recog-
its entire value proposition to the
nised as a value-creating, responsible
overall organisation has changed tremendously,” says Bornstein. “Digitalisation influences all areas of procurement, from category management, strategic sourcing, supplier and risk management, to transactional purchase-to-pay operations.”
NOVEMBER 2020
Arm | Architects of Possible CLICK TO WATCH
|
1:33
15 Naturally, the project has resulted
configuration changes and deploy
in a ground-up overhaul. “We started
all the solutions. We set separate
our digital journey by improving the
workstreams for supplier and content
basics, standardising and redesign-
enablement, and change management.
ing the whole source-to-pay (S2P)
The plan was rigorously monitored
process and deployment of Ariba,”
by external and internal teams.
says Bornstein. “This required a
Advice and support from the imple-
significant change in our ways of
mentation partner in the design phase,
working and the company culture.”
during configuration, testing and
The project hasn’t been without
during go live was absolutely a crucial
complexities. “We were preparing
success factor.”
the rollout for 18 months before we
Having been live with Ariba for the
engaged an external implementation
past year, Bornstein is satisfied that
partner. With them, a schedule was
the digital strategy has delivered and
developed to review the design, make
continues to create significant value ma nuf a c t uri nggl o ab l. com
THE WORLD IS CHANGING. ARE YOU? Faster. More agile. More innovative. More sustainable. Lower cost. Improved EBITDA. If procurement is not accelerating your business outcomes, it’s probably time for a rethink. The world’s leading businesses trust Proxima.
ACCELERATE YOUR BUSINESS OUTCOMES
Proxima: delivering true value in procurement Clare Harris, Senior Vice President Operations, describes how Proxima has established itself as a world leader in procurement consultancy services
Over the last 25 years, Proxima has established itself as a world-leading expert on procurement consultancy services, helping a broad spectrum of customers to unlock their supply chain’s full potential, from the largest Fortune 500 entities to bespoke startups. “Ultimately, we work with our clients’ procurement and commercial teams to help drive value from their cost base,” says Clare Harris, Senior Vice President. As a company, Proxima helps customers optimise what they spend with suppliers and build exceptional procurement functions. “When you think that, on average, about 70% of organisational spend is with suppliers, then you can immediately understand the potential that exists for savings and innovation,” Harris states. However, it isn’t necessarily a purely ‘cost-saving’ exercise; the company specialises in maximising the value of every penny spent. “It’s about understanding what value means to our clients, whether that’s cost, speed, return, risk efficiency, or quality.” Contributing to the company’s enduring success has been a flexible strategy focused on being adaptable to the changing supply chain environment. That evolution, Harris says, has been characterised by increased networking, collaboration and emphasis on procurement itself. The benefits of this industry development have been keenly felt by Proxima’s clients. One in particular, Arm, shares a close working dynamic with it: “Proxima has
Clare @ Proxima
been able to bring both commercial expertise and category knowledge, while also injecting capability at a time when Arm’s existing procurement team were quite stretched,” Harris explains. Establishing a “twoway feedback” loop, the collaborators have been able to react swiftly to challenges and coordinate decisively, “We work together at pace and deliver value quickly.” Using different time zones to its advantage, Proxima’s UK team can hand over to the US team and vice versa, creating a continuous cycle of problemsolving capability. This kind of partnership will prove vital in the postCOVID-19 world, where traditional operational patterns no longer hold true and an innovative mindset is crucial. As other companies strive to build an operating model for procurement that matches today’s challenges, Harris believes that Proxima’s breadth of expertise will become even more valuable. “I think a lot of companies are now asking, ‘How can we transform ourselves to make decisions quicker?’, and that theme will continue into 2021.” Proxima’s aim, then, will be to guide that development and continue its ongoing mission of delivering real value to its customers.
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“ Our procurement team recognises the challenge that COVID-19 poses to our organisation and is working hard to continuously assess and mitigate these risks” — Alisa Bornstein, Group Procurement Senior Director, Arm
is looking into the future trends of the procurement digitalisation . “We’re in the time of technology disruption,” she
for the company, for instance by offer-
says. “Why not combine best-of-breed
ing a one-stop shop, with everything
systems and integrate them to work
you need in one place, and standard
together to deliver a great experience
source-to-contract process that
to internal customers and suppliers?”
ensures that purchase-to-pay works seamlessly. Nevertheless, Bornstein
To this end, she emphasises that procurement is about much more
Arm AI Processors Making Smartphones Smarter CLICK TO WATCH
|
1:04
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19
ARM
20
than buying. “There are many other
The ongoing transformation of Arm’s
areas where procurement adds value
procurement is built on the strategy to
and where technology enables data-
deploy leading procurement practices
driven intelligence and efficiencies.
and processes, supported by tech-
Innovation in Procurement is crucial
nology solutions, to deliver financial
for professional and forward thinking
benefits and added value, compre-
procurement functions.�
hensive corporate social responsibility
NOVEMBER 2020
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Alisa Bornstein Title: Group Procurement Senior Director Industry: Semiconductors
Location: United Kingdom
Alisa Bornstein leads Arm’s global Group Procurement organisation responsible for reshaping procurement while driving positive financial outcomes for the company. Her functional accountabilities include category management, strategic sourcing, supplier management, contracts and transactional purchase operations supported by enabling technologies. Her senior experience covers a broad spectrum of the function including procurement business partnering, strategy, processes, policies, data analytics, planning and execution of strategic and transactional operations, communication and training. Prior to Arm, Alisa held senior leadership roles at large enterprises including Ericsson, BT, Telia and Millicom where she focused on transformation and digitalisation of the procurement, and serving as the procurement subject matter expert for the business. Alisa is passionate about people and talent development, building collaborative business partnerships and teams. She is a progressive and highly respected procurement leader, and is a frequent speaker at Procurement and Supply Chain industry global conferences and forums. Alisa holds a Master’s degree in Finance from St Petersburg State University of Economics, Russia. She is Russian by origin, a Swedish citizen for over two decades and resides in the UK since 2014. Alisa is true international leader with experience operating around the world, facilitated by her multicultural and inclusive leadership style, with a warm, direct and consensus approach, and fluency in three languages. ma nuf a c t uri nggl o ab l. com
21
ARM
“ Group Procurement will continue to be a value-creating, responsible and effective procurement function, supporting Arm’s business and mission to architect a smarter world” — Alisa Bornstein, Group Procurement Senior Director, Arm
22
NOVEMBER 2020
23
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“ Digitalisation influences all areas of procurement” — Alisa Bornstein, Group Procurement Senior Director, Arm
products,” says Bornstein. “That’s achieved through building collaborative, mutually beneficial relationships, a proactive development of leading practice strategies to maximise the value of these relationships, driving innovation programmes, reducing supplier-related risk, leveraging
(CSR), supplier risk management and
purchasing power and shared values
stakeholder engagement & collabora-
around sustainability and diversity.”
tion. It has required a shift in, among
As with essentially all of the world’s
other things, the way of working
companies, the COVID-19 outbreak
with key suppliers and partners, with
has impacted operations, particularly
Bornstein identifying seven key quali-
when it comes to the supply chain.
ties she looks for, namely being:
“Reports on how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting supply chains and
• An expert in service type and market • Accountable • A Strategic Advisor • An Innovator • Easy to communicate with • A Cultural fit • Ethics and Compliance-minded
disrupting manufacturing and service operations around the world are increasing daily,” says Bornstein. “The
“Strategic partnerships with suppliers are critical to supporting an organisation’s objectives in maximising the value it obtains from its external partners, providers of outsourced solutions and third-party services and ma nuf a c t uri nggl o ab l. com
25
ARM
26
prediction is that the impact of COVID-
also bears in mind the impact on its
19 on global supply chains is to remain
suppliers, hence the action Arm has
for many months. Our procurement
taken. “We’ve sent communications
team recognises the challenge that
to key suppliers encouraging them
COVID-19 poses to our organisation
to share with us their business conti-
and is working hard to continuously
nuity measures. Arm’s top 20 suppliers
assess and mitigate these risks.”
were contacted, and follow-up is
Bornstein emphasises that it is not
ongoing to understand their plans
only focused on the well-being of its
and any impact this will have on Arm.
own organisation and employees but
We are also working with, for
NOVEMBER 2020
27
example, IT equipment suppliers to
to be a value-creating, responsible
monitor and maintain our stock levels
and effective Procurement function,
on a regular basis.”
supporting Arm’s business and mis-
It’s no surprise then that Bornstein
sion to architect a smarter world.”
is confident that Arm’s procurement function will continue to live up to the company’s reputation as a hightech leader. “The world is changing. Industries are changing. But our focus in Group Procurement will continue ma nuf a c t uri nggl o ab l. com
Adaptability is not an aspiration. It’s a business asset.
TOGETHER
WE GOT THIS
“Applying Industry 4.0 processes has improved production decision making at 85% of manufacturers.” MPI Group study 2020 – read the study to learn more To survive in an era of volatile demand, uncertain supply, and constrained capacity, your organisation must be adaptable. Now is the time to commit to a new way of working that can help you adapt to supply chain disruptions, react to changes in demand, and capitalize on new opportunities. SAP will work with you as you move towards digitalization and Industry 4.0 in a company-wide, business strategy that focusses on data-driven customer attention and • Build intelligent, individualized products by connecting each customer’s voice to everything from product planning to delivery. • Meet the demands of customers looking for sustainability. • Create the kind of production process that adapts • Use intelligence and networks to integrate every machine, partner, and employee. • Connect the entire company, bringing together logistics, sales, and service, so every step is orchestrated. The SAP Digital Supply Chain portfolio supports industry 4.0, enables the digitalization of engineering, manufacturing, and asset operation processes, connects and automates machines and devices, and brings intelligence via AI and advanced analytics to an entire production process. This can help to continuously improve production performance, lower cost, and increase the agility and resiliency of your supply chain. Adaptability is no longer an aspiration, it’s a business asset that can help you stay connected to your customers, integrated with your partners, and ahead in your industry.
D I G I TA L F A C T O R Y
30
AN ONGOING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY WRITTEN BY
SEAN GALEA-PACE
NOVEMBER 2020
31
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D I G I TA L F A C T O R Y
Richard Kenedi, General Manager of Manufacturing and Digital Plant at GE Digital, discusses his organisation’s digital transformation journey
G
E Digital provides software and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) services to industrial companies. As a subsidiary of General
Electric, GE Digital operates across four key indus-
tries: manufacturing, power generation, oil and gas, and electric and telecommunications utilities. 32
Richard Kenedi is the General Manager of Manufacturing and Digital Plant at GE Digital. In this role, Kenedi is responsible for driving profitable growth for the automation and Manufacturing Execution System (MES) product and service portfolio, serving manufacturing verticals and digital plants globally. “GE Digital has been in manufacturing software for several decades and it really began with our automation capabilities,” explains Kenedi. “This has progressed significantly over time and we’ve added offerings extending into manufacturing execution systems and analytics.” Kenedi understands the importance of introducing technology that adds value, instead of technology for the sake of it, and affirms that value is always at the heart of
NOVEMBER 2020
33
ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
Spark innovation with Data Culture Learn how top companies develop people and process to succeed in the data era.
Organizations are investing trillions of dollars to become more data-driven, but only 8% successfully scale analytics to get value out of their data. What separates the top performers from the rest? Learn more at tableau.com/data-culture Bisson, Peter, Bryce Hall, Brian McCarthy, and Khaled Rifai. “Breaking Away: The Secrets to Scaling Analytics.” McKinsey Analytics. McKinsey & Company, May 2018.
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“ We’re on the right track at GE Digital and the future looks bright”
decision-making at GE Digital. “Value to our customers is first and foremost,” he explains. Kenedi believes in a customercentric approach and explains that
— Richard Kenedi, General Manager of Manufacturing and Digital Plant, GE Digital
his organisation’s strategy revolves around closer collaboration with customers. “We take a very consultative
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Richard Kenedi Title: General Manager
Company: GE Digital
Industry: Manufacturing
Location: San Ramon, California, US
Richard Kenedi is the General Manager of the Manufacturing Digital Plant business segment for GE Digital. Richard is responsible for driving profitable growth for the Automation and Manufacturing Execution System product and service portfolio, serving manufacturing verticals and digital plants across the globe. Prior to joining GE Digital, Richard served as the President Core Markets within NETSCOUT, a global supplier of network service assurance products. Prior to NETSCOUT, he was President Tektronix Communications, an operating company within Danaher. Prior roles within Tektronix Communications included Vice President, Products and Portfolio Management, Vice President and General Manager for the Test & Optimization and Core Test Businesses. Additionally, prior to Tektronix Communications Richard held senior roles in SOMA Networks and Nortel Networks. ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
35
D I G I TA L F A C T O R Y
GE Digital Industrial Managed Services: Continuous Improvement with APM CLICK TO WATCH
|
1:48
36 approach with our customers. We
how to extract value from it is chal-
have a process called ‘top to top’ with
lenging,” says Kenedi. “Our strategy
several customers where we meet
is to continue to improve analytics
with their top leadership on a quarterly
and leverage our manufacturing data
basis. It’s a very detailed discussion
cloud software solutions. We’ve taken
about where they’re taking their
the capability set of our data analytic
business, and how we can apply our
environment and helped address
portfolio to ensure we’re staying
some really challenging problems for
in line and accelerating the needs of
customers that would have previously
the customers.”
taken them months to solve. Now,
“An area where we’re working
we’ve been able to scale our technol-
closely with our customers is cen-
ogy and capabilities to map what our
tred around analytics and machine
customer’s needs are from a pain
learning. Almost all customers want
point perspective and accelerate
machine learning but understanding
those solutions into their environments.
