The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the limited resilience of many companies, stemming from fragile supply chains and/or production processes with an over-reliance on human assets.
“Smart supply chains are those that mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and increase resilience to unforeseen events”.
The time to prepare your business is NOW!
However, not all organisations are ready for the digital transformation and the adoption of the technologies associated with Industry 4.0that this paradigm shift requires, as it also affects their organisational structure and company culture. It is therefore important to know the possible barriers to overcome for the proper development of digital transformation and automation.
Is your company fit for the future?
The pattern that retail and consumer goods companies followed in order to adapt to the market changes brought about by the pandemic was to focus primarily on digitising their customer interface and strengthening their distribution capabilities. But now, after about a year, we all, companies and individuals,have to adapt and go one step further.
This means that digital integration of the value chain is essential. The “end-to-end” becomes a strategic priority, in which the digitisation of the product and service offering, the development of digital and innovative business models, and the integration of the supply chain are essential. Furthermore, the total digitisation process towards “Industry 4.0” must adopt data and analytics as an essential, basic and indispensable activity to achieve the competitive advantage that all organisations crave.
According to Luce’s experience, these are the main obstacles or challenges that we find in organisations facing digital transformation and the implementation of automation:
Challenges of the digital transformation of your company towards Industry 4.0
- Strategic vision and leadership.
To drive real digital transformation and value in an organisation, it is necessary that in the first instance, it is top management that takes the decision to transform the company, to guide ittowards the path of Industry 4.0.
The organisational metamorphosis towards digital transformation implies significant technical and organisational changes, such as changes in corporate culture, modifications of management methods, as well as the redesign of processes implemented by workers in this new technological framework. Understandably, in the face of such changes, some companies lack the necessary traction, especially if they are not well accompanied in the digital transformation process.
- Communication and coordination between departments
It is one of the most difficult barriers to break down, the problem of communication and interrelation between the different departments of the company: financial, human resources, sales, technology, operations, marketing…
Each area has its own procedures, objectives and ultimately different ways of working. Breaking down these walls between the different areas and ensuring a good coordination of the organisation’s global strategy is essential to lead the organisation to carry out “Industry 4.0” projects for the whole company.
- Development of technological skills within the organisation
Many organisations do not have the knowledge, experience or even the people to enable this digital transformation to Industry 4.0.
The technological changes in the global landscape are relentless, especially in the last year since COVID19. These changes highlight the need for companies and their teams to be prepared for any unforeseen event, and to do so, it is necessary to be updated and trained in the latest technological advances and solutions.
What often happens is that they are focused purely on their business,without time or resources to devote to new technologies, and they do not know the value that well-structured data can provide them, and in most cases they are also wary of bringing in an external provider from outside their company.
- Focus on security and the importance of data
This point is related to the previous barrier. The traditional mentality of many organisations is not to outsource, i.e. not to open the door to working with external companies, and this limits them in their digital transformation.
More traditional organisations are afraid of sharing data, and how to share it, i.e. how to let another company into their systems. For example, one of the main problems we encounter is customer integrations, often due to a lack of technology to handle the new volumes of data and processes.
However, in order to develop a powerful Industry 4.0, it is essential to work with third-party software solutions and implementations that are specialists in leading-edge applications. .
- Lack of a “Business Case” to demonstrate the value of change
In the end, to justify any business investment, it is necessary to have an impact analysis that serves to assess and make the best decision on a future project. This is made tangible with a business case .
However, once again, reality shows us that many organisations still do not have one developed, not even for large investments or global projects for the entire organisation.
At Luce we know how to overcome these barriers to achieve a company’s digital transformation.
Popularly it is believed that the right strategy is to start from the idea, think about the product, then the technology and finally the business.
But the LUCE vision contrary to most, who see transformation as an idea -> project -> business, for us the key to success is first thinking about the business case and delivering value continuously to customers, relying on technology and data to optimise the process with automation and waste reduction”waste”-lean manufacturing.
Another differentiating feature of our approach is that we build on our customers’ ecosystem of supply chain differentiation to generate value and grow your business while minimising costs and helping your organisation digitally transform towards Industry 4.0.
In short, we help you build your competitive advantage with the best innovative and technological solutions on the market adapted to your ecosystem.
The intelligent automation solutions driven by artificial intelligence, Big Data and Machine Learning coupled with the specialist role of our team makes us capable of driving the digital transformation of your business.
Contact with Luce if you need more information
At LUCE we team with our clients to help them build their competitive advantage. A competitive advantage built on their ecosystem, increasing the value of the client’s own teams with a business-first approach.
Since 2008, LUCE has been helping in the digital transformation of its clients, in the areas of software development, Big Data, Digital Marketing, Analytics, Cloud and Intelligent Automation.
We make the objectives of each client our own, we commit to them and they form an active part of our team specialisedin the best solutions that automate and accelerate the digital transformation of value. 50% of IBEX35 companies already trust us because we bring technology, value, ideas, commitment and honesty.
The true value of LUCE is the committed team that is generated between our clients and us.
We are a team with the strength to conquer the future!