Connected manufacturing to increase India’s industrial competitiveness

January 6, 2016 11:45 am

Connected manufacturing offers the Indian industrial sector unique opportunities that would allow diverse stakeholders to realise production-related gains
  Connected manufacturing offers great opportunities to faster react to market requirements, reduce manufacturing downtimes, improve the efficiency of supply chains and increase productivity–factors which all can contribute to increase the competitiveness of the Indian industry over the long-term. 
“The use of intelligent and connected solutions in manufacturing will play an increasing role in India. To build a cohesive manufacturing growth story for India, it is imperative that technology and business leaders as well as policy makers collectively work towards the realisation of the connected factory,” said Vijay Ratnaparkhe, Managing Director and President, Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions while talking at the smart manufacturing conclave organised by Bosch.  
With this event, the automotive component manufacturer provides a platform for discourse about the possibilities and opportunities of connected manufacturing technology in India. Over 250 business leaders and key policy makers active in this field attended the conclave and shared their insights.   ‘Make in India’ should leverage IT to boost value creationAs part of the ‘Make in India’ business initiative, the Indian government aims to advance industrialisation and modernise production in the country. “Bosch is already a key partner for connected production and is very well positioned in this area,” informed Dr Stefan Aßmann, Senior Vice President – Innovation Cluster Connected Industry, Robert Bosch GmbH. “We have all relevant expertise within Bosch and offer a broad range of Industry 4.0 solutions such as hardware, software and services,” he further elaborated.
The company also implements Industry 4.0 in its own manufacturing plants and already has more than 100 pilot projects, including Nashik, Bidadi and Jaipur in India. Bosch aims to implement connected production in all its 14 manufacturing locations across the country.  Use data to gain business advantage Connected industries complement the vision of ‘Make in India’, which aims to increase domestic value addition and technological depth in manufacturing. In order to be competitive with comparable industrialised countries, Industry 4.0 offers India enormous growth prospects. “Connected manufacturing offers the Indian industrial sector unique opportunities that would allow diverse stakeholders to realise production-related gains. It also facilitates new business models and innovative products – for example with greater integration of functions (embedded systems). This results in increased value addition,” said Dr. Andreas Wolf, Executive Vice President responsible for manufacturing, Bosch Limited.  
Bosch offers solutions for the connected world For the manufacturing industry of the future, connectivity will be the key to success – and that goes for Bosch too. It allows greater flexibility to be achieved at lower cost. Bosch is a pacesetter in this fourth industrial revolution, which will transform the entire value chain. Over the past few years, Bosch has prepared itself to seize the potential of Industry 4.0 with strategic foresight. This is based on its considerable expertise in mechanical engineering and production and its strength in software engineering. Currently, Bosch globally has some 2,500 software engineers working specifically on the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0, including on web applications, data mining, and cloud computing. It is linking its expertise in the “world of things” and the “world of software.” The strategic aim is to offer solutions for connected mobility, connected industry, connected energy systems, and connected buildings