NOVEMBER 2020
“ GE Digital has been in manufacturing software for several decades and it really began with our automation capabilities” — Richard Kenedi, General Manager of Manufacturing and Digital Plant, GE Digital “Throughout our digital transforma-
change their production environments very rapidly and make them agile.” Kenedi recognises the importance of understanding the trends that mat-
tion journey, we’ve kept the concept
ter. With existing infrastructure in
of a hybrid portfolio – on-premise
place to ease the disruption caused
and cloud – at the forefront. As cloud
by COVID-19, Kenedi highlights that
capabilities have been introduced, we
providing safety, continuity, and sup-
have a combination of on-premise
port were priorities for GE Digital and
and cloud-based capabilities that has
its customers. “We already offered
really extended our digital transfor-
remote worker capabilities based
mation and redefined optionality for
on the idea of operating anytime,
our customers.”
anywhere, and allowing our customers
In a bid to be proactive and lean, Kenedi affirms that being quick to evolve and change is a key ingredient to success. “We stay very close to our customers and there are three key themes that are essential: complexity, agility and efficiency,” he says. “It’s very important as we continue to evolve our capabilities that we do it in the mindset of keeping them agile. Many of our customers are in industries where they find they have to ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
37
D I G I TA L F A C T O R Y
C O M PA N Y FA C T S
38
GE Digital is an industrial software company headquartered in San Ramon, California, US. The company is a division of General Electric. GE Digital provides software and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) services to industrial companies. The organisation has a global presence with 48 locations worldwide, 4000 employees, over 1000 dedicated software engineers, and seven industrial managed service centres.
visibility,” he explains. “We were very
from this,” explains Kenedi. “There are
pleased to be able to provide our
things that we can now do effectively
customers with additional options and
remotely, that we previously thought
capabilities to be able to do remote
might have to be face to face. Having
work. It’s proven essential to the
said that, we will take advantage of our
continued success in manufactur-
office environments and want to get
ing operations. Nobody could have
back to being onsite with the customer
predicted the pandemic but we were
and having those in person relation-
really excited that we could help with
ships. It’s important that we combine
remote work.”
the best of both.”
“Moving forward, I believe it’s going
Looking to the future, Kenedi is
to be a mixed approach; we’ve learned
positive about the future at GE Digital.
NOVEMBER 2020
“I believe there’s industry recognition that collectively we have an opportunity to take advantage of digital capabilities” — Richard Kenedi, General Manager of Manufacturing and Digital Plant, GE Digital 39
“I’ve been here for more than six
broader set of value capabilities to our
months now and I think we’ve got a
customers so that they can increase
good thing happening,” says Kenedi.
the benefit that they’re getting from
“We’ve got a great set of customers,
their digital transformation. You’ll see
and we’re working very closely with
this from an analytics perspective,
them. I believe there’s industry rec-
the evolution of our base capabilities
ognition that collectively we have an
around automation and MES, and how
opportunity to take advantage of digi-
we extend ourselves within the value
tal capabilities.
chain. We’re on the right track at GE
“From a manufacturing perspec-
Digital and the future looks bright.”
tive, you’re going to see us spread our wings in terms of providing a ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
S M A R T M A N U F A C T U R I N G - D I G I TA L T W I N
40
THE TRANSFORMATION OF DIGITAL TWINS IN MANUFACTURING WRITTEN BY
SEAN GALEA-PACE
NOVEMBER 2020
41
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S M A R T M A N U F A C T U R I N G - D I G I TA L T W I N
Manufacturing Global examines the impact of digital twins in manufacturing and gains insights from industry experts
M
att Tichon, Vice President, Industry Strategy at LLamasoft, believes that in today’s environment, having a digital twin
of an organisation’s end-to-end supply chain is
vital. “It allows manufacturers to digitally replicate and analyse their entire manufacturing footprint for potential pain points. For example, if there is a sud42
den shortage of a raw material, such as wheat (an issue the UK is likely to face with its worst wheat harvest since the 1980s), businesses can assess the potential impact this will have on their endto-end operations. With this knowledge, they can prepare for any eventuality that they can imagine, big or small.” Tichon acknowledges that digital twin technology enables them to test several different solutions before introducing them into the real world. “If there was a shortage of raw material, businesses could determine the best options for a secondary source of supply while taking into account the implications of costs, service, and capacity,” adds Tichon. “Taking this approach allows organisations to minimise the impact of the disruption
NOVEMBER 2020
43
“ In a world where disruptions are becoming part and parcel of everyday life, implementing digital twin technology is not just smart, but essential” — Matt Tichon, Vice President, Industry Strategy, LLamasoft
ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
Security threats have evolved. Manufacturers need to adapt. 41%
of manufacturing companies suffered a mobile-related compromise*
50%
of manufacturing executives indicated they lack confidence that their company’s assets are protected from external threats*
The manufacturing industry remains one of the primary targets for mobile attack due to its highly valuable intellectual property. With mobile phishing attacks on the rise, you need to adopt a zero-trust security model to ensure your data is secure. Find out more at info.lookout.com/Manufacturers * Verizon Mobile Security Index 2020 *Deloitte Cyber risk in advanced manufacturing
“ When combined with analytics, the concept of the digital twin delivers insights that can unlock hidden value” — Rohit Gupta, VP & Head of Products & Resources, Cognizant
pre-identified sources, both near and longshore, as they determine their specific contingency plans. In a world where disruptions are becoming part and parcel of everyday life, implementing digital twin technology is not just smart, but essential.” The aerospace giant, Boeing, uses digital twins to design aircraft, with a digital twin created for a new plane, after which simulations are run that
while simultaneously understanding
predict the performance of many dif-
the impact that changing sourcing
ferent airline components over the
decisions will have on operating
lifecycle of the product. As a result,
margins and customer fill rates. Many
Boeing engineers can anticipate when
businesses benefit from having
products may fail. According to the
ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
45
S M A R T M A N U F A C T U R I N G - D I G I TA L T W I N
H O W A R E D I G I TA L T W I N S USED IN MANUFACTURING?
46
A digital twin is a computerised version of a physical asset - this means that data from sensors in the real world can be implemented into the twin to develop simulations with thousands of outcomes. This technology allows manufacturers to run scenario simulations with their upcoming products to help understand potential usage, reliability and efficiency. 3D modelling is an area that has been increasingly boosted following the introduction of the digital
twin, with simulation in different environments enabling a more complete and tested product to be produced. Diagnostics, monitoring and prognostics can all benefit too. Digital twin technology can empower manufacturers to improve the customer experience as it provides them with better insights into customer needs, which allows them to innovate solutions for existing products, operations and services while identifying new business opportunities.
organisation, they achieved a 40%
and safe cargo load can be worked out
improvement rate in the first-time
by increasing cargo revenue per flight.
quality of parts through the digital twin
Rohit Gupta, VP & Head of Products
concept. Boeing aims to digitise all of
& Resources at Cognizant, believes
its engineering and development sys-
that the manufacturing industry is
tems in the future and plans to share
increasingly adopting digital twins
this information within its supply chain.
to allow for continuous learning and
The company is also leveraging digital
help anticipate and avert glitches and
twin technology in order to achieve a
forecast results. “When combined with
perfect cargo load balance; by using
analytics, the concept of the digital
IoT sensors on a digital twin, an exact
twin delivers insights that can unlock
NOVEMBER 2020
“ Now that we are entering the next normal, we have an opportunity for Industry 4.0 technologies to enable a great reset in manufacturing and supply chain operations” — Enno de Boer, Partner and Global Leader Manufacturing, McKinsey
solve challenges across the product value chain, such as lack of coordination and visibility of supply chain
hidden value,” says Gupta. “It can
processes, limited cross-functional
provide engineers with information
collaboration, and an inability to make
on potential operational failures of IoT-
data-driven decisions. An important
connected products, for instance, and
attribute of digital twinning is the real-
thus help prevent unplanned downtime
time synchronisation of information
and improve product performance.
with the activities of physical devices
The digital twin concept can also help
and equipment. Leaning on both sets
Why digital twins will be the backbone of industry in the future CLICK TO WATCH
|
2:53
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47
S M A R T M A N U F A C T U R I N G - D I G I TA L T W I N
48 of information and using various stake-
interconnected devices, input and out-
holders and inputs from across the
put of product, as well as pain points in
supply chain will contribute to a more
the production line. Human resources
efficient product development.�
then use the findings to identify areas
Unilever has also successfully intro-
where they can improve the overall
duced digital twins into manufacturing
manufacturing process. Unilever has
operations, globally. The organisation
experienced significant success from
now has eight facilities across its
implementing digital twins to scale
expansive network that have deployed
the consistency in the production of
digital twins. Within these factories,
soaps and detergents. Through AI, the
Unilever is attempting to optimise
firm has also been able to decrease
manufacturing performance across
the number of false alerts that require
the board. To do so, data from IoT
action in their plants. Unilever had
systems is fed into a digitised ‘twin’
previously received over 3,000 alerts
of the entire facility, and algorithms
every day but has reduced this figure
go to work, analysing the actions of
by 90%.
NOVEMBER 2020
FOUR DIGITAL TWIN APPLICATIONS IN MANUFACTURING
3. Production Digital twins make it possible for manufacturers to reach a single
1. Engineering
version of the truth. In an ideal world,
The engineering sector has often
manufacturers have a unified set of
used digital twins to create virtual
digital twin master data that comes
representations while developing and
from a central location which will pro-
innovating products. In this application,
vide manufacturers with one version
the digital twin exists before the physi-
of the truth. However, when combined
cal counterpart and begins with the
with in-memory computing-based
vision of what the product should be.
networks, in addition to a lightweight,
IoT can now make it possible to cap-
change-controlled model capability,
ture data in real-time, from products
manufacturers will be able to analyse
deployed in the field, which can be
and visualise data quickly. The digital
applied to the digital twin for continu-
twins can also be leveraged to com-
ous product improvement.
pare quality data across a number of different products.
2. Design customisation As consumers continue to demand customised products, digital twins allow for the design and engineering to model several different permutations. In the past, manufacturers have struggled with the best way to introduce customer input into the manufacturing process. Digital twins streamline the process of customer demands and implement usage data that will enhance customisation options. ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
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S M A R T M A N U F A C T U R I N G - D I G I TA L T W I N
4. Operations Operations enhancement is one of the leading applications for digital twins. Manufacturers must first develop a virtual representation of an asset in the field by leveraging a lightweight model visualisation. They can then capture data from smart sensors embedded in the asset, which allows for a clearer picture of real-world performance and operating conditions. Subsequently, manufacturers can then simulate that real-world environ50
ment for predictive maintenance. Andrew Wright, a partner in Deloitte’s consulting practice, believes that digital twins allow manufacturers to jointly optimise inventory and production capacity which enables them
of possible permutations – ultimately
to operate several very large digital
driving increased efficiency, reduced
simulations to test the best produc-
inventory, and improved stability on
tion cycle for their business before
the factory floor. In a typical produc-
implementation. “Digital twins allow
tion plant, our clients see a saving of
businesses to create a digital copy
over €1.0mn on their profit and loss,
of the physical world,” says Wright.
a release of around €1.5mn in working
“A digital twin tool that we use with
capital and time spent on changeovers
manufacturers is SupplyCycle. It cre-
reduced by up to 21%.”
ates a digital copy of a manufacturer’s
With the new era of Industry 4.0
factory operations and tests millions
in mind, Enno de Boer, Partner and
NOVEMBER 2020
51
Global Leader Manufacturing at
workers, consumers, and the natural
McKinsey adds that innovations
environment,” he says. “Digital twin
such as 3D printing and digital twin
technologies and advanced analyt-
technology are a ‘game-changer’
ics, for example, can be leveraged for
for manufacturers. “Now that we
predictive maintenance, which can
are entering the next normal, we
optimize machine throughput and
have an opportunity for Industry 4.0
detect quality defects in production by
technologies to enable a great reset
enabling the exponential scale-up of
in manufacturing and supply chain
new algorithms across manufacturing
operations, delivering value to a wide
facilities. Additive manufacturing is
range of stakeholders including
a long-term game-changer, and that ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
S M A R T M A N U F A C T U R I N G - D I G I TA L T W I N
52
NOVEMBER 2020
“ Digital twins allow businesses to create a digital copy of the physical world” — Andrew Wright, Partner, Deloitte’s consulting practice adoption can continue as manufacturers move beyond prototyping and truly understand manufacturing through series production.” Overall, a digital twin has lots of different applications across the lifecycle of a product and can begin to answer questions in real-time that couldn’t be answered before, offering a plethora of new, invaluable solutions, considered almost unthought of several years ago. In the coming years, digital twins will likely emerge as one of the leading IT tools in many industries, particularly in manufacturing where it has the potential to revolutionise product development and product testing in a range of areas. This means that in the future, almost every manufactured product could have its own digital twin, assuming it is generating data that can be analysed. ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
53
A I A U T O M AT I O N
54
DRIVING DIGITALISATION IN MANUFACTURING WRITTEN BY
SEAN GALEA-PACE
NOVEMBER 2020
55
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A I A U T O M AT I O N
Manufacturing Global speaks with Mark Hermans, Managing Director, PwC, to examine what digital transformation looks like in manufacturing today THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IS IN A PERIOD OF TRANSITION. Against the backdrop of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, companies of all shapes and sizes are seeking ways to leverage the latest technology into everyday operations and processes 56
to create greater efficiency. Witnessing this first-hand is Mark Hermans, Managing Director at PwC, United States. Hermans has spent more than 20 years consulting the biggest organisations on transforming their operations, with a focus on digital enablement. Within PwC’s digital operations practice, Hermans leads the Connected Supply Chain team, helping companies leverage emerging technologies to transform their supply chain operations. He has served clients across a variety of industries with a primary focus on industrial products and aerospace. Here, Manufacturing Global speaks with Hermans about how the manufacturing and supply chain space has transformed over the years and its current role in the industry.
NOVEMBER 2020
57
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E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Mark Hermans Title: Managing Director
Company: PwC
Industry: Manufacturing
Location: United States
Mark has over twenty years of operations transformation consulting experience with a focus on digital enablement. He has a successful track record helping clients with operations strategy development, operating model redesign, large-scale transformation, digital enablement, advanced analytics and operations due diligence. Areas of expertise include inventory reduction, materials management, supply chain planning and execution, network optimisation, lean manufacturing, order fulfilment and performance management.
