ARC’s India forum focused on using information and technology to maximise productivity and increase ROI.
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ARC Advisory Group’s 13th India Forum for the process and discrete industries, was recently held in Bengaluru. Highlighting the theme, Industry in Transition: The Information Driven Enterprise for the Connected World, attracted over 300 delegates from across the country. Conducted over two days, the forum was structured to disseminate information and technology effectively and provide end users, solution providers and decision makers an opportunity and platform to network and understand the market requirements and dynamics. The focus was on maximising productivity and increasing return on investment (RoI) by channelising relevant information and investing in technologies.
The session topics covered advancement in digital enterprise; challenges in automation, digital connect and asset information management; strategies to achieve business performance enhancement; strategies to achieve operational excellence; and strategies for growth.
Keynote presentations, which set the tenor for the day were given by: Dr Valentijn, vice-president, ARC Advisory Group Europe; KS Viswanathan, vice-president, Nasscom; Arundhati Bhattacharya, general manager, NTPC; Gautam Dutta, director, marketing, Siemens Industry Software India; Harish Mehra, global head, manufacturing operations management, engineering & industrial services, TCS; and Suresh S, general manager, south, Rockwell Automation.
Besides the supplier presentations and case studies, ARC had invited speakers from the pharmaceutical, chemical and steel industries too. Today’s manufacturers face increasing demand for better quality and zero defects, while costs have to be maintained. The end user perspective gave a whole new dimension to the forum as it showed how products and solutions have been successfully deployed. When a supplier talks about his product/solution it seems like marketing spiel; but when an end user endorses it, the supplier’s credibility rises. And through user experiences, the technology gets visibility and acceptance.
The well attended forum made it clear that to remain competitive and achieve operational excellence, organisations must sift through the information glut and adopt appropriate technologies. When competition and markets are global, companies must become collaboratively networked enterprises, managing dispersed centres of technology, engineering, production, and resources. Systems need to be flexible and ready for business change. In addition to a host of new and sometimes disruptive technologies entering the marketplace, companies must also face rapid changes in government regulations, energy and raw materials availability, markets, and competition.
Today, industries are besieged with challenges due to fluctuating market conditions and increased competition. They are looking to improve their processes to deal with volatile market forces. The challenges confronting organisations are: how to improve their processes and infrastructure to compete on a global turf. The buzzwords for success are greater agility, flexibility, responsiveness, and innovation. It is imperative for industries to adopt IT such as cloud computing, mobility, social technologies, internet of things, big data, and 3D visualisation. Information-driven digital enterprises leverage new technologies to achieve agility and sustain a competitive edge. All these were discussed at the ARC forum.