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CPR is a tangible world – but Kushal Dastenavar says that when customers want it all, businesses need to take advantage of the cost, time, quality, and value benefits that digital can bring to the physical

Life is straightforward in consumer products and retail. Said no one, ever.

Because that’s never been true, has it? And these days, it’s not just the nature of the challenges in CPR that is daunting – it’s their scale, too, and the pace at which they’re moving.

Now more than ever, markets are global and constantly morphing. Customers know what they want and when they want it, and so organizations need to find ways to streamline processes and increase efficiency. Technology can help them develop new business models, but it can be difficult to identify strategies that genuinely add value – especially when customers are pulling them in opposite directions.

How are shoppers pulling two ways? By simultaneously seeking eco-friendly options and low cost. As a result, CPR companies are obliged to achieve and maintain a three-way equilibrium between sustainability, affordability, and quality.

Let’s get digital – and physical

It’s a difficult balancing act – but a practical way forward is to address these challenges holistically. It’s not a case of simply throwing tech at it, any more than it’s only about radically overhauling physical operations.

Instead, CPR organizations need to find ways to bring together these two elements – traditional engineering and digital technology – so they can redraw departmental lines; align specialisms; make traditional processes more efficient, accurate, and scalable; improve sustainability without compromising on quality or margins; and offer new products and services that take advantage of strengths in both the physical and digital worlds.

Real-world examples: here’s one…

Let’s look at how these challenges are being tackled in the real world, and in particular how digital technology is being used to optimize physical performance.

A major multinational brewer has been looking to implement data and analytics transformation to achieve exactly this goal. In recent years it has introduced a number of different solutions across its infrastructure, all of which have been developed based on business needs and majority custom built. Some of them have grown in a non-homogeneous way, without a robust and standardized architecture, and with overlapping functionality. Furthermore, they have been costly and difficult to maintain, and present challenges to scale. What’s more, these disparate solutions provide information only, rather than a cohesive means of acting upon it.

All of this is why the company is now working with ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ on the implementation of a CAP-cloud platform (based on Azure) to bring contextualized process data from its breweries, filling, and packaging lines into a consolidated manufacturing data platform.

This approach will provide access to reliable real time data that serves as single source of truth for the supply chain. It will enable the company to set targets and monitor business performance through KPIs; to develop multiple use cases at scale, leveraging AI/ML to improve industrial performance and sustainability. It will accelerate solution deployment with minimized effort and investment across a global manufacturing footprint – and it will be easier and more cost-effective to maintain and to embed improvement evolution.

… and here’s another

A global CPR leader wants to optimize its manufacturing systems, reduce downtime, and increase platform efficiency. The challenges are considerable: there are more than 60 manufacturing applications supporting over 3000 manufacturing lines globally, providing a 24×7 support model with a product-centric approach.

The organization is currently working with ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ on a comprehensive new digital manufacturing operations solution, encompassing global operations and multiple international centers of excellence. A detailed transformation road map has been created, covering all aspects of operations, technical upgrades, and business outcomes. We’re collaborating with key product vendors on a cost-optimized delivery model that harnesses the best tools and GenAI to deliver benefits that are expected to include a reduction of downtime worth $6-8 million; site reliability engineering (SRE)-driven AI operations to reduce downtime by 34%; standardized service operations and monitoring; and a 25% reduction in (mean time to recovery (MTTR), once again via GenAI.

Two key takeaways

There are two factors implicit in the examples I’ve provided above.

The first of these is the usefulness of having an experienced partner. A knowledgeable solutions provider with a solid track record can provide valuable insights, best practices, and support during the transformation process.

The second key takeaway is the importance of a can-do attitude. CPR organizations working in collaboration with trusted partners can create a virtuous circle of energy and enthusiasm, maintaining and building momentum, and taking advantage of the power of digital to deliver lasting value in the physical world.

Major engineering and R&D-intensive (ER&D) businesses recognize the importance of combining digital and physical change. We recently published a report examining the views of ER&D leaders on the challenges they face and the solutions they propose. You’ll find the report here