June 20198 What does the rise of mass customization in Southeast Asia mean for SME manufacturers in the region?Southeast Asia is a highly interesting market as there is a great diversity in the technology maturity of the manufacturers across the different countries.However, what is common is they are all impacted by the rise of mass customization. SMEs must transform quick enough in order to be competitive.Those who are able to adopt innovation and transformation and increase their efficiency and flexibility and attract talent and strengthen their product offering while lowering the cost will be most likely to thrive in the digital economy.How is product development in the region changing?The growing focus on producing goods faster and in greater variety has made product development and design one of the most important part in operations for companies.IDC's recent report about opportunities in digital transformation (DX) for SME manufacturers found that improving product development and design processes were the top two DX goals cited by businesses.This sets the stage for different technologies that can help with innovation along the supply chain, such as enabling greater collaboration among stakeholders and partners with cloud technology or mobility solutions, which bring greater visibility to all parties involved in a project. What are some key challenges and areas of opportunity for smaller manufacturers in the region?Understandably, some of the key challenges for smaller manufacturers in the region include budgeting SME MANUFACTURERS IN ASIA PACIFIC NEED TO THINK SMALL TO GROW BIGBY ALEX TEO, MANAGING DIRECTOR & VP SOUTH EAST ASIA, SIEMENS DIGITAL INDUSTRIESand resources to adopt new digital technologies. A recent IDC report found that just one in every 10 manufacturers with less than 100 employees had plans to add Industry 4.0 approaches to their operations within 12 months, while slightly more than half had no plans to do so, despite acknowledging that smart connected manufacturing would be an important component of digital transformation.In contrast, almost three in 10 manufacturers with a company size of between 100 and 499 employees had plans to adopt Industry 4.0 approaches within 12 months, while 6.5 percent had already implemented smart connected manufacturing initiatives.While the adoption of new technologies and capabilities could strain resources for smaller manufacturers, the opportunity cost of not doing so would be even greater.Companies that are hesitant to spend all their funds on digital transformation can consider a `test the water' approach of incrementally adding budget, reallocating funds, and devoting staff resources to specific initiatives that are expected to produce short term ROI. As they gather more experience in implementation and resources, longer-term initiatives can be considered.To address the needs of the market, there will also IN MY V EWAlex Teo
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