AI @ Shopfloor helps Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages understand life cycle of Assets

Digitalization is the utmost need of the hour for India, and is the way to survive in the international markets and economies of the world. Mr. Senthil Kumar KK, National Manager Supply Chain Transformation, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd(HCCB), shares with Pro MFG Media the significance of digitalization and smart supply chain in the Indian manufacturing industry.

"Data is the new oil", was the new phrase coined a decade back in the business world, and even years later, the phrase in literal sense has not changed. With the advent of industry 4.0, organizations have realized that only data is not sufficient. It is essential to convert the data into KPIs, and eventually into business insights. Currently, the focus is on deriving business insights in the real-time, or quickest turnaround time. With the help of AI, ML, and cloud computing, automatic business insights and conceptual insights are picking up the pace.

HCCB has embraced interactive dashboards while ditching their traditional dashboards to concentrate on the key areas of focus. The organization has implemented automation even on the shop floor because machine learning can help them understand the lifecycle of an asset.

In the digital age introducing new digital technologies, and converting the data into key insights is the new normal. Currently, HCCB's prime focus is on capturing the data and converting it into impactful business insights.

In the current, rapidly changing dynamics of the industries, organizations should implement an extensive focus on multi-model business. They should focus on brick mortar and e-commerce platforms as recently the FMCG/F&B industry witnessed huge disruptions bought by Jio mart. The aggressive expansions and introducing various platforms for revenues will be the new norm. Every organization must implement strategies that will focus on being customer-centric. The approach to become a customer-centric organization is highly dependent on understanding customer requirements. In today's world, companies should not depend only on sales feedback but sense the requirements by utilizing data derived from AI or ML. They should embrace digitalization for efficient productivity and management. Secondly, companies should build an agile supply chain wherein, they must focus on speed, cost efficiency, responsiveness, flexibility, and productivity in the production and delivery of goods. These are the fundamental drivers of an agile supply chain. The smart supply chain is the need of the hour therefore, companies must embrace digitalization to build an agile & flexible supply chain.

Through a smart supply chain, the organizations can manage the demand variation with less amount of disruptions. Currently, mass production is not the focus but, customizing the last product based on the customer’s requirement is a prime focus. The customer-centric approach can be achieved only by implementing automation in the processes and digital connectivity. Also, end–to–end connectivity should not be restricted only to the manufacturing process but, should be connected to every process of the organization thus, providing an overall picture. These key focus areas will help the companies in achieving their goals as planned.

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