Go Digital Singapore, SME Go Digital, and Digital Transformation are all heavily used and read buzzwords.
There are several reasons for these keywords and phrases to be trending.
To begin with, globally, most markets are becoming increasingly unpredictable, dynamic, and sometimes fickle.
A significant contributor to this change of behavior in markets is the purchasing practices of shoppers.
Online trends, social connections, and an increasingly shrewd customer base are together creating never before seen challenges for the manufacturing sector.
While the customers have embraced “start digital”, within manufactures, especially in Singapore, Go Digital Singapore has still not become a mantra to implement.
With the global supply chain logjam causes short supply of goods and infrastructure being thrown in the mix, the problems multiply in numbers and complexity.
To overcome these obstacles and troubles, digital transformation becomes the only long term solution.
Top 8 Reasons for Embracing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
1. Remote Working | Hybrid Working
The pandemic has changed the way people work. Every industry of the economy has had to ask non-essential staff to work remotely, including manufacturing.
The mantra has become “SME go digital” and “Digital Transformation Singapore”.
While in the earlier era, the manufacturing conveyor belts and shop floor had hundreds of people, the post pandemic era has forced manufacturers to start digital transformation and bring in technology and systems than can be operated remotely.
2. Data Centralization
A manufacturing unit has several moving pieces of data and information which are constantly updated.
These could be accounts, inventory, human resource, IT etc.
When there is no central view of all these pieces of information together, taking business decisions accurately is impossible.
This is where business have to start digital transformation. Data centralization helps in bringing together all the information flowing within the business.
The management can then analyze what’s happening and take tactical as well as strategic decisions for the business.
Digital transformation Singapore, SME go digital also vouch for these actions to be taken.
3. Decluttering complex processes
One of the key aspects of SME Go Digital as a concept is to simplify operations and processes.
Most manufacturing units established operational procedures and guidelines many years go.
These must have been setup when the global economy was still not an ecommerce world and less digital. This also includes IT systems.
The post pandemic world needs newer and more agile processes which can support quick decision making and can be changed to adapt to shifting priorities.
Old SOPs and operational methods are no longer practical or usable.
Companies have to start digital once again and embrace digital transformation to bring in newer processes to relevant and competitive.
4. External Competition
Cloud computing, modern technologies and digital transformation has paved the way for massive disruptions in all sectors of the global economy.
To start digital is not an option, it is a necessity.
Traditional taxis ignored digital transformation and could not compete with Uber when they started ride hailing services.
Today’s smartphones have inbuilt cameras which are more powerful than a standalone camera of the past.
If one asks why digital transformation Singapore, SME go digital are the current trends, all that needs to be done is look at these cases.
Go digital Singapore and start digital are all mantras created for manufacturers to be aware of the new age challenges and help them undertake their digital transformation journey.
5. Customer Engagement
Be it B2B or B2c, most surveys around the world suggest that visitors spend less than a minute, sometimes just a few seconds on a website.
Manufacturers have to find a way to enhance visitor engagement, lead management, customer retention and brand loyalty.
To start digital is the first step in this direction.
From SME go digital to digital transformation Singapore – current digital transformation trends point to modernization of a manufacturer’s customer journey.
It is critical to ensure they are digital and seamless. Only digital transformation can help achieve this.
6. Knowledge Transfer
One of the prime examples of legacy business which movements like SME go digital and digital transformation Singapore want to get rid of is tribal knowledge.
Most manufacturers invest in heavy machinery as capital which are operated in certain ways and not documented.
This also leads to several other operational ways of working which are neither documented nor available for anyone to learn. It is also a failure of “Digital Transformation Singapore” as a sentiment derived from the city’s tech advancements.
To overcome this, one has to start digital by bringing in knowledge management tools as part of the digital transformation journey.
Manufacturers don’t realize that legacy knowledge is one of the biggest risks of their business.
Converting what’s in a person’s head to process, practice and guidelines and made easily available to everyone can only be done with digital transformation.
7. The 4th Industrial Revolution
The Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning are all new age technologies.
IT systems and processes of the old would not be able to integrate and work with these.
To start digital once again is necessary for manufacturers to gain from the new age systems.
That is why SME go digital as tech movements are urging manufacturers to modernize their IT systems and their production equipment.
This is because manufacturers who bring in digital transformation into their business could also open up new revenue streams and product lines as a result of digitization and modernization.
One also cannot ignore the “first mover’s advantage” while introducing new services and products.
8. The Cost Advantage
While to start digital and plan a digital transformation journey would cost money, the return on investment of joining movements like SME go digital would be exponential.
The advantages which follow in once a business has revamped operations, less wastage, more efficiencies and enhanced product lines justify the capital expense of planning and implementing new age systems.
Exabytes has been serving Singapore since 2010 and is an active supporter of technology movements like SME go digital.
With offerings like Managed AWS or Amazon Web Service, Google Workspace, Disaster Recovery – we help and aid the manufacturing industry to start digital and embark on a digital transformation journey.
Related article: Why small-to-medium enterprise migrate to a cloud platform
