How the composable and flexible organization is accelerating digital transformation in the automotive industry

To keep up with innovation and revitalize business, managers in the automotive industry are aware that the way forward is digital. In many ways, digital transformation has become an existential necessity. However, digitization should never be an end in itself. Digital systems are a means by which problems and ideas related to production operations and goals are addressed. This is as true for the supplier who has been supplying parts for combustion engines for years and is not changing materials and processes but needs updated production efficiencies to compete as it is for the fledgling electric vehicle manufacturer who is doing clean-sheet engineering and introducing nontraditional materials into automotive production.

When properly executed, digital transformation reduces risk, accelerates time to market, increases margins and improves market position. However, the vast majority of digital transformation initiatives do not achieve their goals. Any company, in any branch within the automotive supply chain, must continually look for new ways to ensure success within the confines of two realities.

Two realities that limit digital transformation

The first reality is the ingenuity and speed constantly demanded by an automotive landscape evolving at an accelerating pace. Ever-changing technological and market conditions create a growing web of interrelated challenges and opportunities. Electrification, connected services, autonomous vehicles, flexible mobility, the pandemic, supply chain complexity and uncertainties, sustainability, hyper-automation ... To successfully navigate this web, it is essential to build an agile, flexible manufacturing ecosystem - one that provides robust interconnectivity with business and enterprise systems, as well as visibility into the value chain.

The second reality is the existing investment in assets - facilities, machinery, equipment, people and digital systems. To succeed, one must make the most of these assets. How can an organization leverage existing resources like the latest developments to grow, taking into account the forces and fluctuations of today's market? The answer: the composable and flexible organization.

The composable and flexible organization

A composable and flexible organization is one designed for real-time adaptability and resilience in the face of uncertainty. It is based on a platform that supports collaborative problem solving through experimentation and iteration. It democratizes application capabilities so that any member of the production team can easily assemble and reassemble applications, keeping what works and removing what doesn't. To create these capabilities, the composable organization transforms monolithic digital systems into composable artifacts, enabling orchestration, modularity and autonomy.

Everything starts with data-driven manufacturing excellence

Among the various branches of the manufacturing industry, the automotive industry has been at the forefront of automation and digitization, being the first to use computerized operations, robotics, automated inspection and in-line sensors, data acquisition and more. As a result, automotive companies are far ahead when it comes to data generation.

Yet only 10% of this data is currently being analyzed for production insights. Most production data are used only for their original purpose. For example, a sensor may initially be intended to trigger a production step, but the untapped data generated by this sensor can also be used to gain insights into the process being monitored. It is essential to capture the available data and leverage it for manufacturing excellence.

To turn big data into actionable intelligence and insights, an organization must first aggregate, contextualize and analyze data to create a source of smart data. Next, the smart data must be made easily accessible so that the data-driven organization maximizes the expertise of each employee through an unimpeded, collaborative communication network. Data-driven manufacturing excellence requires visibility across the enterprise, as well as an integral culture of quality and cost-effectiveness and a dynamic customer experience.

Achieving digital transformation through the composable organization

The composable and flexible organization allows users to achieve three main goals of digitization. First, it enables flexibility with personalized, cross-domain applications. Manufacturers can quickly assemble applications across supply, engineering, production, service and business domains, creating the agility and flexibility required in today's market. Second, a composable organization is able to innovate continuously and faster than ever. Process experts together with IT can become co-creators and co-innovators. Finally, it increases productivity and output. The composable organization realizes and accelerates harmonization within the enterprise and the value chain.

In the current climate of revolutionary technologies, increasingly complex supply chains, increasing regulatory requirements, and rising customer expectations, the composable and flexible organization enables each employee to contribute their personal ingenuity to the new efficiencies and greater productivity an organization needs. Digital transformation is itself transformed from a plan to an executed reality. The result is an agile, flexible organization with the ability to respond quickly to any industry change.