An eminent industrialist had once narrated how in the manufacturing operations business just-in-case and just-in-time are equally important as inventory management strategies. He spoke about how disruption has brought about sweeping changes, mostly for the better, and how ‘vendors’ have now transitioned to ‘partners’ in the global value chain.
Admittedly, Industry 4.0 has moved manufacturing operations to the next level through actionable intelligence and greater harmony between people, processes and equipment. Several pertinent answers have surfaced by asking just the right questions, feeding into quantifiable long term value-creation. The power of people and ideas has helped navigate bottlenecks, automate operations, and infuse sustainability at every touchpoint in this space.
Mastering the art of long-term value-creation then forms the overarching theme of this edition of Immersive Outlook. The articles and C-Suite interviews address disruptions, and recommend designs and collaborative process improvement strategies in the operations management space to prevent rather than detect defects, reduce waste and improve operational processes, manufacturing quality and business results.
Vadiraj Kulkarni, CEO, Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division, ITC, for instance, emphasises the need for asset-intensive industries to focus on design, automation and incremental change in order to excel. In an interview with Pallab De, Manufacturing and Operations Consulting Leader, PwC India, the CEO traces the company’s business excellence journey and outlines why top management’s commitment is necessary to drive digital transformation.
The thought resonates with Dr Arif Dowla, Group Managing Director, ACI Group in Bangladesh. In his insightful conversation with Arnab Basu, Advisory Leader, PwC India, he agrees AI can provide companies with a competitive edge, although to him AI is more of an elaborate statistical function. While touching upon the various businesses of the conglomerate and the vision behind these, he prioritises societal change over business change, and the importance of educational apps for unlocking the creative potential of children. He also goes on to focus on the importance of sensor-based data in tapping opportunities available in the manufacturing space.
Manufacturing executives, the world over, have undoubtedly bought into the idea of advanced analytics, data security issues notwithstanding. That forms the focal point of the article Using AI to fast-track manufacturing operations. Co-authors Pallab De and Prahalad Chandrasekharan elaborate on ways to harness the transformative potential of artificial intelligence while simultaneously underlining the risks that could surface with such a technological leap.
Medium-sized businesses are growing exponentially. India has the third largest number of medium-sized family-run businesses after the US and China, despite challenges on their growth path. Prahalad Chandrasekharan and Arun Raychaudhuri examine the top five challenges in What gets measured, gets maximised. The authors propose potential solutions that factor in risk mitigation and the aptitude necessary to anticipate and respond to disruptions to business continuity.
Business continuity today entails the adoption of sustainable manufacturing practices. Increasingly eco-conscious consumers also prefer environment-friendly enterprises. It is therefore imperative for businesses to align with this consumer want and simultaneously adhere to sustainability reporting requirements. In Four ways to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices, Mandar Mahajan and Amit Kumar Kaushal recommend four ways to effectively infuse sustainability into manufacturing operations.
They say a tree with strong roots laughs at storms. As the manufacturing operations ecosystem has multiple stakeholders, it is important to ensure that the tree of operations grows strong roots. The perspectives offered in this edition of Immersive Outlook are meant to catalyse that growth.
We hope you find this edition insightful. Reach out to us if you would like to have a more detailed discussion on any of the aspects we have touched upon.
Vishnupriya Sengupta, Senior Director, Markets
In an interview with Pallab De, Partner and Manufacturing and Operations Consulting Leader, PwC India, Vadiraj Kulkarni, CEO, Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division of ITC, explains the inflection points that operations management is going through and highlights how asset-intensive industries can accelerate their business excellence journey.
In developing countries, driving societal change is as important if not more than business change, emphasises Dr Arif Dowla, Group Managing Director, ACI Group in Bangladesh, in an insightful conversation with Arnab Basu, PwC India Advisory Leader.
Varun Dua, Founder and CEO, Acko General Insurance Limited, believes insurance companies need to transition from being complex product companies to trust and brand companies. In an online interview with Joydeep K Roy, Partner and India Financial Services Advisory Leader and Global Health Insurance Leader, he outlines the key factors that could ensure wider reach and lead to enhanced customer experience.
As medium-sized businesses seek to expand and grow, they encounter myriad challenges. Prahalad Chandrasekharan and Arun Raychaudhuri underline the top five challenges and propose potential solutions which can help these companies optimise productivity and achieve sustainable growth.
From optimising quality control and predictive maintenance to transforming material handling and tooling, AI can aid in streamlining critical processes. Pallab De and Prahalad Chandrasekharan delve into the transformative potential of AI while underlining the risks that can come with such a technological leap.
Consumers are demonstrating an increase in eco-consciousness and a preference for environment-friendly enterprises which, in turn, is encouraging businesses to further embrace sustainable practices. In this article, Mandar Mahajan and Amit Kumar Kaushal underline four ways to effectively infuse sustainability into manufacturing operations.
As technology advances, the human connection becomes even more important, says Shyam Srinivasan, MD and CEO, Federal Bank. In conversation with Venkata Peri, Partner and Research and Insights Hub Leader at PwC India, Srinivasan throws light on the changing nature of banking.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Pallab De
Partner and Leader – Manufacturing and Operations Consulting, PwC India
Prahalad Chandrasekharan
Executive Director - Manufacturing and Operations Consulting, PwC India
Arun Raychaudhuri
Executive Director - Manufacturing and Operations Consulting, PwC India
Mandar Mahajan
Executive Director - Manufacturing and Operations Consulting, PwC India
Amit Kumar Kaushal
Executive Director - Manufacturing and Operations Consulting, PwC India
