Article by: Asst. Prof. Suwan Juntiwasarakij, Ph.D.
Recent study shows that industry 4.0 technologies have significantly been utilized in response to the pandemic, according to McKinsey. Companies that had scaled industry 4.0 use cases prior to the pandemic found themselves better positioned to respond to the crisis.
A consumer-packaged goods company in Asia has built a digital twin of its supply chain before the pandemic. It was able to use that to run multiple scenarios during the pandemic, preparing itself for sudden shutdowns of manufacturing locations or disruptions in raw-material supply.
On the opposite side of the globe, a personal-protective-equipment ( PPE ) manufacturer in North America, in the process of increasing its capacity by installing a new manufacturing line, was able to commission the line using augmented reality-based remote assistance for project execution.
Unfortunately, companies that had not implemented Industry 4.0 prior to the pandemic have had a wake-up call. McKinsey’s survey indicates that not only did they find themselves struggling during the pandemic, but also the absence of past experience, lagging underlying IT/OT technology stacks, and the cash constraints are making it difficult for them to catch up. In sum, 56 percent of the executives that had not implemented industry 4.0 technologies prior to the pandemic found themselves constrained in their ability to respond to the pandemic in the absence of digital technologies to support them.
Companies that have paused Industry 4.0 projects since the onset of the pandemic of the pandemic cite a range of challenges, including access difficulties due to lockdowns and the introduction of remote working, cash constraints, and teams being diverted to other urgent issues. With the exception of China, where more than one-third of companies in our survey expect recovery to take a year or more.
Given the unique circumstances of the pandemic, agility and flexibility in operations have emerged as top strategic priorities above raising productivity and minimizing cost, which used to be the primary objective for most. Similarly, technologies that enable remote working and collaboration topped the list of priority Industry 4.0 use cases, with more than half of companies working on projects in that area. In second and third place came technologies to aid collaboration and visibility across the end-to-end supply chain, reflecting the need to manage volatile and disrupted supply networks.
TAKE-HOME MESSAGE
We have witnessed businesses across the world facing a painful transition to the post-pandemic reality, some companies may be tempted to slow, or even pause, their industry 4.0 transformations. However, the very remark offered is that businesses still need to continue focusing on digital efforts.