59
Within PwC’s digital operations practice, Mark leads the Connected Supply Chain team, helping companies leverage emerging technologies to transform their supply chain operations. He has served clients across a variety of industries with a primary focus on industrial products and aerospace. He has worked extensively with globally operating clients and has lived in Europe, the Middle East and the United States. Mark holds a Master of Science in systems engineerfrom the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands and is APICS CPIM, and Six Sigma Black Belt certified.
ing
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A I A U T O M AT I O N
“ At PwC, we help our clients solve complex problems” — Mark Hermans, Managing Director, PwC
opportunity to join him on board on a trip from Rotterdam to Japan. I experienced the magnitude of global supply
As a way of introducing yourself, can you start off by telling us a bit
watching containers being offloaded
about your career and your journey
and then quickly moving on to the
to finding yourself with PwC?
next port of call. I was hooked! I stud-
I was exposed to global supply
60
chains first hand pulling into a port,
ied Systems Engineering with a focus
chains at an early age. My father was
on supply chain operations and logistics.
a mariner on large cargo ships travel-
In my first job, I implemented factory
ling the world. Growing up, I would
scheduling systems and developed
visit my dad’s vessel when it was in
operations simulation models. I then
port in the Netherlands. I also had the
transitioned into operations consulting
NOVEMBER 2020
PwC’s Smart Factory Solution CLICK TO WATCH
|
1:18
61 advising clients on supply chain and
industry expertise in combination
manufacturing transformations lev-
with innovative digital tools and analyt-
eraging technologies. Even now I am
ics. We work throughout the entire
still fascinated when visiting a factory
transformation journey from the initial
or warehouse seeing the movement
strategy and solution development
of people, parts and equipment and I
through the execution of leveraging
can’t help myself and look for ways to
digital and analytics tools. Complex
make things run better.
problems typically require multithreaded solutions, working across
In your own words, how would you
supply chain, manufacturing, technol-
describe PwC? What gives it an edge
ogy, sales, finance, tax, tariffs and so
over competitors?
on. We have experts across all those
At PwC, we help our clients solve
areas, and we work side by side with
complex problems. Our edge is that
our clients to develop and implement
we have deep core operations and
practical solutions in an integrated ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
A I A U T O M AT I O N
manner. We use advanced digital solutions to get better insights and to get to results faster. For example, I am implementing our Factory Intelligence tool to help a manufacturer “win the hour” by reducing defects using sensors and smart analytics. On another project for an aerospace manufacturer, we implemented a critical chain simulator to proactively identify vulnerabilities and parts shortages in the end-to-end supply chain. 62
What does digital transformation currently look like in the supply chain and manufacturing industry today? Supply chains are becoming more agile, faster and smarter. There is more visibility across the supply chain, starting with understanding consumer and consumer behaviour, e.g. using demand sensing to proactively identify shifts in consumer preferences and using supply chain control towers to understand the potential supply disruptions. Supply chains are also becoming more integrated with closer collaboration between customers, manufacturers and suppliers. Digital twin simulation capabilities enable NOVEMBER 2020
“ The manufacturing industry of today is a lot different than it was ten years ago. Today, everything is a lot more connected, and with advances in analytics, there is the ability to optimise and adjust as things happen.” — Mark Hermans, Managing Director, PwC
decision-makers to quickly re-assess and evaluate alternatives and adjustments. Automation is supplementing and replacing repetitive human tasks. Ultimately we see supply chains evolve to autonomous, connected and selflearning ecosystems. There has been a step-change in digital transformation within the supply chain and manufacturing industry over the past few years. Companies typically rely on bulky standalone “modern” systems such as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) or Transportation Management Systems (TMS) in combination with their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. This gives companies “base” functionality and capability in a specific operational area such as planning, manufacturing or transportation. What we are now seeing is that with Industry 4.0/IoT concepts, companies are now looking to solve problems or use cases that require a combination of data from a number of these modern systems, as well as new data sources, requiring “base plus” capabilities to connect and analyse these diverse data feeds. For example, “base ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
63
A I A U T O M AT I O N
“ We are in the middle of a digital transformation, upskilling the entire workforce, developing and using innovative technologies to deliver value for our clients” — Mark Hermans, Managing Director, PwC plus” capabilities require environmen64
tal data from the shop floor such as temperature, vibration or images in combination with external sources like social media, traffic or news reports. Companies can harness all that data
the overall agility of their operations
from various sources and use custom
leveraging existing “base” technology
apps to address key challenges and
infrastructure.
constraints in operations. For example, an app can check if production
How has automation and machine
lines are operating at rate. An app can
learning transformed manufacturing
identify where a particular forklift is.
and supply chains?
An app can identify if a CNC machine
Automation is changing the clock
is about to fail and needs maintenance.
speed of manufacturing and supply
An app can identify bottlenecks. This
chains. Everything is becoming faster
library of apps enables supply chain
and more autonomous: transactions,
and plant operators to improve qual-
analyses, alerts and decisions. It is
ity, reduce shortages and improve
also enabling things that were never
NOVEMBER 2020
Attracting new and different talent, re-skilling, upskilling is critical. Workers need to be digitally and datasavvy. Repetitive tasks and decisions are being automated. New automation tools have transformed the jobs of supply chain analysts and procurement analysts to a more strategic instead of transactional role. Workers are now performing more strategic work assessing options and making trade-off decisions supported by analytics tools as opposed to performing simple transactions. What are the main differences between the manufacturing industry possible before—like the ability to proactively identify trends and deliver
of today and the one ten years ago? The manufacturing industry of today
a completely different customer expe-
is a lot different than it was ten years
rience. Companies that can harness
ago. Today, everything is a lot more
the power of automation and machine
connected, and with advances in analyt-
learning can leapfrog the competi-
ics, there is the ability to optimise and
tion. Big Data, in combination with
adjust as things happen. The underly-
advanced analytics, is enabling rapid
ing principles have not changed—the
learning and adjustments through
physics of a factory and supply chain
rapid closed-loop solutions.
still apply, such as lean, flow, balance,
It is also changing the role of the
rhythm and so on. Digitisation and
workforce, and it requires differ-
automation supplement these princi-
ent types of skills in the workforce.
ples, but they do not replace them. ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
65
A I A U T O M AT I O N
With the emergence of digital tech-
are performed faster and with a lot
nologies and supply chains becoming
more data. Everything is connected. It
more extended, there have been sig-
is more commonplace to analyse man-
nificant changes. There have been big
ufacturing data alongside finance data,
improvements in safety; there is less
training data, and quality data in order
paper, more automation, shorter flows,
to holistically understand operations.
more operator engagement, smaller batch sizes, smarter assembly and less re-work— all using data to rapidly
and changed the way
understand and address issues. The
manufacturers work?
opportunity to use advanced tools is
66
How has COVID-19 impacted
For many clients, the pandemic has
so much bigger. Ten years ago, you
been a rollercoaster in terms of
had to ask a software engineer to
demand swings and supply disrup-
develop an analytical tool to optimise
tions. In the immediate aftermath,
equipment throughput. Now, an intern
we have obviously seen measures to
can create that in a week. Analytics
protect worker safety, for example, physical spacing, A/B team schedules, use of PPE, etc. COVID-19 has also resulted in greater awareness of the vulnerabilities in today’s complex value chains from a supply base and health perspective and that “stable” demand can quickly change. On a larger scale, it has also dramatically accelerated digital adoption with things like remote collaboration and customer and supplier interactions. Overall, supply chain leaders are thinking much more about agility and resilience. Companies are rethinking
NOVEMBER 2020
67 their operations footprints and
What do you believe are any
operating models and supply bases.
future trends that could play a more
Companies are re-assessing their
influential role in manufacturing
supply strategies and determining
over the coming years?
whether they have sufficient redun-
The future of manufacturing will
dancy and diversity in their supply
likely focus on anything that improves
base. Companies are contemplating
agility, speed, resilience and sustain-
regionalising, reshoring and nearshor-
ability—and the name of the game
ing. As companies consider reshoring,
will be to do it at scale. Overarching
they will have to rely on automation
the continued adoption of digital
in order to offset higher labour rates.
technologies will be the dominant
Companies are also investing in smart
trend. We are expecting continued
supply chain control towers to better
learning and adoption of AI and ML
understand customer buying patterns
to improve learning and drive real-
and proactively identity disruptions
time root cause corrective action.
and bottlenecks.
With advancements in analytics and ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
A I A U T O M AT I O N
simulation, the idea of a digital twin of a factory can become a reality. Automation will continue, with the use of robots and cobots as well as flexible, small-batch manufacturing technologies. We are already seeing companies rethink what should be done in-house and what should be externally. I envision more distributed manufacturing and networks that can rapidly adjust based on the needs of the customer or changing supplier environments. Continued tighter integration with 68
customers, engineering and suppliers will enable factories to rapidly respond to changes in customer preferences or supply profile. What’s next for PwC and the manufacturing industry over the coming years? What comes next is all about improving digital IQ and experience.
digital operations intelligence tools.
These are exciting times of rapid
We are creating tailored and flexible
innovation and change. We are in
analytics that are light-weight and
the middle of a digital transforma-
sit on top of existing applications.
tion, upskilling the entire workforce,
The manufacturing industry needs
developing and using innovative
to evolve quickly, with a lot more
technologies to deliver value for our
emphasis on services and software
clients. We continue to evolve our
instead of just physical products.
NOVEMBER 2020
69
The digital and physical worlds are blending together, and the market is evolving quickly. Winning in the market requires manufacturers to also focus on services and experience, not just products. It is all about the experience for customers, employees, and partners. ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
TECHNOLOGY - BLOCKCHAIN
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NOVEMBER 2020
71
The role of
BLOCKCHAIN
in manufacturing WRITTEN BY
SEAN GALEA-PACE
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TECHNOLOGY - BLOCKCHAIN
Manufacturing Global examines the influence of blockchain technology in the industry
A
s factories around the world become increasingly interconnected, the influence of blockchain is becoming
more prevalent. The Factory of the Future spans
across a whole network of machines, parts, products and value chain participants, including 72
machinery providers and logistics companies. Now, more than ever before, manufacturers face the challenge of securely sharing data within and outside factory walls. To work out the best place for blockchain, a manufacturer must conduct a structured assessment which begins with identifying the company’s current business problems and future needs. Subsequently, it can then explore how it leverages the technology to relieve the factory’s pain points and addresses its needs. Equipped with a strong understanding of the opportunities and challenges it faces, the manufacturer can then choose the most appropriate option from the available technology solutions.
NOVEMBER 2020
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W H AT I S B L O C K C H A I N ?
Blockchain is essentially, as the name suggests, a chain of blocks. However, instead of a physical chain, there’s digital information (the block) stored in a public database (the chain). When a block stores new data, it is added to the blockchain.
Blockchain-powered solutions can seamlessly aggregate all of the information to deliver significant value for industrial companies and help unlock the full potential of other advanced technologies, such as augmented reality, IoT and 3D printing. In PwC’s 2018 Global Blockchain Survey, researchers found that 84% of executives across industries said their companies have had some involvement with blockchain, and 15% have live projects. The potential
Blockchain can scale transparency and trust through all stages of the
of blockchain-powered solutions to create value by empowering firms
industrial value chain, from sourcing raw materials to delivering the finished product. Pain points it could help address, include: Supply chain monitoring for greater transparency Materials provenance and counterfeit detection Engineering design for longduration, high-complexity products Identity management Asset tracking Quality assurance Regulatory compliance ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
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TECHNOLOGY - BLOCKCHAIN
to overcome challenging problems is
or industrial manufacturing sectors.
clear. Blockchains can increase trans-
Through focusing on four key areas in
parency throughout supply chains,
initial blockchain efforts, companies
track the identity and credentials of key
can set themselves on a path towards
personnel and allow for more seam-
successful execution. In PwC’s report
less audit and compliance functionality.
‘How can blockchain power industrial
Industrial manufacturing firms are
manufacturing?’, the four best prac-
already recognised as being out front
tices for blockchain solutions were
in developing the technology - with
examined.
respondents in its survey ranked as the sector second among industries
1. Make the business case
leading the way in blockchain.
Blockchain can be a powerful tool;
Blockchain solutions can create 76
however, it’s not indestructible. It’s
value for industrial organisations in
vital to ensure it is a strategic fit. While
several different ways. However, it
there’s a necessity to ensure differ-
doesn’t mean that it is an equally
ent parties share and update data,
tenable solution for all companies
blockchain solutions are particularly effective when time is short, and trust between parties is needed. 2. Build an ecosystem Bringing together a group of stakeholders to collectively agree on a set of standards that will define the business model is one of the biggest challenges in blockchain. Participants have to decide the rules to take part, how to ensure that costs and benefits are evenly distributed and what risk and control framework can be used.
NOVEMBER 2020
Blockchain Technology in Manufacturing Industry CLICK TO WATCH
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18:07
77 3. Design deliberately
4. Navigate regulatory uncertainty
Much consideration must be given to
Regulators worldwide are still
a blockchain’s design. Will it be permis-
examining the potential responses
sionless, allowing anyone to initiate
to the ever-increasing influence of
and view transactions or permissioned,
blockchain-led solutions. According
restricting access to certain parties?
to PwC’s 27% of survey respondents,
PwC’s Global Blockchain Survey shows
26% of which are based in the US,
companies are adopting both of these
believe that regulatory concerns are
approaches as well as developing
the number one barrier to blockchain
hybrid implementations. Permissioned
adoption. Instead of waiting for regu-
blockchains are expected to be more
lators to set the blockchain agenda,
appropriate for most enterprise solu-
organisations that see value in the
tions since their owners or governing
technology should be proactive. It’s
bodies can structure rules with an eye
important to engage with regulators,
on privacy and data security.
elected officials and industry groups ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
TECHNOLOGY - BLOCKCHAIN
to make the case that blockchain technology can be trusted, sooner rather than later.
