This article is part two of a four-part article series on helping SMEs chart the course of digital transformation. We will now understand the journey of transitioning from manual to autonomous processes and getting data to yield.

Like it or not, there are data everywhere, and you are generating, collecting or consuming it either consciously or subconsciously in each living moment.

For example, the average human brain is bombarded with over 11 million bits of information per second. This unconscious phenomenon occurs even without us having an inkling about it.

In the context of a machine, the data points required to monitor or diagnose the health or to predict failure drop dramatically to single-digit or tens. In the context of a process in a process industry, based on the complexity, the data points might go up by order of magnitude.

It is only the frequency at which one needs to collect and assimilate the data that would be much higher when it comes to processes than manufacturing or operating products making the data set humongous.

One of my professors said that laziness is a key virtue that led humanity towards technological advancements that you enjoy today. A few centuries ago, if a human being were dreaming, it would be of making a machine that would take away most of his mechanical or mundane tasks; now, the dream is about completely automating them without any human intervention.

Now that we’ve mostly achieved mechanisation in manufacturing let us see what it takes to reach the completely autonomous level of operation.

A machine will get autonomy only when it can learn to adjust to assigned situations; it has to be flexible. Please note, this is a departure from the automation that we have known, which is rule-based and rigid. So, if we want to make the machine learn by itself, we need to pump in a certain level of intelligence.

Also Read: How Warung Pintar builds tech solutions to help warung owners embrace the future

Intelligence cannot be imaginative in nature but has to be derived from facts relative to the context. If intelligence has to be acquired from facts, we need to tap into a data system. The more the data, the more the failure data and the more learned the machine becomes, and subsequently, the higher the probability of accurate decision.

This is very similar to the difference between an inexperienced and experienced professional who has gone through the ups and downs of life, making better decisions than the former.

Since we are creating that intelligence and pushing it into the machine, we call it Artificial Intelligence, unlike humans who naturally acquire it.

So, if our goal (let’s call TO-BE state) is to have a fully autonomous system – could be a machine or bunch of machines or processes for that matter, we shall start from looking at where we stand or ‘baseline’ (let’s call AS-IS) and the steps that need to be taken to reach the goal. Obviously, we would like to (i) keep the spend* as low as possible and (ii) acquire as robust a system as possible that is scalable, idiot-proof** and future proof.

*Tip: Spend is not only the initial investment. It includes the running costs, unscheduled breakdowns, maintenance, spares, replacements and upgrades, personnel training, etc. (TCO – Total Cost of Ownership).

**Tip: Remember not every person on the shop floor is skilled.

As they say, ‘What is not measured cannot be managed. Similarly, what is not managed, cannot be improved. Hence, it’s important to measure at the beginning of the digitalisation journey.

Tip: the best part of this digital journey is that you would realise a return on investment (RoI) at every stage and can stop or postpone at any stage you want.

Let’s say we are at a stage where we record and collect some of the data manually. Some of them are collected and stored in standalone systems like Excel or ERP, or MRP tools. The first thing we need to do is to find ways to (a) digitalise and (b) automate (as much as possible) the data collection.

Automation of data collection would eliminate costly human errors and free up person-hours which could be put to better use. For example, if you are manually recording the “material in” into the production space from the store, we could (a) digitalise the same by adding simple processes like bar-coding (an inexpensive solution) and (b) channel all material through a single gateway (or a conveyor, if it already exists in your factory) with a bar-code reader (could be the handphone***) which is connected to a central server – this is done for automating the data collection.

Network connectivity between different assets to one centralised or a few servers is necessary to achieve digitalisation.

***Tip: Always look for simpler and robust solutions. Try to use common devices and be software-centric as much as possible to avoid maintenance costs and costs due to unscheduled breakdowns.

Let’s call this the first stage of digitalisation

Once you have the data captured and sent to your server or database, you can visualise or monitor the data and check for the cleanliness and outlier if we set some simple rules. You may check the data in their native formats or get all the relevant data on a dashboard.

Also Read: Digital transformation is now real: How COVID-19 has sparked innovation in tech companies

Let’s call this stage visualisation

In this stage, you find out if a particular machine is down or material is in short supply. If you were to gather the data manually, you might not capture the short supply well in advance, as the manual data compilation takes time.

You might already be saving some money when you reach this stage by plugging in leakages.

In the case of processes, the cost savings could be much more pronounced when we get to this stage.

In this stage, we could go a step further to automate notification of an outlier (something abnormal). This could mean a particular stakeholder getting an email notification about, say, a breakdown or depleting inventory.

Once we have clean data from various sources stored in different silos^^, the next step is to gather them all together, create connections between different data tables through common parameters.

Inexpensive tools such as Monarch do a fabulous job connecting to innumerable data sources, reading them in native formats, collecting and arranging them in tables that could be manipulated for further analyses, which we’ll talk about later.

