A survey (AI2020 report) was undertaken to figure out the main obstacles for the introduction of automation in industry. Surprisingly, Rapid changes in technology and working with legacy systems were not at the top of the list; instead, cultural resistance at 49 percent was listed as the single biggest obstacle to automation.
The best example to understand cultural resistance is to look at the Kodak company. Kodak did not fail because it missed the digital age. Despite the introduction of digital cameras in the 1990s, Kodak was unable to adapt. In the end, when they wanted to embrace new technology in the 2000s, they fell way behind the market.
Why industries resist cultural change?
Every company has a structure and working procedures from the foundation. The working procedures include the abundance of inexpensive labor leading to short-term incentives. If a change is introduced, it displaces the working process of the industry that leads to fear of losing capital costs Cheap labor is readily available in India so why do we need automation?
- First of all, wages are increasing. It is not the same case as it was before. Labor costs are considerably higher in overall industrial operating costs, typically accounting for 60 per cent-65 percent of total expenses.
- Flipkart has installed over 100 robots in one of its distribution hubs, which was capable of handling almost 4,500 packages in an hour that is estimated to be ten times more than a single person would have done at the same time.
- Zomato moves towards offering drone-based food delivery in India by creating a hub-to-hub delivery network powered by hybrid multi-rotor drones.
- Automation increases production efficiency and gives workers access to activities of higher importance. This allows workers to achieve a more involved and demanding working experience
Do you Know?
- 71% of the industry believes automation will play a significant role in 2020, and the results are evident.
- The industrial automation industry in India is expected to touch $3.49 Bn by 2020.
- 61% of growth in India will come from Industrial Automation.
Looking at the data, we can see that automation development in India is imminent, and there is a great deal of risk if the company does not boost the process.
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