BLOCKCHAIN IN MANUFACTURING There is great potential for blockchain in manufacturing. Increasing visibility across all areas of the process from suppliers, strategic sourcing, procurement and supplier quality to shop floor operations which include machine-level monitoring and service, blockchain can allow for an entirely 78
new manufacturing business model. Supply chains are the basis of all manufacturing businesses, most of which are capable of making use of blockchain’s distributed ledger structure
technology is being increasingly used
and block-based approach to aggre-
within manufacturing, particularly in
gating value-exchange transactions to
the supply chain. Many industries,
improve efficiency. By scaling supplier
including aviation and pharma-
order accuracy, product quality and
ceuticals, have well-documented
track-and-traceability, manufacturers
problems with counterfeiting, and
will be able to better hit delivery dates,
using blockchain can help ensure that
enhance product quality and ultimately
components are genuine,” he says.
sell more.
“While mass adoption is yet to be seen
Richard Waterhouse, Chief Strategy
in construction products manufactur-
Officer, NBS, recognises the true value
ing, this is only likely to be a matter of
of blockchain and believes its influ-
time, particularly within the UK as leg-
ence will only increase. “Blockchain
islation will lead to an increased focus
NOVEMBER 2020
79
“ I nstead of existing on paper, smart contracts exist as a computer programme on a blockchain. The terms and conditions of a contract are unable to be changed, ensuring a level of trust that can’t be achieved by humans alone” — Rafi Billurcu, Partner, Manufacturing at Infosys Consulting ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
TECHNOLOGY - BLOCKCHAIN
80
“ A blockchain approach would improve standards, increase trust and also improve project delivery speed as the need for human validation at every step would be reduced” — Richard Waterhouse, Chief Strategy Officer, NBS NOVEMBER 2020
on safety.” However, Waterhouse
chains. It can offer a permanent digital
understands that it will take time
record of materials, parts and prod-
for the introduction of blockchain
ucts, which allows for the promotion
to be felt widespread. “In construc-
of end-to-end visibility and provides
tion, there is a move towards ‘the
a single source of truth to all partici-
golden thread of information ‘, and
pants. These benefits are important
this includes a requirement for unique
if the supply chain includes several
identifiers for every construction
participants with independent IT sys-
product and its associated literature.
tems or if there is a lack of trust among
The aim is that building standards
participants or necessity to onboard
will improve and errors from incor-
new participants.
rect product specification or shoddy work will be stamped out. The block-
2. Protecting and monetising critical
chain could well be instrumental in
intellectual property
improving information auditing and
Organisations across manufacturing
accountability.”
industries face a reliance to protect
“Being clear, this is not going to
IP. In tandem with cost, IP protection
happen immediately. There are real
is an important consideration in deci-
barriers, such as the maturity of the
sions about whether to make parts
systems, along with understanding,
in-house or buy them from a supplier.
and the willingness to adopt.”
One possibility is for a company to utilise blockchain technology to help
BCG: FIVE WAYS BLOCKCHAIN CAN CREATE VALUE IN THE FACTORY OF THE FUTURE?
prove that it owns IP in the event of a patent dispute. For example, Bernstein Technologies has developed a web service that enables its users to reg-
1. Enhancing track and trace
ister IP in a blockchain. The service
Companies can leverage blockchain to
creates a certificate that proves the
exchange data more easily, accurately
existence, integrity and ownership
and securely within complex supply
of the IP. ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
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TECHNOLOGY - BLOCKCHAIN
82
3. Simplifying and safeguarding
checks and production process data.
quality checks
The database uniquely tags each
By leveraging blockchain to support
product and automatically inscribes
quality control, an organisation can
every transaction, modification or
scale value for customers, another
quality check on the blockchain. To
primary objective of the factory of the
allow this application, the production
future. Today, in the place of block-
setup must include automated quality
chain, providing full transparency and
checks that generate and write meas-
complete documentation to cus-
urements directly to the blockchain.
tomers with regard to the quality of
This use case supports multiparty
processes and products that require
access to data and can eliminate the
expensive support from central par-
need for inbound quality control to ver-
ties that operate IT platforms.
ify checks that the supplier performs.
In addition to helping customers
It may also reduce the need for audits
track and trace inbound parts along
by original-equipment manufacturers
a supply chain, blockchain creates
or central authorities to verify quality
immutable documentation of quality
controls.
NOVEMBER 2020
4. Advancing machines as a service Blockchain accelerates the possibilities of using an innovative pay-per-use model for machinery, often known as machines as a service (MaaS). In this model, instead of selling production equipment, a machinery provider charges for the equipment’s use on the basis of the output that it generates. For example, instead of selling a compressor,
to manage the greater complexity
the machinery provider sells com-
and technological sophistication
pressed air by volume. By relying on
of advanced production machinery.
MaaS instead of owned machines,
In order to facilitate outsourced
manufacturers can avoid large
maintenance, users append service
upfront investments and can easily
agreements and installation documen-
upgrade equipment to gain access
tation related to each device to the
to the latest technology. If applied
blockchain record, creating a digital
correctly, the MaaS model will allow
twin of the device. Blockchain technol-
manufacturers to scale their pro-
ogy can then allow for the automated
duction flexibility effectively.
execution of and payment for scheduled maintenance. A machine that
5. Enabling machine-controlled
requires maintenance can trigger a
maintenance
service request and generate a smart
Blockchain can support new
contract for the work or for a replace-
maintenance approaches, like
ment part. Upon fulfilment of the
automated service agreements
order, payment processing happens
and shorter maintenance times.
automatically. In addition, immutable
These innovations are necessary
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TECHNOLOGY - BLOCKCHAIN
history is appended to the blockchain record. Such applications, which are still in the early development phase, increase the reliability of equipment, facilitates the monitoring of equipment health and attrition and creates auditable health assessments of the machinery. Rafi Billurcu, Partner, Manufacturing at Infosys Consulting, believes that in manufacturing, one use of blockchain that has seen success is the creation 84
of smart contracts in global supply chains. “Documents and contracts are the beating heart of any supply chain. Rather than storing these in silos across the legal, procurement and
humans alone. What makes smart con-
accounting departments of various
tracts truly ‘smart’ is their ability to not
companies, as in a traditional supply
only streamline and automate entire
chain, in a blockchain, each of these
processes but to perform human tasks
elements can be stored on decentral-
such as monitoring inventory or nego-
ised and highly-encrypted nodes in a
tiating prices with other parties. In all,
‘smart contract’.
smart contracts can automatically
“Instead of existing on paper, smart
track supply chain levels, inventory
contracts exist as a computer pro-
levels and prices, replacing expensive,
gramme on a blockchain. The terms
manual processes. This ultimately
and conditions of a contract are
reduces cost and enables manufac-
unable to be changed, ensuring a
turers to maximise profits – without
level of trust that can’t be achieved by
compromising on credibility and trust.”
NOVEMBER 2020
models. As a result, more efficient factory operations that require data sharing and collaboration among complex networks of companies and machines will be created and set as a new norm across the industry. Billurcu adds that with blockchainbased smart contracts having a greater influence across supply chains, any buyer can find a contract and act on instantaneously. “This means they get the product they need and can pay for it without the expensive overheads associated with traditional supply chains,” says Billurcu. “This could mean a radical overhaul in the way international trade is conducted – by
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
speeding up transactions, reducing
Manufacturing has always been
reliance on paperwork, and bringing
considered an industry that is set in
cost-efficiency to the fore.”
its ways. However, with technology
With the future in mind, Waterhouse
such as blockchain, AI and machine
has a clear vision of what the coming
learning playing a more influential role,
years could look like in a blockchain
the Factory of the Future is set to look
world. “A blockchain approach would
very different. As blockchain technol-
improve standards, increase trust and
ogy matures, it will, through trust, allow
also improve project delivery speed as
manufacturers to clear some hurdles
the need for human validation at every
that have impeded the full-scale
step would be reduced. This would
deployment of other next-generation
lead to knock on improvements around
technologies and innovative business
product availability and lead times.” ma nufa c t uri nggl o b a l. com
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T O P 10 – A I P L AT F O R M S
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NOVEMBER 2020
AI PLATFORMS Manufacturing Global examines ten companies that are leveraging AI in manufacturing WRITTEN BY
SEAN GALEA-PACE
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T O P 10 – A I P L AT F O R M S
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10
Veo Robotics US$16.2mn
Veo Robotics is digitally disrupting manufacturing through products that harness advanced computer vision, 3D sensing and AI. Its first product allows for high-performance industrial robots to work together with people to allow for much more flexible, productive and efficient manufacturing workcells. In 2019, the firm announced the launch of Veo FreeMove, its safety-ratable, production-ready vision system for safe human-robot interaction. The system provides manufacturing engineers with the freedom to combine the strength, precision and speed of standard industrial robots with the ingenuity, judgement and skill of humans.
NOVEMBER 2020
09
Mythic
US$31.4mn
Mythic is a manufacturer of intelligent processing units for a number of devices, including some in the manufacturing sector. The firm has created a unique AI computing platform that enables smart camera systems, intelligent appliances, state-of-the-art robotics and more. The platform allows AI designers to deploy in form factors that were previously out of reach, which is the result of unmatched performance and energy efficiency. Key features include the lowest latency, highest performance per watt, hyper scalability and ease of use. 89
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sustain peak performance.
Benchmark your actual process and asset performance data against your expected performance with Honeywell Forge for Industrial, for better decisions that impact reliability, safety and profitability. For more information, please visit: www.honeywellprocess.com/iiot
T O P 10
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08
Uptake US$71.3mn
Uptake empowers industrial companies to digitally transform through open, purpose-built software which provides outcomes that matter. Uptake offers industrial intelligence software for manufacturing that combines material, process and equipment data to optimise production and maintenance. Uptake aims to increase production throughput, improve overall product quality and lower operating costs. Through Uptake, customers can make data-driven operational decisions while driving operational efficiency.
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T O P 10 – A I P L AT F O R M S
07
Intel
US$71.8bn
Intel’s AI Analytics Toolkit provides developers, researchers and data scientists with high performing Python libraries for data analytics and machine learning. Users can also access Intel-optimised versions of deep learning frameworks, including TensorFlow and Pytorch, to streamline end-to-end data science and AI workflows.
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NOVEMBER 2020
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06
IBM Watson Studio US$77.1bn
IBM Watson Studio helps data scientists and analysts prepare data and develop models at scale across any cloud. With its open, flexible multi-cloud architecture, Watson Studio offers capabilities that empower businesses to simplify enterprise data science and AI by automating AI lifecycle management through three critical pieces of software. AutoAI visually prepares data, while IBM SPSS Modeler builds data models through images with the assistance of IBM Watson Visual Recognition.
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T O P 10
05
Johnson & Johnson US$82bn
Johnson & Johnson is one of the leading healthcare companies worldwide. As a result of COVID-19, the organisation is utilising Google Glass technology to allow someone at a remote location to virtually see the same thing that a worker in front of a machine is seeing. This development allows for increased efficiency and productivity and a continuation of manufacturing despite the global pandemic closing down the majority of factories for the purpose of employee-wellbeing.
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T O P 10 – A I P L AT F O R M S
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04
General Electric US$95.2bn
GE is a leader in offering state-of-the-art AI platforms. In its GE Healthcare division, the organisation provides Edison, a system that allows its users greater efficiency, improved patient outcomes and better access to care. GE Research sits next to the Cloud and the Edge, physical and digital and is at the forefront of new AI concepts and developments for the industrial world. These include Digital Twin, Humble AI, Digital Ghost, Digital MRO, AIRx, Additive Manufacturing, Digital Thread for Design and Trusted Autonomy.
NOVEMBER 2020
03
Google AI Platform US$134.8bn
Google Cloud’s AI Platform allows developers, data scientists and data engineers to streamline their machine learning workflows. Whether it is point-and-click data science using AutoML or advanced model optimisation, AI Platform allows its users to transition their projects from ideation to deployment with ease. Its ecosystem of connected devices, products and solutions drive revenue growth, operational excellence and innovation across the entire manufacturing value chain.
97
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T O P 10 – A I P L AT F O R M S
02
Microsoft Azure US$143bn
Microsoft Azure is one of the most in-depth platforms around. The platform offers a number of services that are easy to access and user-friendly, whether you want to set up a website, create a 100
database, maintain and administer projects or develop, deploy and support your applications. Through the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Microsoft Azure, you can gain actionable insights and respond quickly to customer feedback and market trends.
NOVEMBER 2020
Bringing AI to the edge: Azure Cognitive Services in Containers CLICK TO WATCH
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AWS Machine Learning Helps Solve Unique Problems CLICK TO WATCH
NOVEMBER 2020
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2:14
Amazon Web Services US$280.5bn
Recognised as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud AI Developer Services, AWS offers a comprehensive set of tools for businesses to create impactful machine learning solutions quicker. AWS provides a range of different AI services, such as advanced text analytics, automated code reviews, chatbots, demand forecasting, document analysis and enterprise search.
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NOVEMBER 2020
MITIGATING COVID-19 DISRUPTION IN MANUFACTURING WRITTEN BY
SEAN GALEA-PACE PRODUCED BY
GLEN WHITE
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L&T TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
Prabhakar Shetty, Global Head of Manufacturing Services at L&T Technology Services, discusses his organization’s digital transformation in manufacturing against the backdrop of COVID-19 L&T Technology Services (LTTS) is a global leader in Engineering and R&D services. With 525 patents filed for 53 of the Global Top 100 ER&D spenders, LTTS revolves around engineering. Prabhakar Shetty is the Global Head of Manufacturing Services at LTTS. Having joined 106
the organisation in 2017, Prabhakar oversees the digital led initiatives across verticals including Industry 4.0, smart cities and digital manufacturing, managing PLM, manufacturing operations, asset management, content management and engineering managed services. With more than 30 years of international experience across industry verticals, Shetty has been one of the key industry leaders who has played an active role in the rise of digitalisation in manufacturing. “If you look two decades back, most of the industries were looking at process improvements with the whole idea centered around globalisation and ensuring that processes were as efficient and as lean as possible,” says Shetty. “The ensuing ERP phase saw the collaboration of customer
NOVEMBER 2020
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Listen to the Podcast here
L&T TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
“I believe a massive technological shift is underway”
110
the volume of business grew and it became much more global, it gave birth to niche interventions around functions like sourcing, supply chain,
— Prabhakar Shetty, Global Head of Manufacturing Services, LTTS
CRM, planning etc. Companies like
management, human resource,
highly complex and intelligent products
business intelligence, financial man-
and systems that can talk to each other
agement, inventory and supply chain
while generating huge amounts of data.
capabilities into one system. This
I believe a massive technological shift
helped to bring together customer
is underway. But the question revolves
management, human resources,
around how to harness the data com-
business intelligence, financial man-
ing out of the shop floor, products and
agement, inventory, and supply chain
various collaborative functions.”
capabilities into one system. When
i2 evolved solutions which clearly defined outcomes of core processes. “In the current environment, we have
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption across industries worldwide. Shetty believes it has highlighted the importance of planning and mitigating against situations that are deemed improbable in the past.
