IoT platform can help Thailand achieve industry 4.0 status: SAP

As Industry 4.0 unfolds, all existing business processes need to be redefined and integrated, said Saj Kumar, vice president, Internet of Things, at SAP Asia-Pacific. 
This journey offers new opportunities along dimensions that include the evolution of business models and mass customisation, he said, adding that the trend toward customisation is a key driver of new business models.
The executive said all products would belong to a digital chain, and the integration of the complete product lifecycle with the value chain would be the cornerstone of digital chains.
This would entail innovative business processes; technology to generate, collect, filter and analyse data from different sources; and the integration of existing IT solutions, he said, adding that “everything will become smarter”.
“The next big shift is Industry 4.0 – we call it a software-driven transformation. Sensors, IoT on the shop floor will be able to connect everything and drive the cyber physical integration. Everything that happens with the machine, you can simulate in real time; you can get real-time data for the shop floor, you can use it to drive production efficiency, maintenance. 
“The creation of the assembly line and mass production, it’s what driving Thailand’s economy today. We are moving towards a world where people want personalised things. Everyone wants their own, unique things. We’re seeing that manufacturing wants to move to the idea of what we call ‘a lot size of one’, which is a unique product that is made for you,” he explained.
Kumar said his company had developed SAP HANA – an IoT platform – which is a key driver for Industry 4.0. 
The platform is able to connect to devices and sensors in real time, process data on the edge and drive big-data analytics in the cloud. 
It will also drive specific applications around manufacturing, logistics and supplier integration.
“SAP’s IoT platform is able to process the petabytes of data from connected sensors with the SAP HANA platform, and drive machine learning applications to predict machine breakdown, quality parameters and manufacturing settings,” the vice president said. 

Moreover, the platform comes with solutions to make sure that the manufacturing operations are completely integrated by taking the data from the machines, and using it with existing SAP systems to drive better production operations. 
This way, they can tie it back to customers’ orders, and streamline manufacturing, he said. 
The data comes from sensors in the machines that collect real-time data, “which is when IoT comes in as all things are starting to connect”, he added. 
Meanwhile, SAP will provide solutions to support the manufacturing, automation, oil and gas, and retail industries in the Kingdom, he stressed.
“I think Thailand is leading in terms of automation. We have a few customers who are already on the journey, and I expect to see more customers in Thailand moving towards Industry 4.0. It’s impressive to see that Thailand is trying to pursue the idea of Thailand 4.0, as not many countries have done that as yet, as they only think of what the next phase should be,” Kumar said.
However, Thailand has to start delivering more data scientists to focus on more activities that will drive the country towards Industry 4.0, he suggested.
In his view, the Kingdom is ready to embark on IoT and Industry 4.0 initiatives, as it is one of the more mature manufacturing countries among its peers.