Let us call this stage data aggregation

Tip: Like it or not, you’ll be collecting different kinds of data on multiple databases which are disconnected from each other.

For example, the payroll data might be residing in simple excel files, while MRP might be in MS SQL, inventory in a proprietary database and POs and invoices in PDFs. Reading the native formats and bringing them all into a unified database is no easy task.

The aggregated data could be used for various diagnoses, including Root Cause Analysis (RCA).  Various what-if scenarios could be simulated to find the appropriate corrective measure. The impact of different parameters on the cost and quality shall be studied through simulations using in-built algorithms.

Some of these advanced analyses could also be used for prognosis or predictive analytics. Using Predictive Analytics, machine breakdowns could be predicted hours and days before the failure. OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and similar metrics would help understand quality and capacity enhancement possibilities.

Let us call this stage diagnosis and prognosis

We want to tweak the process to get better output and profitability when we know what’s going wrong or what could be better. The advanced autoML algorithm could be taught to self-learn and adjust appropriately to situations.

In some situations, finding a solution might not be that easy, or we would like to try out multiple options and adopt the most optimal one.

If we stop the production from trying out different options, we might have wasted machine-operator cycles. Instead, experimenting on a digital replica (model) of your shop floor might prove to be effective.

Also Read: Cultural transformation and digital transformation go hand-in-hand. Here’s how to get it right

The digital replica is referred to as Digital Twin. The Digital Twin could be either very sophisticated and expensive or simplistic yet functional.  Regardless, deep insights could be obtained, which expensive tryouts won’t be able to provide.

Whichever way we find the solution, the next step is to control or take corrective measures.

Since we have digitalised and interconnected our enterprise, or at least a key part of it, we might as well create a digital interface and remotely control the process or the assets (machines and other equipment).

Nevertheless, remotely controlling all the assets might not be inexpensive. In cases where it is expensive to control remotely, instructions shall be given to the shop floor to effect the change, based on the findings.

If the situation warrants and we have the Digital Twin to simulate and find the optimal solutions, the corrective measures could be applied in near real-time, thus saving costs. With a small incremental effort, a self-learning framework may be set up.

Let us name this stage control and correction

When we reach the stage where we can diagnose, diagnose, find optimal corrective measures, and communicate or control the machine remotely, all it takes is to automate the whole process.

The decision-making framework using AI and ML could take direct action based on the insights obtained from the above steps. At this level, when the system has become self-diagnostic, a self-healing framework could be applied.

This is when the system becomes autonomous.

Below is a quick representation of the above steps:

Stay tuned for the third article in this four-part series. We will dive into digital transformation opportunities across the enterprise and understand the role of data analytics in helping SMEs make better decisions.

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Across the globe, businesses and consumers see sustainability buzzwords being used constantly– often too much and in places, they don’t apply. But how does this increased saturation of sustainability messaging affect what consumers want from brands?

We have recently looked at the regional consumer landscape and asked how people really feel about tech brands and their sustainability efforts; are they doing enough, do consumers feel greenwashed and do they actually pay attention to sustainability messaging?

The short answer is yes– consumers really do care about the action behind the message and within the tech space, this is particularly prominent.

However, according to a BBC Sustainability Study that was conducted earlier this year, no major consumer tech brand has been recognised as a leader in the sustainability space despite consumer demand for tech brands to step up.

In fact, 55 per cent of the consumers we asked were not even aware of technology brands’ sustainability portfolios.

According to the study, this signals a huge missed opportunity for consumer tech brands, as over 80 per cent of consumers plan to make a tech purchase within the year, and 84 per cent of consumers indicated that they would purchase from a brand that shows its commitment to sustainable practices.

Not only this, but they would pay more for it– 73 per cent of consumers indicated that they were more ready to buy “green/sustainable” products even if they cost a little bit more.

However, consumers are becoming savvier, more aware and critical of greenwashing, so brands need to demonstrate that they can walk the walk as well as talking the talk.

Also Read: COVID-19, the environment, and the tech ecosystem: what opportunity is available out there for us?

Based on our findings, the top sustainability priorities that APAC consumers want consumer tech brands to focus on include:

• Understanding the need for sustainable efforts towards progress, however, that may look for your industry and business (65 per cent)
• Partnering with suppliers who support sustainable practices (50 per cent)
• Supporting communities that take up sustainable practices (46 per cent)

Furthermore, consumers are prioritising sustainability beyond the single lens of eco-friendly products. The study found that:

• Eighty-two per cent are more careful to avoid purchasing products that potentially have a more harmful impact on the environment
• Sixty-nine per cent feel that companies should reinvest in communities impacted by their businesses. For example, by planting new trees in areas impacted by deforestation, businesses will be protecting the natural resources from the adverse side effects of manufacturing for local communities
• Eighty-three per cent feel that companies should focus on educating their customers on the importance of sustainability

As such, consumer technology players should ensure their products and services truly reduce their impact on the environment and this needs to be evaluated across the entire product range and operations.