NOVEMBER 2020
LTTS: Plant Engineering Services CLICK TO WATCH
|
2:44
111 “Considerations for business
if any of these nodes to go down. You
continuity planning are usually for
also need to have a crisis management
predictable and foreseeable threats
team to act on these and identify the
to normal working” explains Shetty.
risk associated.”
“This could be transportation, sup-
Shetty affirms that it is important
plier disruptions or power issues and
to be agile and proactive in order
these events are easier to anticipate.
to succeed in an environment that
However, COVID-19 has shown how
is continuously changing as a result
important planning is.”
of the pandemic. “Nobody could have
“It’s important to break down your
foreseen this and it meant that any
business into different nodes, for each
reactions were knee-jerk and clearly
of those nodes assess the failure of
caused major disruption across the
the impact from two standpoints:
entire supply chain,” explains Shetty.
the financial and operational. Based
“It’s important to ask yourself: as a
on that you plan for remedial actions
services company how can you help ma nuf a c t uri nggl o ab l. com
L&T TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
112
“ It’s important to ask yourself: how can you help customers at a time like this? There’s no precedent or framework for this type of situation” — Prabhakar Shetty, Global Head of Manufacturing Services, LTTS
across functions like product design,
manufacturing, sales, and service. For example it’s key to have design flexibility because your original product might
customers at a time like this? There’s
not sell and you may have to change
no precedent or framework for this
components or even the whole prod-
type of situation.”
uct. During the pandemic, you’ve seen
“We launched a program called
automotive companies that wouldn’t
F.R.U.G.AL based on flexible, remote
usually offer medical supplies delve
and agile methodologies. Rapid
into that market to produce ventilators,
transformations were expected
for example.
NOVEMBER 2020
“It’s also important to consider manu-
your workforce to work with alternates.
facturing operation flexibility and how
These are all important considerations.”
you can quickly transition from one prod-
Cloud is also a key area and Shetty
uct to another. How can you repurpose
explains how the coronavirus is forcing
your manufacturing lines? If you have a
manufacturers to rethink their overall
demand spike, how do you look at line
cloud strategy.
expansion? If certain components are
“There are a few elements you need
not available how do you quickly train
to be aware of with cloud because how
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Prabhakar Shetty 113
Title: Global Head – Digital Manufacuting Services Industry: Information Technology & Services Prabhakar is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in building and nurturing successful consulting and technology businesses. He has over 30 years of international work experience within the manufacturing, retail and CPG space with repeated success guiding multimillion-dollar portfolios with P&L responsibility. In his current role as Global Head Digital Manufacturing Services at Larsen & Toubro Technology Services (LTTS), Prabhakar leads multiple units like PLM, Manufacturing Automation, Asset Management, Engineering Content Management and Managed Services. This group leads all the digital led initiatives across verticals including Ind 4.0, Smart Cities etc. Prabhakar has initiated multiple solution streams to leverage LTTS pedigree in core engineering and align it with new age applications and technologies. ma nuf a c t uri nggl o ab l. com
L&T TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
114
“ Partners should be aligned to the end goal of the value chain to serve customers to meet their business objectives” — Prabhakar Shetty, Global Head of Manufacturing Services, LTTS
you use and consume technology will
You have the foundation processes layer
significantly change. Implementation
that generates data, the technology layer
models will be different because we can’t
where all enterprise applications reside,
afford five-month consulting studies &
the experience layer where the user will
then do a long drawn implementation
be interacting with the system, and then
or rollouts – we need something that’s
cognition. The outcome of analytics is
ready now.
critical. But a wider view across these
“This means that most of the applica-
5 elements is critical.”
tions on the cloud need to be pre-built.
With the importance of developing
We feel that the cloud system architec-
key, strategic partnerships in mind,
ture will be divided into four or five layers.
Shetty highlights that it’s impossible
NOVEMBER 2020
partners. Today’s customers want one entity who can look after the entire value chain. It can be multiple players who can add to the big picture. But all these partners should be aligned to the end goal of the value chain to serve customers to meet their business objectives.” Looking to the future, Shetty believes that digitalisation will continue to transform the manufacturing industry and play an influential role. “In the last five years, technology has enabled transformation around us. It has become cheaper and customers have become more agile to adopt & leverage the latest tech. Products have become complex because you have different elements in today’s intelligent products. With a complex ecosystem, it’s important you to work in silos and meet changing
have versatile skillsets across the
market demands.
board. LTTS has brought together lots
“When you look at the value chain
of partners to create an ecosystem of
today, what is impacting it the most? It’s
excellence which can help build value-
a rapidly changing business model and
added solutions to end customers to
there are lots of new technologies being
transform their business model.”
introduced and you can’t do everything yourself,” says Shetty. “You need to have various ecosystem partners and traditionally people thought that partners meant only technology ma nuf a c t uri nggl o ab l. com
115
116
Driving value-added technology in manufacturing WRITTEN BY
GEORGIA WILSON PRODUCED BY
GLEN WHITE
NOVEMBER 2020
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TWINTHREAD
Erik Udstuen, CEO at TwinThread, discusses digital innovation, realizing value and the current technology trends in the manufacturing industry
W
orking in the industrial automation and manufacturing space for 25 years, Erik Udstuen began his career as a chemi-
cal and process engineer working in the pulp and paper industry, before forming his own company in the early nineties providing customers with manufacturing optimization solutions for multiple 118
sectors. After selling the company to General Electric (GE) in 2003, Udstuen joined the firm in 2007 as a Senior Executive driving digital transformation across multiple business units. “I left GE in 2012 and went back into the startup world and formed a couple of other companies, the latest company is TwinThread,� comments Udstuen, who believes that a significant differentiator between TwinThread and other organizations is its results guaranteed position. “The idea of TwinThread is to provide similar capabilities and concepts that monitor and optimize a fleet of power plants or gas turbines to other industries like manufacturing, consumer products, food and beverage, and automotive. The enabler for this is the fact that we have these pre-built applications that someone can just take, apply and NOVEMBER 2020
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TWINTHREAD
With this in mind, when it comes to digital innovation, TwinThread’s vision is “to be able to optimize on a global basis and drive 1 or 2% more efficiency out of manufacturing operations or a network of assets,” adds Udstuen. In order to achieve this he further explains that “the enabler is algorithms and the power of technology such as machine learning to make that practigain valuable insights without having
cal. We have a customer, for example,
to go through a long deployment.
that is monitoring 450 data centers
“We embrace the opportunity to 120
across the world and they’re doing that
deploy pilot projects that deliver proof
with just a few people. The only way
of value for outcomes and that as well
that becomes practical and economi-
is very unique. In doing so, we want to
cally feasible is if you apply algorithms
roadmap and fund future opportunities
and machine learning technologies.
for our customers.”
With these capabilities, organizations
“It may be a bit of a cliche, but really the executive buy-in sponsorship commitment to any kind of digital transformation effort is essential” — Erik Udstuen, CEO, TwinThread
NOVEMBER 2020
121
can drive innovative opportunities to
terms of the culture and mindset
drive efficiency.”
in this new digital age, and with the
When it comes to deploying a digi-
incorporation of machine learning
tal strategy, Udstuen highlights the
and artificial intelligence technolo-
importance of having the right culture
gies, leaders have to think in terms of
and mindset. “It’s critical. It may be a
their change management strategy
bit of a cliche, but really the execu-
- how do you bring together the roles
tive buy-in sponsorship commitment
of the IT teams, the data scientists
to any kind of digital transformation
and the engineer to understand the
effort is essential. But maybe what
data and solve business problems
potentially is less obvious is that in
using digital technology.” ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
TWINTHREAD
“ With the advancement of innovative technology such as machine learning, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G, the concept of connected environments are becoming more and more feasible and in real-time” — Erik Udstuen, CEO, TwinThread
122
TwinThread - Digital Innovation CLICK TO WATCH
NOVEMBER 2020
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1:53
123
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TWINTHREAD
124
Within the industry, Udstuen
implementing artificial intelligence
explains that when it comes to the
and machine learning based tech-
importance of technology, ‘we’re
nologies. But, only 16% actually have
obviously very biased given that we’re
a program that’s deploying that
a technology company, focused on
technology. So there’s a huge gap
applying machine learning and artificial
between the desire and the people
intelligence technologies. However,
that are actually implementing.
in a recent Harvard business review
The trends in terms of the applica-
article, it was suggested that 84%
tion of that technology are clear,
of leaders believe they should be
but the trends of how to actually
NOVEMBER 2020
get moving and start deploying that
began investing in sensor technology,
technology, those trends are only just
the technology to record the data
emerging.” Udstuen also highlights
from the sensors and the technology
that within that article, it was refer-
to store the data for long periods of
enced that successful companies
time. In the mid two thousands this
that are applying this technology are
expanded into most industries which
doing two key things. “One is the use
means that there are billions of sen-
of cross functional teams, and the
sors that have been deployed and
other is making the commitment and
are collecting data.
adopting technology in production as a first step.” Other trends within the industry
Today, the concept of connected factories and fleets is to mine new insights from not only the informa-
seen by Udstuen include the concepts
tion that’s already been collected,
of connected factories, connected
but also new data being created.
fleets and predictive maintenance.
With the advancement of innovative
“Starting with manufacturing there
technology such as machine learning,
are multiple innovations and layers
cloud computing, artificial intelligence
to the technology, some are new and
(AI) and 5G, the concept of connected
some have been around for a while.
environments are becoming more
In the mid nineties, organizations
and more feasible and in real-time.”
“ There’s a lot of value in looking backwards and understanding what went wrong and what went right, but it is a whole new level of value to be able to look forward and anticipate problems” — Erik Udstuen, CEO, TwinThread ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
125
TWINTHREAD
126 E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Erik Udstuen Title: CEO
Company: TwinThread
Industry: Internet
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Erik’s in-the-field industrial experience working as a chemical and process engineer, paired with his proven acumen for co-founding successful tech. start-ups is what fuels his passion for developing and driving innovative, game-changing solutions specifically tailored for manufacturing organizations committed to ever-improving efficiency and performance. His 25 years in the manufacturing sector have equipped him with the background necessary to know exactly what it is engineers, operators, problem-solvers and domain experts need. They need a predictive platform that will cater insights to their understanding, so they may be unleashed to expand their reach and effect greater operational change. NOVEMBER 2020
TwinThread - Trends in the Industry CLICK TO WATCH
|
2:55
127 Another part of TwinThead’s vision
the problems might be, and to be able
is that “a modern operating strategy
to act before those problems manifest
should be one where a company can
themselves. There’s a lot of value in look-
optimize their entire enterprise of assets
ing backwards and understanding what
efficiently. It’s no longer about optimizing
went wrong and what went right, but it is
a single plant or a single line. It’s about
a whole new level of value to be able to
how to optimize the performance of all of your assets and do that efficiently. This is where predictive maintenance comes in. It’s one thing to be able to look backwards and say, these were the problems that I had and this is how I applied these resources enabling me to solve the problem. It’s another to be able to look forward and to anticipate where
2018
Year founded
30+
Number of employees ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
TWINTHREAD
“ A modern operating strategy should be one where a company can optimize their entire enterprise of assets efficiently, it’s no longer about optimizing a single plant or a single line” 128
— Erik Udstuen, CEO, TwinThread
TwinThread - Future Innovations CLICK TO WATCH
NOVEMBER 2020
|
4:09
129
look forward and anticipate problems
blocks, and actually create applica-
and to have strategies in place, to deal
tions out of them so that customers
with problems in real-time in a proactive
can just deploy the application that
and predictive way,” comments Udstuen.
solves the problem without having to
Reflecting on the future, Udstuen
conduct the development work based
believes that from a TwinThread per-
on a tool set. This helps to eliminate
spective what the company is trying to
the development time so that custom-
continuously achieve, “is that with any
ers can get straight to deploying and
adoption of technology, an organiza-
straight to getting value.”
tion requires a tool set to do their own development work, in order to turn the technology into an actual application that delivers value. So what we’re trying to drive is the ability to take those building ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
130
Digital Transformation in the Tobacco & Vaping Industry NOVEMBER 2020
131
WRITTEN BY
WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY
LEWIS VAUGHAN
busi ne ssc h ief . eu
JTI
Chief Information Officer Atiq Samad reveals the transformations he has overseen at JTI, from industry 4.0 to artificial intelligence
J
TI is the world’s third largest tobacco company, operating in 130 markets with a workforce of 44,000 people, 29 fac-
tories, 8 R&D centers and 6 tobacco processing facilities around the world. The company’s Chief 132
Information Officer is Atiq Samad, and he has been in the role for two years. Such a large, global company has had a head start on the adaptations companies are experiencing worldwide in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as he explains: “Fortunately at JTI, we were already used to having virtual teams, because we are spread out all across the world, representing many different locations. We’ve learned over the last 15, 20 years how to work in a virtual team.” When Atiq joined JTI, he made it his mission to look at the company’s IT landscape holistically, in order to modernize its technology platforms under the banner of a Business Platform Modernization (BPM) program. “We were one of the first big companies with a single instance database on SAP
NOVEMBER 2020
133
busi ne ssc h ief . eu
DISRUPT DISRUPTION
How Wipro helped JTI implement a milestone program and reduce friction. Enterprises must do the near-impossible: Meet the high expectations of their customers and do it at the lowest cost possible. That’s why 93% of enterprises are embracing digital transformation to deliver greater value to their business. However, adding digital transformation initiatives on top of the day-to-day operation priorities is a big ask for most technology departments. JTI experienced this first-hand: IT management bandwidth was consumed in putting out fires, such as delivery quality issues and difficult supplier relationships. With no time left to innovate for the broader business objectives, JTI needed a solution that would allow its IT team to focus on what’s important. JTI sought help from a partner that could meet its needs by managing their global data center and cloud services — at scale, integrated and at a competitive cost. Wipro became exactly that partner. Wipro team quickly became immersed with the JTI team working toward the same goals. In fact, Wipro was onboarded in just 2 ½ months — three weeks ahead of schedule!
