Talks about: #prototyping, #manufacturing, #productinnovation, #newproductdevelopment, and #demandbasedmanufacturing
Tamil Version: இந்த அமர்வை தமிழில் பார்க்க இங்கே கிளிக் செய்யவும்
Rapid Fire Round with
Mr. Tamizh Inian
How AI and ML are disrupting the manufacturing sector and what is On-demand cloud manufacturing?
On-Demand Cloud Manufacturing
What started as a revolution with automating an email response has spread to nearly every aspect of business today. Digital transformation has become a must have from good to have, with more of AI & ML stepping in every day in our lives, core business process are also seeing a lot of digitalisation, with this in mind we would appreciate if you could explain to our audience about what are On-Demand manufacturing services and how is cloud manufacturing making its way to be the future of work?
What started as a revolution with automating an email response has spread to nearly every aspect of business today. Digital transformation has become a must have from good to have, with more of AI & ML stepping in every day in our lives, core business process are also seeing a lot of digitalisation, with this in mind we would appreciate if you could explain to our audience about what are On-Demand manufacturing services and how is cloud manufacturing making its way to be the future of work?
To be frank, We had started to be a prototyping company our customers wanted us to manufacture for them. So, we were doing only through Whatsapp or Gmail to keep things going. But they insist that if you don’t digitalize it will become very tough to scale at that level that is why we think that we have to build a platform to transform a digital design into a physical product so be it 3D printing or fabrication of sheet metal. So, when we talk about Indian initiatives like Make In India is competing with China I would say that we are still behind them maybe 16-20 years but yes there has been progressing it is still booming and in the medical field, we are at no.1 I would say. In manufacturing, concerning the industrial sector, we have the capability and power to make things and export globally.
But before that things have to be digitized because, in a small and medium sector, everyone is running like they are in a rat race. There is a lot of work to be digitised and we want to frame our role in digitising the market and leverage trends and capabilities to many people. So, that is why we found there is a huge number of requirements. You can say we are sitting in Manchester of South India we have an enormous number of SMB’s here. And they are already supplying to other customers also they knew that they can reach global customers and make them understand what they can deliver and make things easier. For example, they can help in many fields like Aerospace, Automotive etc. That is why we want to leverage those vendors and suppliers giving them the strength. Because without digitization that cannot be possible and there we can play a major role for them.
How does Frigate enables manufactring sector to optimise its core business operations?
Hybrid manufacturing
As a Hybrid manufacturing marketplace, how does Frigate enables SMB sector to optimise its core business operations?
As a Hybrid manufacturing marketplace, how does Frigate enables SMB sector to optimise its core business operations?
Being an SMB owner in India is a tough job in itself. Then we were managing to oversee getting the quote, making the order (order execution), purchasing raw material, designing, setting up the whole manufacturing unit if you have two to three machines. You have to guide your operators then they will explain and execute everything happening there. You have to do inspection and post other things like dispatching so this is a whole process. These SMB’s work with only one or two companies for example BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited) they have an ancillary unit for about 100-200 people nearby and they will be producing manufacturing parts for them.
If BHEL is not willing to work with other vendors then they don’t have any other option. Now they have the strength they have everything needed in respect to what they have. But they don’t have the marketing team to enhance their work and to position the company into the global market. That is where we come into the picture, we present their strength and their capabilities to the world. This act as a front runner for them, we as a team showcase their capabilities to make global companies understand what we do. It is a win-win situation for both of them and that is what we are very good at.
How to acheive data security and Design confidenility for R&D and Product Development lifecycle?
Prototype Confidentiality
Ease of access to advanced technology is certainly amongst one of the best gift one could ask for in todays world, but at the same time data security and unethical business practices also remain a major concern, how does Frigate ensure to achieve confidentiality of prototype designs and what advice would you like to give to our audience for a R&D planning and implementation cycle in this context?
Ease of access to advanced technology is certainly amongst one of the best gift one could ask for in todays world, but at the same time data security and unethical business practices also remain a major concern, how does Frigate ensure to achieve confidentiality of prototype designs and what advice would you like to give to our audience for a R&D planning and implementation cycle in this context?
Very good question actually, as everyone knows that design is everything if you lose your design you can lose everything. So there are two things that I want to mention, We have around 200+ vendors onboard. Before onboarding them we always scrutinize them from their location and how much time since they are on that location, etc we have around 50 points or measures to collect data about them. Along with turnover, the number of machines available, their suppliers, their customers, monthly turnover, yearly turnover and many more thing that we analyze before going forward. We sign MOU or NDA with them we share the design so that it cannot be pirated.
That is the process in which we sign NDA’s with them and which remain between us between them and Frigate. In the same way, we sign an NDA with the customers upfront so that they can share the design without any problem or hesitation. It is mutual, for example, we have worked with many companies but we will not showcase that on any social media platform because that will violate the NDA. The customers can confidently share their design cannot go away from our ecosystem. Even our vendors cannot work with other customers for the same design. That is how we are protecting our prototype design.
How AI and Ml can enable manufacturing unites to become future ready?
Getting Future ready
Today, brands understand the importance of a great customer experience as the latter is emerging as a key driver for purchase decision. They are investing into multiple technologies such as AI, Bots, ML, Metaverse, Cloud and many others so that they can service the customers well. How could one ensure to stay ahead of the curve at product designing and operations stage to cover all these aspects and be future ready?
Today, brands understand the importance of a great customer experience as the latter is emerging as a key driver for purchase decision. They are investing into multiple technologies such as AI, Bots, ML, Metaverse, Cloud and many others so that they can service the customers well. How could one ensure to stay ahead of the curve at product designing and operations stage to cover all these aspects and be future ready?
Yes, it is true that you can get out of the game if your business is not digital. This is because mobile phones have a lot of mobile applications installed in everyone's hands. So, frankly, if you are launching a new product or want to upgrade your existing product, depending on what you are doing, your product did not have to be digitized 10-20 years ago, but now it is a necessity. Because you can say you can not measure or you can not survive. Even if you talk about groceries, the grocery store also has an alliance with an online store for its supply chain like Reliance. As a designer, it depends on what product you are selling in the prototype industry, for example if you are involved in IoT products you need to design the product in an easily editable way, you need a little space to improve. When and where the product is needed.
It is not like you have to include every technology like AI and ML in your business. It depends on the customers, for example, we never produce at Frigate, but we do it when our customer asks. That way, initially, you can design what the customer wants. But at the same time, if you need a review, the customer will give you feedback. You need to reconsider that space, then the product will be called a customer-centric product or user-friendly product. It is important to choose the right technologies such as chat phones and automated caller machines available in the market. There is a lot of SaaS product, but the important thing is to choose the right product. You can also see what your competitors are using. The only thing is, you need to think like a customer, you can design a good product that will be useful to your customer and your business.
