The Prominence of Automation, the Future of Business in Asia

If the rise of consumer availability of AI Virtual Assistants and Electric Vehicles (EVs) are any indication, Business, Logistics, and Manufacturing automation should dominate 2022. Automation and robotics hold the key to remove human error, streamline workflows, and keep processes optimized, efficient, and highly productive. On top of all of that, massive amounts of data on these processes are available, allowing businesses to measure performance in unprecedented fashion.

Barely a month into 2022, automation is quickly making a splash in Asia. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is buying an Indian robotics startup as the conglomerate scales up automation across its businesses, from e-commerce to new energy.

Sangeet Kumar, the startup's co-founder and chief executive officer, said in a phone interview on Tuesday that Reliance paid $132 million for a controlling share in Addverb Technologies Pvt, which utilizes robots to make e-commerce warehouses and energy production more efficient.

As competition from rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. grow in India's expanding e-commerce business, Ambani, Asia's richest man, is investing in technology. Addverb already utilizes robotic conveyors, semi-automated systems, and pick-by-voice software in dozens of warehouses across Reliance's empire, including online grocer JioMart, apparel retailer Ajio, and internet pharmacy Netmeds.

Even now in China, considered to have the highest labor force in the world is beginning to embrace automation in a big way. FedEx Express has implemented the usage of smart AI robots to enhance supply chain efficiency and logistical operations, which is a first for China. It is also notable that in the ASEAN, Singapore has the highest density of robots in the world with more than 830 (from Mordor intelligence) per 10,000 employees vs. the global average of 99 (74 per nixma.com) in 2019? -- Nixma.com also mentions that the “Thai government sees there is a need to increase workforce productivity”. Ultimately leading to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) predicting a growth rate for Thailand’s automation and robotics sector.

The new DoraSorter robot technology from Dorabot has been designed with process-based sorting characteristics in mind to maximize throughput and reduce personnel time on monotonous chores, demonstrating the future of automated work.

The sorting robot is part of the company's ongoing effort to digitalize its operations and create an intelligent logistics network to accommodate the region's growing number of e-commerce-related goods.

The robot, which is now situated in Guangzhou's 5,200m2 FedEx South China E-Commerce Shipment Sorting Center, is already proving its efficiency and is capable of sorting tiny inbound and outbound parcels from e-commerce clients in South China.

Automation in business goes hand in hand with the oftly mentioned “New Normal”. To meet up with increased demand, there are fewer trained human resources available than in previous years. Automation of production processes is a must since it saves time, reduces errors, and yields massive benefits.

Process automation techniques and technologies are meant to do work faster than humans, with no need for sleep, breaks, or lunch, making operations more productive around the clock. At the end of the day, process automation allows businesses to accomplish more with less effort and in less time. According to some projections, automation could boost global productivity growth by 0.8-1.4 percent per year.

According to Harvard Business Review, poor data costs US businesses $3 trillion every year. While making a mistake on an order or submitting erroneous quality data are problems that may be fixed, they waste time. Organizations can have greater trust in their data by automating duplicate operations like data entry.

The measurable nature of automation is a key part of its value. In today's modern manufacturing realities, automating data collecting and visualizations to provide useful insights like efficiency, throughput, and uptime is critical to gaining a competitive advantage.

Contrary to common notions about robotics and automation, this is no longer viewed as a danger to workers, but rather as a valuable tool for every manufacturing company. Employees will be freed from dull and tiresome jobs as a result of this technology package, allowing them to think more strategically about the organization. As a result, organizations can provide opportunities for employees to advance their careers, allowing them to pursue other career pathways and retaining valuable personnel.

To asses the value of automation, businesses should start by asking themselves these questions: Is this a repetitive task? Is it time-sensitive? Is there a large number of persons and procedures involved? Identify these tasks, then make a road map of their present processes/steps to begin structuring the move to higher levels of automation.

Business operations are being revolutionized by manufacturing automation. Those that stick with legacy manual approaches risk missing out on transformative benefits that will help them meet the challenges of our post-Covid reality.