Lately, Wipro team has also supported JTI in their strategic BPM program: Wipro team worked diligently behind the scenes in multiple areas: data centers, SAP and more.
Since Wipro has started providing Data Center and Cloud services, JTI has seen tangible improvements and overall services stabilization, including a steep drop in Priority 1 incidents and a reduction in the incident/change backlog.
Wipro has done a tremendous job of transitioning our global Data Center Operations in a very short time and without disruption. Not only could they deliver a superior service as of day one, but they also kept improving and adding value. Ultimately, Wipro earned JTI’s trust and could further develop a successful relationship. — Guilain Rogg • VP, JTI
Our partnership with Wipro is a strong one based on solid execution, trust and commitment. Wipro has brought their best to create value for our business. I especially appreciate the focus on not only execution but also innovation that touches various aspects of our business. – Atiq Samad • CIO, JTI
A CONVERSATION WITH VINU VARGHESE BUSINESS HEAD — CONSUMER BU CONTINENTAL EUROPE, WIPRO
Wipro A true partner for digital transformation In an ever-evolving business and digital landscape, enterprises need to be able to innovate while maintaining their core offerings. Wipro is the ideal strategic partner for helping enterprises unlock value through digital transformation, thanks to its internationally recognized expertise that extends far beyond data center and cloud operations. Wipro Digital and Designit are helping transform our customers’ business in fundamental ways.
Learn more about our capabilities today. Wipro • Wipro Digital • Designit
JTI
136
“ We’re looking at the digital employee experience, and we’re even challenging the concept of offices entirely” — Atiq Samad, CIO, JTI
that moved from ECC to S/4HANA. And this was of course a big technology migration, but not only that, we also did a finance transformation. In terms of our CRM, as part of our trade marketing excellence (TME) program, we decided to go to the latest technologies with Oracle, which is the Oracle Engagement Cloud. We’ve also brought in a single source of truth called One Data, and we‘re looking into the factories and logistics too, to bring them up to the same level.”
NOVEMBER 2020
It’s not just technology that has
the technology investment portfolio
changed as part of the BPM ini-
management process, where we have
tiative, but also the culture. “We are
a portfolio of all the technology invest-
bringing in an investment mindset.
ments. We look at each investment
So, hand-in-hand with the business
and look at both their initial business
platform modernization program,
benefits and their strategic fit to make
we have implemented what we call
a strategic roadmap.”
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Atiq Samad Title: CIO Company: JTI Industry: Tobacco & Vaping
137
Location: Switzerland
Atiq Samad, Chief Information Officer (CIO) for JTI has held the position for the past two years and is responsible for JTI’s worldwide IT organisation. Atiq is accountable for the definition and execution of JTI’s long term IT strategies and responsible for the technology investment portfolio that supports JTI’s growth ambitions. Atiq began his career RJRI/JTI in 1994 and has consistently taken on new roles with increased accountability across the entire IT function, including leadership over the Center of Excellence, IT Global Development Center and Business Platform Modernization (BPM). Atiq holds a Bachelor of Technology degree from Indian Institute of Technology and MBA degree from Indiana University. Atiq lives in Nyon, Switzerland with his wife and 2 children.
busi ne ssc h ief . eu
JTI
“ At JTI, we were already used to having virtual teams, because we are spread out all across the world” — Atiq Samad, CIO, JTI
Part of that strategic roadmap has been embracing emerging technologies. “We’re expanding into artificial intelligence, IoT, robotic process automation. We already have them on a small scale, but now we’re going to expand further into the digital space.” Future projects coming down the line include getting more out of data with buyer insights and predictive analytics. “We’re looking into the digital space, and how we can leverage IoT for our vaping products, for
140
example. That also opens us up to
NOVEMBER 2020
We are JTI CLICK TO WATCH
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1:57
141 practice ecommerce - which we can’t with our traditional business.” The transformation goes further into the manufacturing sites themselves. “We are also looking into industry 4.0,” says Samad, “which we already do in terms of manufacturing, operations management and quality sensors. But we want to expand this and really look into transforming our manufacturing and factories. We’re also doing a project now that’s focused on our global supply chain. That’s building the foundation for greater sales forecast and operations planning (S&OP), where we busi ne ssc h ief . eu
key people remarkable projects
#Precise Resourcing Outcome Focussed RealTime Hiring Decisions Assured Accuracy PreciseResourcing@hansonregan.com
will look at the entire company’s sales
Orange Business Services and Wipro.
and operations planning process - but
In addition to that we engage with mid-
that’s for the future.”
sized companies that give us more
JTI’s technological transformation
agility and flexibility. Some of these
has required the participation of a
companies started very small and they
number of partners such as Hanson
grew with us, so they feel part of the
Regan and STL. Samad notes that the
team spirit that we have created at JTI.”
companies it works with vary in scale.
Thanks to the existing measures
“We have a few big strategic partners,
put in place by Samad and his team,
we work with SAP, Microsoft, Oracle,
JTI was well able to weather the
143
“We’re going to expand further into the digital space” — Atiq Samad, CIO, JTI
busi ne ssc h ief . eu
JTI
coronavirus storm. “We have everything cloud ready - that’s why, for example, when we felt the impact of coronavirus, we went from 600 remote workers to about 18,000 remote workers within three days. From an infrastructure standpoint, we had to make an effort, but it didn’t create big problems.” Samad further sees the pandemic as opening up possible avenues for potential change. “We’re looking at the digital employee experience, and we’re even challenging the 144
concept of the office entirely. Can we
NOVEMBER 2020
1999
Year founded
$12.4bn+ Revenue in US dollars
44,000 Number of employees
145
“ We look at each investment and look at both their initial business benefits and their strategic fit to create a strategic roadmap” — Atiq Samad, CIO, JTI busi ne ssc h ief . eu
JTI
146
NOVEMBER 2020
147
not have dynamic offices, for instance?
in good stead for the future. “While
But as the CIO, my biggest focus always
our competitors are focusing on
has been and always will be on remain-
upgrading their systems and moving
ing secure, compliant, and resilient.”
to new platforms, we will already be
That philosophy is aligned with the
experiencing the value of that technol-
goals of the business at large. “Our
ogy. That’s one thing that really makes
goal is to become the number one
us ready for the future.”
tobacco company in the world. In today’s world, you cannot do that without technology. I’m excited about it because we can really add value through the technology we introduce.” Samad is clear that the technological work the company has done stands busi ne ssc h ief . eu
Peace of Mind Through Digital Inspection Solutions 148
WRITTEN BY
WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY
MIKE SADR
NOVEMBER 2020
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WAYGATE TECHNOLOGIES
Arungalai Anbarasu, CT&SO, discusses the company’s philosophy on digital transformation and how it’s creating peace of mind for manufacturers post-COVID-19
A
lthough the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are beyond dispute, one positive aspect has been a renewed
openness to digital transformation and its possibilities. Waygate Technologies is a staunch champion 150
of its effect in the non-destructive testing (NDT) and industrial inspection arena. Originally GE Inspection Technologies, the company eventually rebranded itself in 2020 but still maintains its rich industry heritage with over 125 years of world-leading excellence - a combination of 1.700 employees operating globally as part of the Baker Hughes corporation. Using cutting-edge data analytics, Waygate Technologies seeks to augment productivity, boost competitiveness, and provide clients and their customers with the peace of mind they require. Naturally curious and exploratory at a young age, Arungalai Anbarasu, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, says that engineering provided her with the perfect outlet for exploring these
NOVEMBER 2020
151
2004
Year founded
1,700 Number of employees
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WAYGATE TECHNOLOGIES
152
“ We retained the people and the culture, so we rebranded in a way that our customers would still recognise us and our services” — Arungalai Anbarasu, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Waygate Technologies
passions. “My Master’s thesis (at the Georgia Institute of Technology) was actually on non-destructive testing,” she explains. Joining GE in 2005, Anbarasu quickly developed professionally, “I started to understand why business strategy is so important for a company, which made me take on different roles in the company, from finance strategy to operations, technology, business management, and finally the role I find myself in today.” When the company became Waygate Technologies, she relates that capturing the brand attention once afforded
NOVEMBER 2020
to GE was challenging. “GE Inspection
customers would still recognise us
Technologies (GEIT) enjoyed such a
and our services. Ultimately, we pro-
strong presence in the NDT industry.
vide them with a gateway to innovation,
We retained the people and the cul-
so that, I believe, was the reasoning
ture, so we rebranded in a way that our
behind our new name.”
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
Arungalai Anbarasu Title: Chief Technology & Strategy Officer Company: Waygate Technologies Industry: Industrial Inspection Solutions and Non-Destructive Testing Location: Huerth, Germany
153
Arungalai Anbarasu is the Chief Technology & Strategy Officer at Waygate Technologies, driving strategy and innovation for the company. In addition to pushing the technology and business models, boundaries on inspection solutions, Aru and her team are also focused on the digital transformation of Waygate Technologies and spearheading Waygate’s evolution into a Digital Inspection Solutions provider, taking customers from inspections to insights and from insights to innovations. Prior to her current role, Aru was the General Manager for Industrial X-ray and CT solutions business at Waygate Technologies. She also spent over a decade in GE in multiple impactful roles in business divisions such as Global Research Centre, Oil & Gas, Power Conversion, Healthcare and Renewables. She is passionate about encouraging Women in STEM fields and continues to pursue avenues to support this topic. Aru currently resides in Hannover with her husband Divyang and daughter Ada. ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
WAYGATE TECHNOLOGIES
D H VA N I R E S E A R C H & D E V E L O P M E N T
One of Waygate Technologies’ most important partners is Indian tech hub Dhvani Research & Development. Leveraging IITM, CNDE and ESCON technologies, the company is striving to become a world leader in the research and development of non-invasive diagnostics.
154
Anbarasu had the following to say about the two companies’ relationship: “We’ve been working with Dhvani for a few years now and count them as a
valued partner in our journey. Dhvani has access to a wide pool of resources, a strong track record in delivering ADR software and associated applications for x-ray and ultrasound, and their customer base includes top global brands. They are incredibly flexible in their working arrangements and truly drive us to succeed on multiple fronts simultaneously; a nice contrast from hardware companies, which are used to more structured and therefore slower shifts.”
In terms of more recent challenges, Anbarasu cannot deny that COVID-19 has presented a significant operational hurdle. However, she caveats this with a sense of optimism regarding the development of tech within NDT. “I almost see this as the beginning of a new digital revolution towards ‘Industry 4.0+’. I think a lot of this will continue beyond COVID too, with legacy customers becoming more NOVEMBER 2020
Waygate Technologies | A world leader in non-destructive testing. CLICK TO WATCH
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1:18
155 accepting generally; they used to pri-
latter allows operators to analyse
oritise face-to-face interactions during
and upload data independently
an inspection, but these days we’ve
from anywhere.
been convincing them to do it virtually.
Having these tools, and many oth-
Although the pandemic has driven
ers, illustrates what gives Waygate
us apart physically, it has brought us
Technologies an advantage over
together virtually.” Furthermore, two of
other companies in the space, “We
Waygate Technologies’ flagship digital
have one of the broadest product
products - InspectionWorks Connect
portfolios available,” Anbarasu states.
and Insight - are geared for meet-
“That world-leading breadth across
ing the core challenges introduced
visual, ultrasound, x-ray, CT, Eddy cur-
by COVID: the former allows users
rent, portables, handhelds and cloud
to connect a handheld borescope
services puts us in a really unique
or ultrasonic testing (UT) device to
position.” Observing that a global shift
remotely located experts, while the
away from single-unit data to larger ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
DHVANI
ANALYTIC INTELLIGENCE We are industry leaders in the development and deployment of NDE 4.0 related tools and technologies globally. We focus on product and applications development and also offer services in the area to our clients. Our ability to work across software, hardware, IoT, AI while bringing in the cutting edge domain skills offers a signiďŹ cant competitive advantage in the NDE space. Our collaboration with academia and associated industries and the use of blended skills that combine physics with data driven analysis help address some of the challenges faced by industry today. We have skills in developing digital twins for inspection processes and our product portfolio includes simulators that help optimise inspection time and resources. We use both knowledge based and data driven intelligence to generate synthetic data, where required. This is particularly useful in ramping up AI based tools that have an appetite for large volumes of information. We deliver end-to-end integrated solutions to our clients and have the in-house capabilities to work across platform technologies, automation, robotics, text / image analytics, decision sciences and IoT. We have developed visualisation and dashboarding tools that can also deliver enterprise reports. We are actively engaged with clients in the manufacturing, transport, construction, maintenance, energy, infrastructure, electronics, and healthcare sectors. LEARN MORE
WAYGATE TECHNOLOGIES
“ Although the pandemic has driven us apart physically, it has brought us together virtually” — Arungalai Anbarasu, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Waygate Technologies
158
connected ecosystems of information that unlock value exponentially is taking place, she positions the company at the head of this new trend in NDT and industrial inspection. “We pride ourselves in helping our customers both detect defects and avoid them altogether; detecting is important, but if we can avoid a fault NOVEMBER 2020
transformation journey is a desire to move beyond simply selling ‘product solutions’ and instead focus on envisioning, creating, building and selling digital inspection solutions. As such, the company has established a four pillar philosophy: 1) Focusing explicitly on developing collaborative partnerships, both with customers and vendors; 2) Shifting away from building products featuring software to true software products; 3) Employing a new commercial presence in the market that will enable the execution of its goals; and 4) Evolving hardware and manufacturing rhythms to drive a steady customer expectation of software releases and updates. Leveraging Waygate Technologies’ storied heritage and not allowing traditions to stifle innovation will be crucial, particularly from occurring, I think that’s far more
as the company transitions from being
valuable to them.” In a way, Anbarasu
a device-centric to a data-centric
says, our approach is comparable to
inspection company. Clearly, a cultural
the best healthcare: its testing identi-
shift will be integral; “That is a much
fies problems early, before they have
larger challenge, though, because
an opportunity to develop into some-
you’re trying to convert people from
thing more hazardous.
