I know I often advise against following the hot trend blindly. But this doesn't mean we should ignore the trends.
For your strategy to be effective, it has to consider the latest trends in the market. It doesn't mean your strategy must accommodate all the trends in the market. It simply means that you, the leader who develops the strategy and chooses the direction, must assess each trend to determine if following the trend is the best way to achieve your goal. Most of the time, it won't be. But sometimes, it will be the crux of your strategy, i.e., the one thing you must focus on (think of Jack Welch putting GE on the Six Sigma path in 1995). So, let us take a look at some emerging technologies that will have a significant impact on the way companies do business.
Eight Emerging Trends
3D Printing
3D printers are machines that can create parts/products from scratch by using a digital design. Today, we are printing digital documents into paper documents. Imagine printing digital blueprints into physical products – at a large scale. As 3D printing technologies (note: plural because there is a variety of technologies for 3D printing) improving significantly recently, a gate of opportunities has flung open:
Factories can produce items/products/parts on demand (no need to build massive stocks). Why stock a complete assembly of parts in high quantity if you can quickly print the exact parts required on demand? This means less supply chain disruption in a VUCA world.
Companies can afford mass-customization, and customers can enjoy a greater level of personalization and customization.
Rapid prototyping for product developers as 3D printers will enable designers to create highly-detailed prototypes rapidly.
Smaller companies can enjoy a small batch of production and order.
Serious manufacturers can use 3D printers for additive manufacturing. Imagine various parts being printed as needed, then quickly assembled together.
As you can see, when 3D technologies mature, it will seriously affect how companies run their businesses, from supply chain and manufacturing to sales and marketing.
Collaborative Robots (Cobots)
Cobots are robots designed to work flexibly with a human. Unlike traditional robots with fixed programming, a cobot's program can be easily changed (due to the user-friendly and intuitive interface) by a human with some programming skills. Therefore, cobots can be easily reprogrammed to perform new tasks as needed. One week, you use them to do packaging. The following week, you use them to assemble products.
Due to their flexibility, cobots can perform various dangerous, dirty, and dull tasks that human still performs. This way, humans can focus on more fulfilling tasks.
Unlike traditional robots, cobots are easy to set up, easy to program, and easy to be moved around a factory. As they can be deployed within a matter of weeks, cobots can quickly transform the factory plan, boost productivity, pluck the labor skill gap, and save money. Furthermore, they are rumored to require little maintenance and are long-term reliable (apparently, you can program cobots to run automatic systems checks and diagnostics). Early adopters of cobots have reported increased safety, improved product quality, and higher productivity.
Imagine the impact: Cobots to traditional robots are like personal computers to mainframe computers. In the past, people could not afford mainframe computers because they are large and complex. Today, many people can afford personal computers because they are small and simple. Similarly, today, many companies cannot afford robots because they are large and complex. In the future, many companies can afford cobots because they are smaller, cheaper, and simpler.
5G Connectivity
5G is the next generation of wireless technology. Remember the 1990s slow internet connection – where it takes forever to send a single photo? Today, it takes milliseconds to send a single photo. However, today it takes forever to send a terabyte of data (about 5 hours, I believe). With 5G, it will be about 5 minutes.
Essentially, the 5G connection allows a lot of data to be transmitted quickly and efficiently. It is 10x faster than 4G. Furthermore, unlike the previous generations, 5G is an upgraded communication network built from the ground up to maximize speed and reliability. As a result, it can deliver a better user experience, new services, and new deployment models.
5G can enable companies to digitalize their operation, connect their entire supply chain, and track the whole life cycle of their products. With the 5G network, we can have better internet coverage and predictability – allowing us to connect and control factories worldwide from a single place. Imagine sitting in London, sipping tea while staring at your screen, and finding that machine 3 in line 4 in zone B in plant A in Shen Zhen, China, has slowed down. Time to send some maintenance cobots?
