SKF India – Manish Bhatnagar

The biggest achievements in 2020 included a growing resourcefulness of people, prioritizing health, continued collaboration with customers, and engaging impactfully with communities.

With the first to resume operations post the lockdown, there were challenges, yet they continued production and delivering on production numbers. On the suppliers’ front, it partnered with them every step of the way to ensure their safety protocols, financial viability and labour availability, thereby allowing them to ramp up at the same pace as the factories.

India’s manufacturing sector that was impacted with labour shortage in the early days, has found strength in the government policies introduced to move the sector towards growth. The pandemic made manufacturers realize the benefits of localized production and its ripple effects of mitigating supplier risks, improving efficiency and ensuring delivery of raw materials. The focus on digitalization will continue to be a priority for most manufacturers in 2021. Furthermore, several companies are making greater environmental resiliency core to its planning for the recovery ahead. From evaluating and optimizing energy-intensive processes to controlling overall consumption, economics, and emissions, companies are adopting diverse models to become sustainable and more competitive. Most manufacturers will continue to reevaluate and upskill or reskill their workforce to manage the introduction of smart factories and automation, along with other new processes.