SMAC suggests a diabolical change in traditional manufacturing setups by demanding focus on not just building quality products, but also in managing the knowledge and communications networks that surround products. A direct correlation can be drawn between the extent of industrialization in a country and its per capita income. Generally, the more industrialized, the higher the per capita income and overall economic strength of the nation. Events at the turn of the 19th became the main stimulus for economic development and progress amongst western economies, while several factors prevent Asian economies, with the exception of Japan, from industrialization.
These developing nations have since been playing catch-up and China and India have been at the forefront with several rapid structural changes that intensified both manufacturing and services sectors in these nations. In India, largely encouraged by Government policy, the service sector began to grow and contribute greatly to the GDP- from 1.2% in 1998 to 7.5% in 2012- with exports contributing 77% of the total IT industry revenue. The sector holds much promise, with estimates by global management consulting firm McKinsey and Company indicating that it could reach US$ 1 trillion by 2025. India has been ranked the fourth most competitive manufacturing nation in Deloitte's global index for 38 nations in As Indian manufacturers play the catch-up game, perhaps we could consider the emergence of the four forces of Social, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) an opportunity to turn the tides in our favour. These four forces bring the need for a diabolical change in the way traditional manufacturing is done. They demand that manufacturers focus not only on building quality products and developing best in class production processes, but also manage and develop the knowledge and communications networks that will surround those products.
Driving the Innovation Agenda
The man-machine interface that SMAC drives is a brand new area, ready for innovation and novel ideas to propagate and grow. SMAC also brings customers and the entire supply chain closer together and compels them to interact more often and with greater intensity. It is a well-known fact the innovations can be driven with equal measure from the periphery of the ecosystem and not just from structured R&D efforts. Additionally, SMAC brings about a revolution in the way several key sectors like Healthcare, Automobiles Banking and Finance operate and in the kind of value they can bring to customers. Technological innovations in these areas can bring about significant changes in the way humanity will operate in the future.
Building a better Ecosystem for Indian SMEs
SME's are vital to domestic growth of the manufacturing sector and also in the socio-economic development of the country. They currently account for over 45% of the manufacturing output and 40% of India's overall exports as on 2012-13 (Report by the Ministry of MSME). SMAC provides SMEs with a great advantage- they allow better interaction and access to bigger markets that were hitherto outside the reach of SME's. Through Big Data and Analytics Tools, SME's are also growing closer to business users with data and statistics that are otherwise only available to statisticians, giving them advantages like faster time to market and a better understanding of future market dynamics.
Greater Collaboration and Partnerships
With the SMAC technologies taking a predominant place in manufacturing, manufacturing supply chain, from production to marketing is also expected to transform towards more economic and progressive processes driven by the ability for greater collaboration between ecosystem players. SMAC enables a revolutionary management process that is more open, transparent, flexible and empowering. India's economic progress depends on its ability to develop its manufacturing industry. The country is already an attractive market for several foreign investors from retail to healthcare and consumer electronics. Manufacturers from across the world have shown their confidence in India's ability to produce the talent and conditions for world class manufacturing, with several global manufacturing units being set up here. SMAC provides the Indian industry with just the right impetus to take the lead in innovation, reach global consumers and level the playing field as it catches up with its Western counterparts.
By Mehul Lanvers Shah, managing director, Hanover Milano Fairs India Pvt. Ltd
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