For example, many eco-projects by larger oil companies are undermined when you look at the overall environmental impact of the brand across their entire operation.

Sustainability plans should also include reinvestment in local communities, and ensure that operations and manufacturing have an overall positive impact on the communities that support these processes.

For consumer electronics, the manufacturing process typically involves multiple vendors along the entire supply chain, and consumers are now more critical about companies ensuring that their own manufacturing, and their vendors, provide safe working conditions and improve the lives of people in the communities that they operate in.

Lastly, brands should be more proactive in educating customers about sustainability.

As mentioned above, 83 per cent of those surveyed would like brands to invest in educating consumers about the importance of sustainability, and there are so many avenues open to brands to do this including branded content, interviews with national media or sponsorship and advertising campaigns. And brands should be consciously encouraging their consumers to make more eco-friendly choices.

For example, more consumer electronics manufacturers are making it easier for customers to either trade-in or recycle old devices or reduce the amount of e-waste.

Building trust with consumers through responsible actions is critical but businesses need to ensure that they communicate these efforts to their audience in meaningful and effective ways. The first order of business is for a brand to communicate how it embeds sustainability into the core of its business.

Also Read: Life after COVID-19: How and why smart cities need to focus on sustainability

Consumers are alert to and wary of greenwashing and will call it out if they see sustainability messaging as an “add-on” or a one-off CSR initiative. Explaining how a brand embraces sustainability into the heart of its operations creates a positive and desired connection with the consumer.

Consumers also want to see progress and even if businesses are not fully formed with their sustainability action plans, it does not mean that a brand cannot communicate its goals and outline how it will operationalise its plans through tangible targets set to a timeline.

Vague or motherhood statements of sustainability only serve to open a brand up to accusations of greenwashing but by setting and communicating tangible targets or goals, brands demonstrate a real commitment to sustainability.

For example, some brands have communicated clear goals of reducing their carbon emissions by a certain year, and continue to maintain open communication with stakeholders by providing annual updates on their progress, underscoring their long-term commitment to sustainability.

Of course, getting this right takes time and the willingness to navigate the shifting nuances around sustainability. At the BBC, we have been on a steep learning curve, unpacking the complexities and nuances of how to build and tell authentic, credible brand stories on behalf of our advertisers.

We recognise that brands are often at different stages of the sustainability journey and there are challenges, including regulatory policies, that dictate what a brand can and cannot say. This underpins the importance of crafting accurate and tonally sensitive content, all of which is key to building consumer trust and maintaining accountability.

For all brands grappling with these challenges, we cannot emphasise enough the significance of being open and transparent with existing facts as they stand and to build from there.

While consumers are willing to accept that change cannot happen overnight, brands must fundamentally reappraise their holistic messaging framework around their sustainability efforts and initiatives.

It is really important for brands to acknowledge any sustainability shortcomings, as long as there is a commitment to work on changing these in the long run.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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iSeller, a startup providing e-commerce and payment solutions in Indonesia, has announced the completion of a US$8 million pre-Series B financing round co-led by Openspace Ventures and AppWorks.

Local investors, including Mandiri Capital Indonesia and Indogen Capital, also joined.

This investment will enable iSeller to enhance products, technology and infrastructure into a full suite of digital solutions with the vision of becoming a “super-app for merchants”. 

Specifically, the startup intends to “aggressively” expand its e-commerce solutions and offline presence to 50 cities across Indonesia.

Founded in 2017 by Jimmy Petrus, iSeller aims to become the Shopify of Indonesia. A SaaS company, it assists businesses to go digital with an omnichannel solution covering point of sale, inventory management, instant online stores, marketplace integration, and food delivery integration.

iSeller claims that it processes more than a million transactions per month across all channels and serving more than 60,000 business owners in Indonesia.

Also read: Looking abroad: Capturing the e-commerce opportunity in SEA

It is deploying two new products. One, iSeller Go, a smartphone app supporting business owners to conduct transactions and manage their business online. The second is Marketplace Integration, a solution for merchants to sell hassle-free on various marketplaces, such as Tokopedia, Lazada, Shopee, and the Grab ecosystem (GrabFood, GrabExpress.

In the past year, iSeller claims to have achieved a 300 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of onboarded merchants and a corresponding increase in annual revenue. This increase is primarily attributed to the solid growth across e-commerce and payments processing solutions.

The Momentum Works Blooming Ecommerce in Indonesia estimated that the total gross merchandise value by the large marketplaces in Indonesia grew by 91 per cent in 2020 compared to the previous year. It is bolstered by the surging demand of merchants to digitise their businesses during the pandemic. 

