Malaysia Manufacturers in the Context

At the global front, manufacturing firms are already exploring the limitless possibilities of Industry 4.0 and reimagining the future. The traditional manufacturing processes and machinery are undergoing digitization and technological transformation to accelerate efficiency, flexibility, and speed to survive the fierce market competition.

Being widely perceived as a trading country, Malaysia continually seeks innovative options to grow their market and deliver more improved products. The Southeast Asian country has radically improved its manufacturing sector over the past few decades, making it one of the core roles in the global supply chain market. This is what made Malaysia into a major industrial nation.

The country’s manufacturing industry has undergone rapid evolution in recent decades, starting from mass-scale, labor intensive production to the use of robotics for enhanced efficiency. The industry experts have learned how to use intensive labor force and smart technologies throughout the production lines and supply chains, thus enabling the sector to evolve consistently. 

Government Initiative – Industry 4WRD

On 31 October 2018, the Industry4WRD: National Policy on Industry 4.0 was launched to drive digitization and Industry 4.0 transformation of the manufacturing and other associated sectors in Malaysia. A number of initiatives have already been taken by the Malaysian Government and industry at the national, state, and regional levels.

The Industry4WRD: National Policy on Industry 4.0 can pave the path to achieve all these Industry 4.0 trends and practices. Furthermore, this would help the country fulfil its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

This mission of strengthening the country’s manufacturing sector is to streamline and form a more cohesive national agenda to accelerate the nation’s transformation into a smart manufacturing system. 

Our Challenges and Future Road Ahead

• Lack of awareness of the need for and the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies, especially among SMEs, thus reducing the chances of exploring opportunities and the disruption of business models.
• Lack of easy access to vital data to understand the industry’s best practices and analyze the relevant use cases.
• Shortage of the necessary skills, talents and knowledge for adopting Industry 4.0, especially in areas like AI, IoT, robotics, cybersecurity, and many others.
• Higher adoption costs and a longer payback period for the 4IR processes and technologies.
• Lack of proper understanding of the benefits and costs associated with Industry 4.0 transformation.
• Determining the unique customer demands and expectations for customizing products and facilitating faster deliveries.
• Exposure to cyber threats and attacks with technology and connectivity up-gradation, especially IoT.
• Limited use of adoption and low digital transformation in the manufacturing industry, especially among SMEs.
• Fewer visible success stories of Industry 4.0 adoption by local companies.
• Limited coordination among the stakeholders to work towards a common goal.
• Lack of conducting proper training programmes to upgrade skills and talents, both for the existing and new workforce.
• Lack of appropriate collaboration with research institutes, industry leaders, and universities.

From the above analysis of the common challenges and issues, five key themes emerge that encourage the growth of an end-to-end 4IR ecosystem in Malaysia. These include:

• Upskilling and reskilling all the existing as well as future talents and skills.
• A significant evolution in collaborative platforms and innovation capabilities to develop and have access to more efficient and cost-effective technologies for addressing specific consumer needs.
• Inclusion of SMEs to encourage better involvement for enhancing productivity.
• Focused funding strategy and support is required for faster and more efficient Industry 4.0 adoption.
• Powerful digital infrastructure is needed to secure 4IR operations, thus increasing reliability and safety.

Therefore, these primary themes would guide in developing and streamlining the National Policy on Industry 4.0, as well as the four major goals of Malaysia’s manufacturing sector – GDP contribution, high-skilled employment, national productivity, and innovation capabilities. 

How Reams CMMS Can Help

At Reams, we reinvent and help asset-intensive industries in Malaysia to advance their industrial maintenance programs. We provide a cloud-based CMMS app to automate routine steps in maintenance planning, vendor appointment & scheduling process, breakdown analysis and report overview. It is our mission to empower companies to achieve their digital transformation goals by providing first-class CMMS solution.

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