Kaushik Mitra, Senior Director, Cloud ERP, Oracle India Interacts with Dinesh Mishra Senior Vp Strategy Meshmix Media ,Edited Excerpts
Briefly describe some of the challenges manufacturing industries have faced since the onset of the pandemic.
In the past two years, ever since the COVID-19 outbreak, manufacturing companies have faced previously unimaginable challenges. Initially, when the global economy was brought to a complete halt, the manufacturers faced an enormous setback as all production activities were completely shut down and supply chains were severely disrupted, resulting in delayed launches, lower financial returns, and mobility and transportation issues.There were labor shortages due to local lockdowns and migrant workers’ exodus. In light of the uncertainty surround the pandemic, most companies decided to conserve cash and limit their spending which caused a downturn in the B2B demand for manufacturing. On the other hand, there were some industries, specifically in the medical and pharma spheres, that faced the challenge of keeping up with the increasing demand and ensuring that their products reached the end-user on time despite the supply chain challenges.
All things considered, it can be argued that out of all the economic sectors, the manufacturing sector was among the most negatively impacted, and while some industries have bounced back quite fast, most are still struggling to make up for the extensive losses they suffered.
- The manufacturing sector was one of the most negatively impacted sectors during the pandemic, but some organizations have managed to navigate the challenges. What do you think are the factors that helped these industries?
In the initial phase of the pandemic, all manufacturers were taken aback when everything was shut down. Unlike other industries, this particular industry could not function in a completely remote working environment, which promoted them to adopt an even more dynamic approach towards the adoption of emerging technologies. The companies that had already embarked on a digital transformation journey were less impacted by the disruption. For example, companies that started building omnichannel order fulfillment capabilities were able to sell their products online even when physical stores were closed. Manufacturers that invested in IoT-based shopfloor monitoring tools were able to resume their operations with minimal staff. We have customers that used the Scenario Modeling capabilities of Oracle EPM to run what-if simulations to better prepare for eventualities. One of the factors that helped industries that managed to navigate these tough challenges was a proactive approach to looking for solutions and alternative options and ensuring they were implemented at the earliest. Technology is a major unifying factor that can be seen in industries that have survived. Similar to all other sectors, the role of digital solutions has increased tremendously among manufacturing companies too.
- How important do you think the role of technology would be in the coming months as manufacturing industries recover from the pandemic shocks?
Pandemic has forced manufacturers to re-imagine their business to make it more resilient. Technology has been a major factor behind the survival of leaders in the manufacturing industry and judging by the current trends going forward, it is also going to act as a catalyst for their growth as they recover from the pandemic shocks. Solutions pertaining to supply chain planning, risk analytics, workforce management, integrated documentation, etc. are gaining prominence among manufacturers and allowing companies to better manage their material, manpower, and production activities. As things normalize, technology adoption is going to increase both in volume as well as the speed of deployment (on the cloud with an OPEX model) to deliver next-generation business capabilities.
- What are some of the practices that manufacturing industries should follow to future proof their supply chain from any future shocks?
In the face of globalization, increased product complexity, and increased customer demands, businesses are facing significant challenges further accentuated by the pandemic and there is a need to transform their backend and administrative processes as well as front end processes like supply chain, deliveries, and customer engagement processes. New-age technologies like AI/ML, Cloud, and Analytics have the inherent abilities to help manufacturers with these challenges all they have to do is find the right fit for their business and growth objectives.
Learning from the challenges of the pandemic, manufacturing industries should drive focus on establishing smarter and sustainable supply chains. While gaining clear visibility into the entire supply chain may appear to be a tough prospect, it is no longer an option but a requirement for businesses. New technologies can provide comprehensive supply-chain visibility with real-time data and intelligence, allowing businesses to make timely and effective decisions in response to shifting market dynamics.
- How is Oracle assisting manufacturing companies in their journey for revival and their role in the larger economic revival of India?
While India’s economy recovers and manufacturing remains the country’s second-largest contributor to GDP, the role of technologically advanced manufacturing firms remains critical. The use of new-age tech is going to be at the heart of the economic revival of manufacturing organizations, and Oracle, as a significant technology player in the Indian market, is supporting its customers on their revival journey. The Oracle SCM solution is one such offering of ours that is specifically designed to help manufacturing companies with supply, logistics, and transportation operations. One use case of a manufacturing organization that uses new-age tech is Apollo Tyres to automate and enhance its supply chain processes.
Previously, Apollo Tyres’ various units were fragmented, and each unit operated independently, treating another unit as an external customer or external supplier. As a result, how each unit placed orders with the others was inconsistent. There was a lack of lead time, transparency, and adequate time for optimization. These chose to shift to Oracle Transport Management Solution, an end-to-end solution to integrate their functions from the point of production to the point of delivery. Ever since their OTM implementation, they have been able to bring transparency and visibility to their supply chain while also reducing the burden of customer inquiries and, subsequently, providing the customers with a superior experience, all while using a single solution.
Additionally, since it is a cloud-based solution, it is easier for managers and suppliers to check their shipments from the point of origin to the point of delivery by logging on their laptops or phones, even while working remotely. To summarise, technology is acting as a support block in Apollo Tyres’ journey to growth and their proactive implementation has been the reason behind this. The end-user must recognize the long-term advantages of a solution, which they did, and now they are benefitting from it and are shock-proof for the future to a large extent.