The information technology industry in the last three decades has gone into areas where nobody had any inkling that they could get into.
This is an exclusive article series conducted by the Editor Team of CIO News with Dr. Chandran Raghuraman, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Bahwan Cybertek.
This paper captures the essence of exploring the dynamic relationship between technology and business, emphasizing the potential for innovation and growth. By delving into various aspects such as emerging technologies, business strategies, innovation, and ethical considerations, it aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the symbiotic relationship between technology and business. We will look at insights into the integration of technology into decision-making processes, its transformative impact on different industries, and strategies for leveraging technology to drive organizational growth and sustainability.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Traditionally, companies have been using information technology as an alternative to keeping documents on computers rather than writing or typing them physically. With the growth of technology, starting with ERP, then connectivity, the Internet, robotics, and artificial intelligence, information technology has penetrated all walks of life, be it day-to-day living or business.
Many countries with a lack of manpower turned to digitization to further their growth and looked for avenues to further this growth.
The information technology industry in the last three decades has gone into areas where nobody had any inkling that they could get into.
Let us look at industry by industry to see how digital technology has fuelled business growth.
Manufacturing Industry
The manufacturing industry is a labor-intensive industry, so its HR process has to be automated. In addition to HR processes, the health and safety of the labour force are important, be it on the shop floor, in the paint shop, etc. Digitalization becomes more important in handling the shop floor, paint shop, loading and unloading of heavy materials, etc. In a manufacturing industry, the processes that are important are finance, supply chain (i.e., vendor to customer), all processes involved in between (customer demand, procurement, inventory, R&D, shop floor, finished assembly, customer supply), and human resources.
The marketing team creates the collateral that can be spread worldwide through the creation of the company website, collateral, digital advertising, etc. Basically, digitization plays a vital role in promoting the company and its products.
Using an ERP, which has the modules of finance, inventory, purchasing, sales, CRM, production planning, CRP, and human resources, the information flow from vendor to customer flows throughout the organization in a seamless way. One should be able to understand the status of the process by just clicking into the system.
ERP and R&D systems are integrated, which is of primary importance. R&D designs each product and gives information on the parts needed. Based on the parts needed and customer demand for final products, purchasing plans are made with vendors, and digitization facilitates the JIT process so that there is an integration between the R&D system and ERP. The shop floor manufacturing process and stations are designed based on the shop floor production process, which contains multiple stations. The stations are controlled by robots. Digitization has facilitated the process of re-routing process flow through various stations if one station fails. Based on parts availability, the production is also replanned, i.e., the digital system designed plans the same. Parts availability has a say in final product availability, which will indicate to the salesperson what commitment has to be made to the customer on delivery of the product.
In the automobile industry, the stations are designed in such a way that we can plan the sequence of cars and trucks moving one after the other based on color. This is to ensure that there is no mixing of the wrong colors, spoiling the end product.
Automation of the paint shop is also important. Since painting is a chemical process that is highly hazardous, automation has helped the labour force oversee the same with adequate precautions.
Once the final product is ready, sales take over in conjunction with finance, where we have to control the order receipt, accounts payable, accounts receivable, customer reliability, payment, etc. The same thing happens on the supplier side, too.
Previously, when all processes were manual, there was no coordination between the various departments, which resulted in too much inventory, less sales, and less collection, which resulted in major losses to the company.
With digitization giving a complete hold to the management in meticulously planning their activities, when one controls the day-to-day transactions, it gives the management more time to plan for growth—getting more customers, planning for more locations for production, concentrating on procuring customers and suppliers, etc.
Many world-wide organizations have spread their wings by opening offices and factories in third-world countries. With digitization, wherever you are in the world, the information flow is seamless. Using third-world countries for manufacturing, production costs have decreased, and the profitability of the organizations has increased. Thus, digitization has spurred business growth world-wide. i.e., the manufacturing industry has used the cheaper manufacturing of quality products in third-world countries and exported them world-wide. This has resulted in better pricing of the products, spurring the demand for end products. Overall, digitization has unleashed business growth world-wide.
Pharma Industry
By automating the mixing processes of various components, production has become faster. This, combined with the design of stations for filling up the medicines in the bottles and sealing them with machines, has reduced contamination threats. The use of digitization and robots has made the industry more sustainable.
Transportation and Hospitality Industry
Previously, moving from one location to another in the same country via public transport was a tedious one, and finding the right accommodation was a very involved job. Now, sitting at home, one can plan their itinerary world-wide, book tickets, book accommodations online, and plan local travel at each location, be it local or abroad. This has spurred the transportation and hospitality industries, which have grown, but competition has also increased. The fittest survive; those who have digitized their operations have survived and grown exponentially.
Caution
Traditionally, worldwide information technology has been only a supporting function. Then a change happened where CIOs came to the forefront, but still they reported to the CHRO or CFO. With this, the importance that is needed for unleashing digital for business growth is taking a backseat. The CIO has to become part of the senior management, either by being part of the board or directly reporting to the CEO.
Conclusion
Thus, digitization has unleashed growth in all industries. The fittest survive. There is room for all, but focus on digitization.
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