Digital Twin
A digital twin is a digital model that reflects your physical assets and their interconnections. In the old days, we build simple models connecting two variables, e.g., Y = A + B * X, and use the model to make simple simulations (e.g., if I increase the X by 10%, how many % will Y increase). With a digital twin, we essentially build massive models connecting all key variables in the factory (i.e., the products, production process, and performances) – hence creating an integrated and detailed simulation model that can:
Be used to report how the actual physical assests are performing in the real world;
Be used to determine the ideal operational workflow;
Analyze historical trends and predict future trends;
Quickly find solutions when problems arise;
Explore options and see impacts (without changing the physical assets).
This highly complex virtual model acts as the exact counterpart of the physical thing. The data input to the model is usually obtained by installing sensors on the physical asset. The analysts then can do a lot of modelling to find oportunities, such as how to increase machine efficiency, minimize wastages, maximize people's productivity, reduce energy usage, and improve product quality.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
You can use AI/ML, i.e., algorithms 'trained' to analyze data collected from various sources (such as sensors, machines, and people) to make decisions automatically. Often, the 'learning' happens mechanically without much human intervention (black box, with results reviewed regularly), and the machine (or the code) automatically makes a decision that will optimize operation in the company.
There are already various use cases for AI/ML – ranging from predictive maintenance, cyber security, segmentation of one, anomaly detection, network optimization, sentiment response, quality control, material handling, trend forecasting, and factory optimization. I, myself, have implemented ML solutions for various companies and successfully delivered multi-million-dollar of impacts.
Post-modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Post-modern ERP is a centralized method of managing every aspect of the operations and processes, allowing unprecedented visibility coordination and management. Unlike the traditional ERP, the post-modern ERP:
Automates a lot of tasks;
Integrates also the administrative processes (like Finance, HR, indirect procurement) into operational processes (purchasing, manufacturing, and distribution);
Connects easily with 3rd party systems (e.g., vendors' and customers');
Can be both cloud-based and on-premise.
As a result, postmodern ERP is giving companies better integration, business flexibility, and agility across the supply chain (indirect vendors – direct vendors – company – distributors – customers).
Think of it as the old ERP with steroids where everything can be easily connected. Imagine if all the processes could be managed smoothly and automated. Suppose the customers' orders are automatically sent to your system, which automatically updates the production plan and delivery plan, and sends raw materials orders to vendors' systems. You will have less downtime in the factory, more on-time deliveries, better capacity management, better customer satisfaction, and higher profit.
Cloud Computing
In the not-so-distant past, companies need their own computer servers to perform computing (provide IT services). These days, most IT services can be done over the internet. We no longer need to have our own servers and software. We just need small computers with internet connectivity.
With cloud computing, we do not need to:
Invest in massive servers, storage, and software;
Manage the IT infrastructure;
And we can:
pay for only the services we need (pay-as-you-go model);
increase capacity/usage as needed (the providers typically have a big capacity and don't limit your usage).
In other words, cloud computing (or the companies offering them) provides us with higher efficiency (no need for on-site costs), flexibility (no need for complex infrastructure and IT maintenance), and scalability (can scale up when needed). This makes companies' IT systems more agile, more reliable and secure (as the providers usually have a very reliable and secure system – better than most companies).
Edge Computing
Edge computing is a computing system that is designed to process data locally (contrary to cloud computing). So instead of sending the data to the cloud, it processes the data closer to the source, improving the response time and reducing latency. Why does it matter? Edge computing is useful if we need near real-time responses (think of self-driving cars, automatic stock trading, F1 racing, facial recognition, home automation systems, smart industry 4.0, and continuous operations where each millisecond counts). With edge computing, we can get instant analysis and instant decisions.
Fancy trends may not be right for you
In conclusion, there are many emerging technologies out there that can help companies operate better. But you need to be aware that:
Most of these cutting-edge technologies are not yet mature. As an early adopter, you will bear the risks and costs of early adoption.
Most of these cutting-edge technologies may be too advanced and beyond what you really need. Adding unnecessary complexity to your business is dangerous.
Most of the promised benefits are not guaranteed nor easy to obtain. It will take hard work to implement the technologies. Many cultural and behavioral changes are also required to support the change.
More often than not, you don't need these fancy technologies to fulfill your goal. But in the case you do, please put 100% effort and focus on the trend you pursue.
Please check this post to determine what is the right strategy for your company.
Continue to explore more secrets of winning strategy here.