Reinvent or perish, new mantra in Industry 4.0

Hyderabad: The ongoing trend of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation across all industry verticals is leaving companies with no option but to ‘reinvent or perish’ in Industry 4.0, which is commonly referred to as the fourth industrial revolution.  The recent exit of General Electric from the Dow Jones index is a classic example of how global giants perish if they don’t embrace change, says The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Hyderabad Chapter, which promotes new entrepreneurs.  Manufacturing technologies and other business processes have already seen a change as cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and cognitive computing are redefining business models.

To find out the ramifications of the new technology applications on industry, this correspondent spoke to several representatives from industry. TiE Hyderabad chapter, which promotes new entrepreneurs, opines that some of the existing companies find it difficult to embrace change, while the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Telangana chapter is upbeat on Industry 4.0 as several sectors are coming forward to adopt the latest technology applications. The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) has cited GST and media transformation as two examples of industry makeovers in India.

Sanjay Singh, CII-TS chapter chairman, said, “Industry 4.0 is witnessing a lot of automation. Artificial intelligence and other latest technology applications are helping the industry reduce downtime and enhance quality parameters. Older companies must adopt technology otherwise they will perish and leave the space for a new breed of entrepreneurs to take over.” Srikanth Badiga, IACC-TS president, sees technology transformation in the media. “I don’t call it an invasion of technology, but a great tool enabling performance in an innovative way. The revolution of telecom is another example, where we can see the mobile invasion over traditional telecom services. New apps are changing the business dynamics of every sector.”

IACC alerts manufacturing industry to gear up. “Manufacturing industry is expected to play a greater role in India as the country is able to attract FDI and has a local talent pool available. India is flourishing in IT and other sectors because of its huge talent pool,” observed Mr Badiga. TiE-Hyderabad chapter president Safir Adeni says the current world order is rapidly changing.

The exit of GE from the Dow Jones index is a classic example of ‘reinvent or perish.’ “Perish is absolutely correct as so many companies are perishing. GE was removed from Dow Jones recently after staying in the index for 100 years. Unless they reinvent, they will perish. It’s difficult for old companies to reinvent, adopt new technologies and change business models. Existing companies need to meet ever-changing requirements at the lowest possible cost. Uber, Ola, Spotify, etc. are creating waves in global business," says Mr Adeni.

Explaining how entry of global retail giants impact local small shops, Ravindra Modi, former president, FTAPCCI, said: “The entry of global retail giants will affect the small traders. However, neighbourhood shops will continue to exist, but the pattern of business will change. A lot of changes will take place in the retail segment during the consolidation phase. Some corporate retailers can operate through small kirana and cloth shops on franchise basis.”

Mr Adeni further said: “Companies in the US moved to making EVs (electrical vehicles) and that’s only one of the many things they can do. In India we're not doing anything. Elon Musk of Tesla is engaged in making world-class EVs. I am promoting a concept called intrapreneur.” The advent of the internet is also changing the way we work. Co-working space is catching up as it saves costs by 25 per cent. Leasing co-working space is cheaper than conventional leasing in larger cities.