their long-held beliefs. This needs to
However, fundamentally guid-
be achieved through the right capital
ing Waygate Technologies’ digital
investment, training commercial teams ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
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WAYGATE TECHNOLOGIES
“ Waygate Technologies delivers peace of mind with emerging technologies” — Arungalai Anbarasu, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Waygate Technologies
160
NOVEMBER 2020
and expanding our digital presence in different geographical regions.” Far from being a strictly internal evolution, though, Anbarasu makes it clear that Waygate Technologies’ digital transformation will have direct benefits for customers. “Consider this: a borescope built by us can enter the combustion chamber of an aircraft engine through an approximately 1cm diameter port, travel to a location and capture an image with its own light source and stereo camera, measuring, in 3D, depths of defects down to the several microns. This is then taken to an exponentially higher value for the customer when Waygate Technologies deploys automatic defect recognition algorithms built on the cloud, delivered on the device. This enables the operator using the instrument to make ‘plane-side’ decisions, thus saving millions of dollars lost in downtime. This is truly incredible technology, and that’s just one example,” she enthuses. “Waygate Technologies delivers peace of mind with emerging technologies,” Anbarasu adds. “These are truly enabling our customers to have full confidence in our ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
161
WAYGATE TECHNOLOGIES
solutions’ ability to safeguard them from a quality perspective.” One of the company’s core digital initiatives, InspectionWorks|Ecos, offers an integrated, blockchain-powered data management solution, enabling unified inspection insights across a customer’s entire ecosystem and the complete lifecycle of their assets. Already highly anticipated for its perceived high value and market necessity, Waygate Technologies believes that leveraging this new 162
data solution could be transformative for modern industrial inspections. Already serving the aerospace, defense, automotive, electronics and
same time, we will strive to partner with
energy industries, Anbarasu intimates
clients in new technologies like electric
that, although these will remain the
vehicle (EV) batteries, hydrogen and
company’s core markets, Waygate
3D printing.”
Technologies is interested in branch-
Data, Anbarasu states, will be the
ing out further. “Inspection data is
key to this expansion and Waygate
everywhere and in every process; it
Technologies’ broader digital transi-
can be a very powerful tool for custom-
tion. “I don’t think the abundance
ers to drive productivity, quality and
of data is an issue; I think there’s no
safety,” she says. “We will continue to
longer a debate on whether data is
serve these traditional markets and
valuable and whether it feeds digital
also explore growth areas like medical
transformation. However, what’s now
devices, other forms of transportation
critical is the infrastructure around
and the pharmaceutical sector. At the
data: simply digitising all inspections
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163
“ Everyone needs to unite, follow the rules, and beat COVID-19” — Arungalai Anbarasu, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Waygate Technologies
to corporate ethics as it does to equipment, viewing Waygate Technologies’ position of social responsibility, particularly in the post-COVID-19 world, as equally substantial. “We are trying our best to help out where we can, such as inspecting ventilators, and digital transformation can be a force
is only the starting point; it is when this
for good in achieving that goal,” she
data can be tied to the asset being
concludes. “Everyone needs to unite,
inspected and then cross and counter
follow the rules, and beat COVID-19.”
referenced that its value starts rising exponentially”. Further, she indicates that ‘infrastructure’ refers just as much ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
164
NOVEMBER 2020
A DATA DRIVE IN MANUFACTURING WRITTEN BY
SEAN GALEA-PACE PRODUCED BY
KARL GREEN
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TSP ENGINEERING
John Coughlan, CEO at TSP Engineering, discusses his firm’s digital transformation journey against the backdrop of COVID-19
T
SP Engineering is an industrial and electrical engineering manufacturer that provides a range of technical solutions to
solve complex problems. The organisation serves a number of key industries such as nuclear, defence, oil & gas, steel, construction and industrial. 166
John Coughlan has been the CEO at TSP Engineering since 2014. A results-driven, business turnaround leader, Coughlan possesses a significant record of driving operational improvements through operating with a customercentred approach. He has helped oversee TSP Engineering’s digital transformation journey but believes his company is still in its infancy in terms of its overall digitalisation drive. “It’s been a good journey so far, but we’re still in the initial stages of transformation,” affirms Coughlan. “One of the things that we’re really trying to guard against is allowing anyone access into our business via any new technology we introduce. We’ve had to ensure that we’re cybersecure to protect the data that we have. This is even more important because a lot of
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167
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TSP ENGINEERING
“ It’s been a good journey so far but we’re still in the initial stages of transformation” — John Coughlan, CEO, TSP Engineering
the knowledge to leverage data more effectively. “It’s one of those
168
the data that isn’t ours, we’re minding it
things that I learned really early on,”
for our customers and the information
he explains. “You have to provide staff
is for UK eyes only and is classified.
with the tools to interrogate the data
This means it’s even more pivotal that
that will draw out the answer to the
we’re very careful in everything we do.”
problem. It’s important to never just
Talent management is a key pillar to
give away the answer but provide a
Coughlan and he acknowledges the
route to the answer that they need for
importance of equipping staff with
the problem. It’s about how to harness, interrogate and how to interpret the data to provide results because data doesn’t really lie.” With the importance of data growing at an exponential rate to businesses such as TSP Engineering, Coughlan affirms that an agile and flexible approach to operations is key, particularly in a digital transformation. “It’s about harnessing the data to drive our technologies and the changes that we make on a daily basis,” says Coughlan. “The digital era that we’re now in is constantly making us look at our business and how we operate. Only recently, based on what we’re
NOVEMBER 2020
doing, we’ve decided to take one of our
by other areas of the business.
business departments and set it out
“The data that we hold in-house
into a business unit on its own to allow
is very important to us and because
it to get further ahead on the digital
of the sectors that we work in, such
transformation and not to be held back
as nuclear and defence, security is
E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :
John Coughlan Title: CEO
Company: TSP Engineering
Industry: Manufacturing
Location: Workington, UK
John Coughlan joined TSP Engineering in 2014 with overall responsibility for driving strategy, operations and continuous business improvement. John possesses a significant record of delivering operational improvements, efficiencies and customer satisfaction across Europe, ASIA, North America and Mexico, with an ability to quickly understand the mission, vision and values of a customer focused organisation. He’s previously held senior non-executive and executive positions in many organisations including, Aerly Bird Transglogal, UpRight, Celestica, ITW Avery Weightronics, Dianorm Teo as well being appointed to a range of senior committees, enterprise boards and liaison groups. John was named UK Manufacturing Champions Manufacturing Leader in December 2016 and was named one of the most inspiring Manufacturing Leaders in 2018. Last year, John was crowned Best Businessperson of the Year by the in-Cumbria Awards, and this year was a finalist for the prestigious IoD Director of the Year Awards. ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
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TSP ENGINEERING
“ You have to provide staff with the tools to interrogate the data that will draw out the answer to the problem” — John Coughlan, CEO, TSP Engineering
products that we deliver. We must deliver a lifetime record with our product, so they need to be assured about everything in our process.” Coughlan believes that the influence of Advanced Nuclear Reactors (ANRs) will play a prominent part in helping the UK become a more sustainable environment. “The world wants to be a
essential. We must ensure that we’re
greener place in the future and one of
not only protecting the data but that
the ways we try to make that happen
we’re using it correctly, as it has a
is by ensuring that we have economi-
big impact on our customers and the
cally achievable and reachable nuclear
170
NOVEMBER 2020
Webinar replay: How to get your business ready to do business with TSP Engineering CLICK TO WATCH
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34:13
171
power to help get us to a net-zero
10 years to 18-24 months. This is from
economy and region,” says Coughlan.
the time you place the order, move it to
“To make this happen, you should
site and have your building put in place,
ensure that nuclear power is afford-
because the two can be in parallel.
able because, if you take the existing
This means that it basically becomes
power sources for nuclear, it can take
a plug-in unit when you get it onsite.”
up to 10 years to build and you could
Despite the disruption of the coro-
be talking about over US$20bn to pro-
navirus pandemic, TSP Engineering
duce. But we don’t have the finances
has continued to receive orders and
or time to do that anymore so if we
is emerging post-COVID-19 in a rela-
scale those down in terms of capa-
tively strong position in comparison to
bility of electricity, we can produce
lots of harder-hit industries. However,
those completely in the factory and
Coughlan explains that his organi-
streamline the production time from
sation, like so many others, had to ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
COMPANY NAME
transform operations overnight and find a new normal. “COVID has made us think outside the box,” explains Coughlan. “At the end of March, we ceased production and sent people home for their own safety. Once we got an understanding of how we could work more safely, we had a number of people from all areas of the business starting to work from home and getting the IT infrastructure set up. A lot of people found that they were much more productive working from home
Proud to be associated with TSP Engineering We at Masteel are proud to be associated with TSP Engineering. Masteel has the knowledge and resources to provide you with a first class steel supply option. If you have any steel requirements, we can help. Let Masteel UK be the solution.
Learn More
+44(0)1675 437733
173
“ It’s about harnessing the data to drive our technologies and the changes that we make on a daily basis”
of the factory workers, it’s obviously much more difficult for them to work at home so we introduced staggered times to stop there being too many people in at once.” TSP Engineering works closely with
— John Coughlan, CEO, TSP Engineering
the nuclear AMR advanced manufac-
and we now have a mix of remote
tinued success. “That’s an extremely
working and office working. It was
important relationship to us in terms
important that we checked in with
of our learning and development as
employees because we were well
a business,” he says. “Research and
aware of the mental health aspect and
development has become increasingly
understood that there wasn’t one way
key to us over the past few years
that worked for everyone. In terms
as technology continues to change.
turing centre and Coughlan affirms partnerships like this are vital to con-
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TSP ENGINEERING
174
“ The future is what we make it; you can sit back and wait for the future to come or you can try and develop it” — John Coughlan, CEO, TSP Engineering NOVEMBER 2020
We also believe in partnering with customers and get great satisfaction when they view us as an extension of their business and part of their business. We’re looking beyond them and are trying to see who their customers are, as well as their demands and values. This will mean that we will be able to more than meet our front facing customers’ needs. We spend a lot of time with companies within our supply chain who we see as partners and work with them to try and improve quality, to help them understand the requirements of delivering in the nuclear sector, and help get their business up to the level required by the industry.” Coughlan understands the importance of collaboration to achieving success. “You have to understand that you can’t do everything yourself,” he affirms. “Once you recognise that you need other people, then you have to consider them as an extension of your business. This is what helps you survive and what helps you differentiate yourself from competitors. You need a partner that’s open and is going to tell you when things are ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
175
TSP ENGINEERING
176
going wrong. Having a partner that is
can sit back and wait for the future
open to change and has flexibility is
to come or you can try and develop
also crucial.”
it,” he says. “We’re going to be very
With the future in mind, Coughlan
involved in developing the future and
is optimistic and believes the next few
new nuclear technologies and more
years are in his organisation’s hands.
involved in research and development.
“The future is what we make it; you
This is a really exciting time for lots
NOVEMBER 2020
177
of businesses and we’re certainly no
into the future in terms of getting
different. As a company, we’ve won 14
to the next level we want to reach.”
