COVID-19 Supply Chain Impact: The Future of Digital Operations Is Under New Pressure
Companies who already invested in Industry 4.0 prior to COVID-19 found themselves in a better position to respond to the crisis. In an example found in article, COVID-19: An inflection point for Industry 4.0, a consumer packaged-goods (CPG) company in Asia had built a digital twin of its supply chain before COVID-19. The company was able to run multiple scenarios during the pandemic, preparing itself for COVID-19 impact including sudden shutdowns of manufacturing locations and disruptions in raw-material supply.
Companies that did not adopt Industry 4.0 prior to the pandemic found themselves unable to adapt to the the strain of COVID-19, lacking support from digital technology. Some companies in the middle of implementing digital technology have reported a pause in their efforts due to reasons such as cash constraints or remote work challenges.
The Future of Digital Operations
The pandemic crisis has caused companies to re-think their operation strategies causing a shift in business directives and the Industry 4.0 technologies used. Results from a new survey by McKinsey & Company show “unsurprisingly, given the unique circumstances of the pandemic, agility and flexibility in operations have emerged as top strategic priorities above raising productivity and minimizing cost, which used to be the primary objective for most.”
Agility, flexibility and efficiency were common top priories across all sectors and geographies in manufacturing. Another rising priority are digital technologies that allow for more remote work possibilites including cloud-based collaboration, video conferencing, and more. We will continue to see the need for digital solutions to encompass more of it’s organization’s end-to-end supply chain while at the same time, leaning on fast communication approaches that can be handled remotely.
Power Up Your Supply Chain
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