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Smart Manufacturing in India– Driving growth through innovation
Smart Manufacturing in India– Driving growth through innovation

May 19, 2022

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Manufacturing in a volatile business landscape

In today's VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world, the success of any business demands withstanding and adopting enormous changes. The global manufacturing industry has not been an exception to this rule. Various applications across the manufacturing value chain have witnessed the swift adoption of disruptive digital technologies in the last few years. Digitization has encompassed entire business processes, allowing seamless collaboration that reduces costs and improves efficiencies.

The Indian manufacturing industry, too, has witnessed accelerated digitization to cater to the need for remote access and collaboration during the pandemic. India's manufacturing sector has set an ambitious target of occupying 25% of the country's GDP from 16%. However, the country faces significant challenges in balancing rising domestic labor costs while competing with global manufacturing peers like Vietnam, where labor is cheap, and market players like China and Korea, who have enhanced their competitive edge by rapidly adopting new-age technologies. India needs to integrate Smart Manufacturing into its manufacturing value chain to stay profitable in the technology-driven global market.

Can India adopt a Smart Manufacturing model?

Smart manufacturing is an umbrella term for a new-age, connected manufacturing system that leverages cutting-edge technologies across the manufacturing value chain. Technology can be a game-changer for the Indian manufacturing sector, driving efficiency and cost savings with innovative strategies. The need for digitization prompts the leading manufacturers to adopt a more proactive and strategic view of new programs. However, this is easier said than done because redefining the future manufacturing organizations and identifying focused themes for top and bottom-line impact still pose significant challenges with limited resources and skill gaps.

Challenges for the Indian manufacturing industry

As per the 2020 Gartner® Smart Manufacturing Strategy and Implementation Trends Survey', "86% agree that smart manufacturing is an integral component of their strategy, and 84% agree they expect smart manufacturing to increase their competitiveness." 

From these statistics, it is clear that the manufacturing industry has jumped on the bandwagon of technology-driven transformation and is on a journey to establish a Smart Manufacturing Ecosystem (manufacturing value chain embedded with new-age innovative technology).

However, to gain value and benefits, organizations must address the following challenges:

  • Redefining the manufacturing organization of the future: The growth prospects powered by technological innovations, the lessons learned during the pandemic, and potential future challenges like market competition and climate changes, are factors that are compelling manufacturing companies to redefine their vision of a "manufacturing organization of the future." However, constructing a clear vision for future expansion that pieces all the moving parts together can be a challenging mountain to climb.
  • Focused solution themes to achieve top-line and bottom-line aspiration: With abundant options, it might be challenging to choose the right digitization strategy and formulate a solution to secure both short and long-term business aspirations on top-line and bottom-line performance. 
  • Continuous, incremental, and accelerated monetization: The transformation initiative should be resilient enough to sustain the constant cost pressure and monetize the operations.

Focused solution themes

 Setting a common organizational goal that aligns with the top-line and bottom-line aspirations of the business' objective is essential to success.

We have observed the following trending themes–

Top-line value drivers: Enhancing customer/channel engagement and experience

  • Connected and smart products ecosystem

Seamless and improved product experience resulting in new revenue streams and accelerated design improvements through real-time product information.

  • Digitized channels and customer experience

 Increased sales and customer acquisition/retention by ensuring an enhanced online/offline experience for the customer

  • Aftermarket services transformation

Tech-powered aftermarket and service as a differentiator to boost sales and customer satisfaction

Bottom-line value drivers: Reducing cost and improving operational efficiencies

  • Smart and digitized factory operations

Leveraging innovative technology like IIOT and AI/ML-based advanced analytics to enable efficiency and reduce factory operations costs

  • Digital supply chain

Supply chain cost optimization and end-to-end visibility harnessing the power of cloud-based digital platforms and advanced analytics

  • Connected workforce

Implementing technologies like smart glasses, chatbots, digitized training, and knowledge sharing to enhance workforce productivity and experience

About the Author: 

Ashish Sharma, India Business Head – Manufacturing, Consumer and Technology at Wipro, is a corporate intrapreneur and has successfully established new sales geographies and launched new products in the marketplace. Known for his domain expertise, Ashish has two USPTO patents related to the process control industry. He is an IIM Bangalore and IIT Roorkee graduate.


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Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading technology services and consulting company focused on building innovative solutions that address clients’ most complex digital transformation needs. Leveraging our holistic portfolio of capabilities in consulting, design, engineering, and operations, we help clients realize their boldest ambitions and build future-ready, sustainable businesses. With over 250,000 employees and business partners across 66 countries, we deliver on the promise of helping our customers, colleagues, and communities thrive in an ever-changing world.

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