Boon Rawd takes digital route to stay ahead of the curve

Established in 1933, Boon Rawd, the producer of Singha and related brands, is vigilant of increased domestic and regional competitive forces due to freer cross-border trade within Asean and counterpart countries.
Rojrit Debhakam, senior executive vice president, said automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and other new technologies play a key role in boosting competitiveness in production lines, logistics, and other business areas.

Currently, Boon Rawd Brewery has about 3,500 employees with nine factories nationwide, including those in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Sing Buri, Khon Kaen, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Surat Thani.
For beer, the group has a combined output of 1.25 billion litres per year marketed under Singha, Leo, U, Snow, Asahi and other brands. Of the total output, 10 per cent is slated for export.
Besides beer, the group is a major producer of soda and drinking water under Singha and other brands, with a combined output of 1 billion litres per year.
While automatic production lines and warehouses have become indispensable for the group’s competitive advantage, Rojrit said it is crucial to ensure that technologies are interactive with human workers.
“We aim to create a smart workplace, or ‘workplace 4.0’, that involves not only smart machines and automation but also the retraining of workers, so they can work alongside machines.
“People’s welfare and environment are no less important as we automate and optimise our production lines and logistics. At present, our fastest lines can produce as many as 72,000 bottles of water and beverage per hour,” Rojrit said.
“Quality control, security, energy and water resources efficiency are also crucial components of our digital transformation strategy, in which data is key. For example, the new generation of forklift trucks are now equipped with barcode readers so operators can handle pallets much faster and more accurately.”
RFID technology is also used for product traceability, something increasingly important in the modern supply-chain system, he said.
The company also uses drones equipped with GPS and night vision for factory and warehouse security as well as for surveillance of floodwater prevention dykes in Ayutthaya province.
For machine and other asset maintenance, the company’s trained mechanics work with computers for preventive and predictive maintenance. 
“Performance of machines on production lines will be enhanced and downtime minimised or eliminated when predictive analytics are used by keeping online records of key indicators such as motor vibration and temperature,” Rojrit said. 
“In the near future, VR [virtual reality] and AR [augmented reality] devices will also be used for machine maintenance. Digital and other technologies are advancing rapidly. For example, the number of self-driving or autonomous electric cars is expected to be significant within the next five years. As a result, there would be fewer road accidents, which are currently caused by humans.
“However, this also means far-reaching implications for the auto-insurance business. Many other businesses will also be affected such as petrol stations and garages [due to fewer moving car parts and fewer breakdowns of electric vehicles].”
Navigating the impact of technology will prove challenging across sectors and the government may need to step in, he said.
“The disruptive forces will be tremendous for the auto and other related industries, but this kind of displacement happened before, when we shifted from horse carriages to combustion-engine automobiles. For other industries, the disruptive forces of technologies are no less significant. I think the government should consider granting soft loans to help Thai industries invest in new technologies and cope with the disruption.
“For Boon Rawd, we’re always vigilant, not only with domestic but also regional and international competitors. Across the borders, Vietnamese or Chinese breweries, for example, can enter the Thai market [if they want to] so we have to stay competitive,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wallapa Piemnoppakao, country director of US-based business software firm Infor, said Boon Rawd is a major customer. Large Thai conglomerates have invested substantially in digital and other new technologies to stay ahead of the curve, Wallapa said.
“Competitive pressures from China and other Asean countries have increased so Thai companies are keen to boost their competitiveness,” she said.
After helping Boon Rawd’s Wangnoi Beverage Co in Ayutthaya province automate its logistic operation, Infor is now focused on the roll-out of automation at other factories and warehouses in three locations, including those in Khon Kaen and Surat Thani provinces.
“Besides the very large companies, Thailand’s medium-sized enterprises have also explored opportunities to invest in digital and other technologies. They need to prepare for rising competition,” she said.