awards during the past four years and spent £5.5m investing in our people to bring them to the standard where they can grow within the business. The time is now to use that as a springboard ma nuf a c t uri nggl o b a l. com
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THE JOURNEY TO DIGITALISATION IN SUPPLY CHAIN WRITTEN BY
SEAN GALEA-PACE PRODUCED BY
MANUEL NAVARRO
NOVEMBER 2020
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m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
HENKEL
Dirk Holbach, Corporate Senior Vice President and CSCO of Laundry and Home Care, Managing Director of Henkel, discusses the effect technology has had on the supply chain
T
he Fourth Industrial Revolution is here. Technology is an enabler and it is having an increasingly prominent effect on how
manufacturing companies and their supply chains operate. Henkel is a leading solutions provider in 180
three core areas: Adhesive Technologies, Beauty Care, and Laundry and Home Care. Over the past few years, the firm has experienced rapid transformation and has its finger on the pulse of the latest technological innovations. Overseeing the company’s worldwide supply chain for Laundry and Home Care is Dirk Holbach, Corporate Senior Vice President Global Supply Chain. Holbach has worked for Henkel in a variety of roles for almost his entire working life. Having joined the company as Junior Manager of Corporate Purchasing in 1996, he became responsible for purchasing at Laundry and Home Care in 2004 before transitioning into several different roles prior to moving into his current position in July 2015. As part of Holbach’s current role, he is responsible for the end-to-end supply chain NOVEMBER 2020
181
m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
Empowering Industrial Workers With Modern Digital Tools Improve productivity, quality and safety with the Parsable Connected Worker Platform. Transform static, paper-based standard operating procedures into mobile, interactive work instructions. Enable workers to leverage multimedia formats and collaborate in real time. With Parsable, companies gain unprecedented insight into human work by capturing essential data to improve their operations at scale. www.parsable.com
Increasing Productivity, Quality and Safety at Henkel – at Scale A key partner to Henkel’s digital transformation is Parsable, the leading Connected Worker Platform for enterprise industrial companies. Parsable is a software platform that helps the world’s largest industrial and manufacturing companies arm their frontline workers with the necessary tools to thrive in today’s digital-first world. In addition to Henkel, its customers are top global companies in the manufacturing and energy industries, including consumer packaged goods, resources and chemicals, packaging and building materials, and automotive and aerospace. Parsable is one of Henkel’s partners to help digitise Henkel’s operations. The Parsable Connected Worker Platform transforms static, paper-based standard operating procedures into dynamic work instructions, including multimedia voice, text, video and photos, as well as real-time team collaboration. Given that 72% of tasks at a factory are still performed by humans, according to a recent study by research firm A.T. Kearney, Parsable provides companies with new data and insight into human work so they can improve productivity, quality and safety – at scale. “They’re primarily focused on supporting companies through digitalisation on the shopfloor. Although a relatively new partner, we’re currently evaluating various opportunities to build on their preconfigured platform,” said Dirk Holbach, Corporate Senior Vice President Global Supply Chain Laundry & Home Care, Henkel. Parsable underwent an intense deployment at Henkel during 2019. “We’ve been pioneering this new market, called connected work, which provides modern digital tools to industrial workers,” says Lawrence Whittle, CEO of Parsable. “The consumer packaged goods market is an increasingly active area for us and it ultimately led us to Henkel, who is clearly one of the biggest players in this space on the global stage.” In order to establish a mutually beneficial and longlasting partnership, Whittle believes transparency is
Overview of Connected Work and the Parsable Platform
essential in order to achieve success with some of the world’s biggest companies. “You have to be able to align with each other; otherwise, technology companies can’t survive,” he says. “We’ve invested a ton to ensure that we’re not only delivering an easy-to-use, softwarebased platform to help frontline industrial workers do their jobs better and more efficiently, but also that we support and even drive the key business objectives of our customers.” “Ultimately, our goal is to improve the overall operations at Henkel,” explains Whittle. “In order to achieve that, there is a clear objective around productivity, safety and quality. At the moment, there’s a demographic shift in the industry. It’s vital that you capture the knowledge of employees that are at retiring age and leaving the company, and transferring that knowledge to the new generation. While there’s a real necessity to drive efficiency, quality and safety, there is also a requirement to understand a new way of working and recognise a new type of worker that really needs these modern, digital tools.” The Parsable Connected Worker Platform currently has users in more than 130 countries, and is available in 14 languages.
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HENKEL
for Laundry and Home Care, and in 2018 the business unit accounted for
“ Introducing digital for digital’s sake doesn’t make any sense”
€6.4mn sales. Within Holbach’s business unit, Henkel has six regional hubs, as well as 33 factories and 47 warehouses under his remit. Despite being founded in 1876, the DAX company is still majority owned by the Henkel family, and Holbach believes this really sets his
— Dirk Holbach, Corporate Senior Vice President, CSCO of Laundry and Home Care, Managing Director, Henkel 184
organisation apart from its competitors. “It provides us with a different strategy: the Henkel family has shown its continued commitment to the company, enabling us to operate with a long-term perspective. We have a strong company
NOVEMBER 2020
Henkel: Operating a long-term approach in manufacturing CLICK TO WATCH
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185 culture, and our shared values help us to create sustainable value for future generations,” he explains. “Our portfolio is diversified because we have two consumer goods businesses and one that’s focused on industrial markets. It’s certainly a unique mix.” Holbach understands that the journey to achieving digitalisation is a continuous one and not something that can be accomplished overnight. “In 2013, we began to invest in our digital backbone, which led to us connecting all our factories together through a standardised approach,” explains m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
Changing the way you think about data LEARN MORE
More and more companies collect huge amounts of data and want to turn them into money. But where are the obstacles to achieving that? When it comes to data monetization, most companies only scratch the surface. This is because the use of data can only be imposed to a limited extent. Instead, companies need to get as many people as possible excited about using data. Analytical competence is often confined to the IT or BI department, employees are not trained in working with data or do not have the right tools to use data easily and sensibly in their daily work. The fact is, the more employees and managers are used to working with data, making decisions based on facts and playfully drawing new insights from data analysis, the more likely it is that companies will develop ideas on how to make money with data - be it in the form of services or even entirely new business models.
In other words, it is necessary to build a data-driven corporate culture. But what does the path to this end look like? A culture of analysis begins with empowerment. Employees must be empowered to explore data themselves and answer their own questions. This also includes a certain degree of trust managers must have in their teams when dealing with data. Modern BI tools also help to curate and purposefully manage data. This way, everyone gets access to the data they need without jeopardizing sensitive data and governance regulations.
What role do technologies like AI play here? If companies want more employees to work with data, they need to make access as easy as possible. Technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and AI can help. NLP - the ability of computers to understand human language - lowers the entry barrier for professional analytics. With our Ask Data feature, users can formulate questions about
Henrik Jorgensen Country Manager DACH at Tableau Software.
their data in natural language. When people can interact with a data visualization like a personal assistant, it allows more people across all disciplines to ask deeper questions about their data, thus increasing the overall acceptance of data analysis. With the use of AI-based data analysis, we are now going one step further and making statistical knowledge more accessible. For example, the new Explain Data feature can be used to explain statistical outliers. This allows users without specialist knowledge to quickly expose the 'why' behind their data by simply clicking on the data point in a visualization. Explain Data evaluates hundreds of patterns and explanations within seconds, taking all available data into account. Innovations such as these foster a culture of curiosity and strongly promote a data-driven corporate culture.
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HENKEL
188
Holbach. “I’m always looking at the
consumer goods (FMCG) business, we
business benefit for implementing
primarily think in relatively short cycles,”
technology because introducing digital
explains Holbach. “If the end user has
for digital’s sake doesn’t make any
no benefit from a specific technology
sense. It’s important that new technol-
then they’ll stop using it. You can’t intro-
ogy helps solve business challenges,
duce new technology for the sake of it
such as ensuring that processes
— there’s no point. We’re still adopting a
become faster, cheaper and more
vertical approach and are continuously
agile.” Implementing technology that
trialling new technology in several
serves a purpose is a key pillar to
different pilot locations.” However,
Holbach, and he believes that harness-
Holbach understands the challenge of
ing new processes and systems that
change management and the process
aren’t sustainable has no long-term
involved for a successful culture shift.
value to Henkel. “As a fast-moving
“There’s a whole transformation of the
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189
E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :
Dirk Holbach Title: Corporate Senior Vice President Industry: Consumer Goods Location: Netherlands With more than 20 years of experience in Supply Chain, Operations, Purchasing and Sales, Holbach has held various roles on a local, regional and global level at Henkel. His special focus has been on supply chain strategy and organization development, network optimization, continuous improvement and post-merger integrations. Holbach holds a Master’s degree in Business and Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Information Science. m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
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Henkel: Connecting factories together through a standardised approach CLICK TO WATCH
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191
business to consider and it’s vital that
last ten years. “It’s become part of our
you give employees the time to under-
DNA and is anchored into our mind-
stand and embrace new technologies
set,” explains Holbach. “Our products
and provide targeted support and
are used millions of times every day
trainings,” he affirms.
around the world, and we recognise
Henkel has five core values that it
the potential impact we can have by
centres operations around: customers
developing sustainable innovations.
and consumers, financial perfor-
We’re designing more and more of
mance, sustainability, people, and the
our packaging to ensure it’s 100%
foundation as a family business. As a
recyclable, reusable or compostable
result of the company’s sustainability
as well as using recycled materials to
drive, Henkel has reduced its specific
produce it.” The company was one
energy consumption by more than
of the first organisations to publish
50% in its Laundry division over the
a formal sustainability report more m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
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says. “This means that you then have less resource consumption to produce
“ We’re designing our packaging to ensure its 100% recyclable as well as only using recyclable materials to produce it”
it, ship it, and it subsequently allows the consumer in the final phase to use our products in a more sustainable way.” Another one of Henkel’s core values is people. The importance of having a team in place that is aligned to a common objective is at the heart of the company’s drive. Henkel places considerable value on its recruitment drive,
— Dirk Holbach, Corporate Senior Vice President, CSCO of Laundry and Home Care, Managing Director, Henkel
as well as ensuring it retains the talent it already has. “People are key. As part of our digital journey, I’ve built up a small, centralised regional team that
than 28 years ago and has a clear forward-going ambition: to triple the value it creates through business activities relating to its environmental footprint by 2030 – compared to the base year 2010. With a more sustainable approach at the forefront of Holbach’s strategy, he maintains that his company is continuously seeking to reduce the amount of packaging in its products. “Compaction is a major trend in our industry at the moment. By taking certain chemicals out of a product, it makes it more compact,” he m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
193
Gather the Data to Dominate Your Field Every day, your people, devices, and processes are generating a large amount of data, but without context, it's just noise. Effective information management unlocks your data - from devices, systems, or organisational silos - and combines it with business intelligence to deliver powerful operational insights. By transforming trapped data into live information feeds, we help you troubleshoot problems and identify trends to improve your operations. Henkel, has achieved substantial savings in energy consumption, waste reduction and improved Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) through the adoption of technology from our Operations and Optimisation Management and Monitoring and Control portfolio. AVEVA delivers software solutions to about 80 sites globally at Henkel successfully today. Read about Henkel’s sustainability success here or contact us eursa@aveva.com to learn more. aveva.com linkedin.com/company/aveva @avevagroup
195
works on a range of pilot use cases as
learnings that will enable training on
well as the implementation across all
the capabilities that are relevant today
our sites,” says Holbach. “Our recruit-
and in the future.”
ment strategy is to ensure we have a
Following the influx of technology
solid mix between data scientists and
such as data analytics, artificial intel-
traditional engineers with an under-
ligence (AI) and machine learning
standing of our businesses. We must
(ML), Holbach believes in operating
ensure that all of Henkel’s employees
proactively rather than reactively in
have the opportunity to upskill them-
a bid to differentiate from its peers.
selves, by having access to digital
“Technology has helped to redefine m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
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Henkel: Developing trust essential to success CLICK TO WATCH
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197 the business frame that we operate
systematically started to collect an
in,” he says. “We’re only now starting
increasing level of real-time data.
to embrace AI and ML but it’s an area
A member of Holbach’s team,
we’re looking to do more in. We’re still
Sergey Afanasyev, International Digital
in the testing stage with a lot of new
Transformation Manager at Henkel, is
technology and it’s important that
focusing on two key pillars: connected
we’re continuously looking for new
workers and digital upskilling. “I like
opportunities that will accelerate our
to encourage digital collaboration
current processes. We have to always
between the people using mobile
see how far we can push the bar.” With
technologies as well as helping build
technology’s influence on the manu-
and develop the skills that employees
facturing sector showing no signs of
need today because of the digital
slowing, the plethora of data at com-
technologies already in place,” explains
panies’ fingertips should be embraced.
Afanasyev. He believes that new
Over the past few years, Henkel has
technologies such as AI, ML and Big m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
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H E N KE L PART N ER Q U O T ES Clevertech: “We’ve worked with Clevertech for many years. It’s a well-established business in packaging our goods and making them ready for shipment. It has a real drive to add digital capabilities into its products and is an important partner to us.” Micro-Biolytics: “The partnership focuses on chemistry analytics. We’ve been working together for a number of years and we are continuously trying out new ideas and concepts.” Aveva Solutions: “The company is part of Schneider Electric and the home of Wonderware. It’s a special and long-term partner. Wonderware is the platform we use to connect all of our IOT together and the partnership is crucial to us.”
Parsable: “It’s primarily focused on supporting companies through digitalisation. Although a relatively new partner, we’re currently evaluating various opportunities to build on their preconfigured platform.” Tableau Software UK: “Tableau is now owned by Salesforce and is an important piece of our digital infrastructure. It’s our visualisation and analytics tool and enables us to review all our data in supply chain and manufacturing.” O9 Solutions: “It’s a very fast growing company and we’re checking how it can support us in our end to end planning process.”
Zaptic: “It’s a newer player on the market with a no code platform to connect the shop f loor workforce with digital instructions and daily management workf lows. We’re now testing Zaptic’s solutions in
TEMBO: “TEMBO is more of a traditional technology supplier and we’re collaborating in the complexion of our product. It helps supply machinery for unit dose and is based in the Netherlands so we can work very closely together to
our operations.”
expand our capabilities.”
m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
199
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Data should be embraced to achieve a competitive advantage. “These tech-
“ I like to encourage digital collaboration between the workers and paperless operations”
nologies allow us to unlock values and data that we acquire through our digital backbone technology that ultimately brings us a competitive advantage,” says Afanasyev. “Technology itself is agnostic. It’s important to us that we only leverage technology that is true to our vision and strategy.” Henkel has developed key, strategic
— Sergej Afanasyev, International Digital Transformation Manager, Henkel
partnerships with a range of firms including Clevertech, Micro-Biolytics, Aveva Solutions, Zaptic, Parsable, Tableau Software UK, o9 Solutions
Henkel: Zaptic and Tembo CLICK TO WATCH
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HENKEL
202
1876
Year founded
€20bn+ Revenue in euros
53,000 Number of employees
NOVEMBER 2020
203
m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
HENKEL
and TEMBO. Holbach has a clear idea of what he looks for when seeking to establish a mutually beneficial collaboration. “There must be long-term and sustainable benefits on both sides of the partnership for it to be successful,” he explains. “It’s important that there is a level of openness that develops trust over time. This is especially true when times are volatile, and it is where you see the true value in dedicated partners.” With the manufacturing space set to continue to transform as the digital age continues to take shape, it’s vital 204
that companies adopt an agile and lean approach to ensure they don’t get left behind in a competitive and dynamic
“ It’s important that there is a level of openness that develops trust over time” — Dirk Holbach, Corporate Senior Vice President, CSCO of Laundry and Home Care, Managing Director, Henkel
NOVEMBER 2020
205
market. Holbach is confident of what he anticipates the supply chain space to look like over the next few years. “It’s clear that we’re only at the beginning because I believe that data relevance is only going to increase further,” he says. “There will be greater visibility and transparency in the supply chain over the next few years and we must be ready.”
m a n u f a c t ur in g gl o b a l . c o m
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