JULY/AUGUST 2020 DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Restart:
Many employers would have previously
claimed that having a partial or full remote
workforce would be ‘unworkable’. But as we
were urged to social distance and flatten the
curve, we witnessed what one CEO described
as ‘a historic deployment of remote work and
digital access to services across every domain.’
For manufacturers, technologies exist which
allow remote access to plant data from mobile
devices as well as enabling the use of data to
predict maintenance requirements and even
perform remote diagnostics. And, as many
businesses have found themselves switching
to the production of new products or having
to rapidly embrace new tools or technologies,
digital tools can also be used to support virtual
training and upskilling.
Repurpose:
The COVID-19 pandemic has, for many,
necessitated a change in direction to survive. For
some the change required has been obvious and
they have been able to capitalise on fast growing
new markets using existing supply chains. Others
may fi nd themselves unsure of what direction
they need to head in, but digital technologies can
also help provide a way forward. Digital expertise
and toolsets can enable data acquisition across
social media and other external forces to inform
businesses about new market opportunities,
enable access to new supply chains and allow
that all important monitoring of new trends to
support diversifi cation.
Those businesses who survive the new normal
will be those who embrace digital transformation
and who have a clear future vision for their
business, alongside the skills and authority to
guide them from inception to implementation
and beyond. COVID-19 has certainly accelerated
the need to embrace digital technologies, but
businesses should still ensure they analyse all
functions within their business, taking into
account the data and digital skills and tools they
already have to work with. A SWOT analysis of
business functions will establish where a digital
approach, rather than a doing
what we currently do digitally,
could deliver results.
The benefits of a holistic,
well executed and dynamic
digital strategy, which is not
fixed in traditional static
planning cycles, should both
reap immediate results and
future proof the business
against further disruption.
And, crucially, digital
transformation is not the
preserve of big engineering
firms. SMEs are generally
agile in nature and this
characteristic can enable
them to adopt new digital
tools and techniques much
more quickly than larger
organisations. A growing
number of SMEs have seen
the benefit of incorporating
smart technologies to generate
valuable real-time data and are
using this information to help
them make better decisions to
grow their business.
SME support available
If COVID-19 has had an
impact on your business then
university-based digital impact
centres off er a wealth of
expertise, unbiased advice and
practical support.
For example, the Virtual
Engineering Centre (VEC),
which is part of the University
of Liverpool, is off ering
digital business continuity
support and, alongside its
regional partners recently
launched the LCR4 START
initiative, off ering targeted
digital strategy support to
Liverpool City Region SMEs,
to better understand and plan
where and how to deploy
digital technologies to achieve
business gains, growth and
savings.
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk 31
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