In 2019, the share of e-commerce to the total retail market in Indonesia was 8.2 per cent. It is forecast to reach 24.1 per cent by 2022.

iSeller has also integrated social and chat commerce into its solutions and has collaborated with WhatsApp and Facebook.

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Singapore-based smart electric motorbike company ION Mobility today announced the completion of its US$6.8 million seed financing, co-led by Quest Ventures and TNB Aura.

New and returning investors, such as GDP Venture, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Seeds Capital and 500 Durians (now 500 Southeast Asia), participated.

Also Read: ‘Singapore isn’t ready for mass adoption of EVs yet; hybrid may be better for the present’

ION Mobility will use the new money to set up its manufacturing operations in Singapore and Indonesia. The startup is preparing to unveil its first smart e-bike later this year.

“There is a growing sense of excitement and momentum in Southeast Asia around electric motorbikes. They can transform not just the way people move around cities, but also their impact on the environment and the economy,” founder and CEO James Chan said.

“We will accelerate our manufacturing facilities and go-to-market operations across Singapore and Indonesia so that we can better serve our customers upon launch,” he added.

Founded in 2019, ION Mobility aims to become a technology company leading the region’s transition towards a low-carbon economy with consumers’ electric and electric mobility products.

It wants to provide clean alternatives for urban users to alleviate urban air pollution and lead the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) across Southeast Asia, starting with motorbikes.

The plan is to convert the 200-plus million motorcycle users from petrol to electric to drive a sustainable future in Southeast Asia.

Also Read: BlueSG: Is electric car sharing really cheaper than other alternatives like Grab and Uber?

ION Mobility is currently in the process of commissioning its 1,175 square metre EV motorbike and battery pack assembly operations at LaunchPad@ one-north in Singapore by the end of this year. It intends to expand its EV motorbike assembly operations into Jakarta in 2022.

A year ago, the mobility startup received US$3.3 million in seed funding from Monk’s Hill, TNB Aura and Village Global, with participation from 500 Southeast Asia, AngelCentral syndicate, kipleX and Seeds Capital.

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Pickupp, an on-demand delivery and tech startup in Southeast Asia, has secured additional investments from Reefknot Investments, a joint venture between Temasek Holdings and Kuehne + Nagel.

This round brings Pickupp’s total capital raised in Series A to approximately US$20 million.

The new capital injection comes more than three months after the startup picked US$15 million in Series A and A+ rounds, led by Taiwan e-commerce giant PChome and Cornerstone Ventures. Swire Properties, Cathay Venture, DRIVE Catalyst, and Jardine Matheson Group and Zipx from Hong Kong also co-invested in that round.

Pickupp will use funds to strengthen its operational efficiency to accommodate the growing use of online-to-offline services in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia.

The money will also enable it to strengthen its dispatch network; the company will add at least ten new satellite warehouses across heartland areas in the city-state within the next six months.

Also Read: Pickupp snags Series A funding to expand last-mile logistics platform in Southeast Asia

The introduction of these new dispatch points coincides with the firm’s push to increase its walker delivery agent pool to improve the efficiency of deliveries during peak traffic hours and decarbonise its operations with sustainable deliveries.

The tech firm also plans to improve technology to enhance the capabilities and cost-savings of its existing products and introduce new services to meet the evolving demand for last-mile deliveries.

Founded in 2016, Pickupp provides “flexible”, tech-driven logistics solutions for businesses of all sizes. Customers can book a delivery anytime without sacrificing speed and cost through highly optimised batching and chaining technology, while real-time GPS tracking provides end-to-end transparency.

Pickupp launched Shop On Pickupp, a one-stop e-commerce platform offering all-rounded payment and tech-enabled delivery solutions for businesses in 2020.

To fulfil the changing delivery needs, Pickupp will be launching its new self-drop off service. It will feature next day deliveries, no minimum order, at affordable rates where small businesses, online marketplace users, and individuals can benefit. Customers can create an order, drop off one’s parcel at any dispatch point, and avail of Pickupp’s next day delivery service with real-time GPS tracking.

Also Read: ​​Hong Kong startup Pickupp raises funding from Alibaba, Spark Ventures, Axis Capital

Pickupp has operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan and provides logistics support to 20,000-plus businesses spanning MNCs, logistics giants, and retail and e-commerce. It has a delivery team of over 100,000 delivery agents across all cities.

“Heavy road traffic and carbon emissions are major challenges for the logistics industry in today’s day and age, and the spike in e-commerce and delivery orders will worsen the conditions if left ignored,” said Lee. “Sustainability is a long-term goal of ours, and we aim to achieve net-zero operations in the years to come. Therefore, we are taking on a unique approach to tackle these challenges by building and improving our walker network,” said Lee Chee Meng, co-COO at Pickupp Singapore.

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