The Electronics Manufacturing Service sector (EMS) in India is developing very fast and as per the industry associations, the country would be competitive in electronics export in the coming few years. But the point to be noted is that there are numerous hurdles that are not helping the nation to lead in electronics manufacturing mostly due to unbalanced supply chain, lack of skilled manpower and most importantly, insufficient cutting-edge technologies. Most of the workers do not understand anything about technology unlike the other South Asian and Western countries where labourers get training and education in technology and usage of sophisticated equipment. In this regard, we spoke to Amitansu Satpathy, founder, Best Power Equipments (BPE) about the various challenges of this sectors, the solutions that must be taken care of, and how deployment of top-notch technology can be a game-changer in making India globally competitive in the electronics manufacturing.
Q. India’s electronics manufacturing is progressing at a rapid scale, claims experts. But, why do you think its share in the global market is still marginal, which is 3.3 percent, as per a report. What needs to be done in this scenario?
As per Kearney (a global management consulting firm), India represents only 2 percent of the world’s manufacturing output. The growth in electronic manufacturing is critical to India’s economic development. One of its strengths is its large talent pool consisting of engineers, young labour force, and significant domestic consumption of manufactured goods. One of the fundamental steps one should take is to improve productivity which can be achieved by adopting smart automation practices.
Secondly, in spite-of huge working population, finding skilled manpower is difficult. Thus, Indian companies should train the engineers on technical skills, retraining, and upgrading the skills of new and existing employees. The manufacturing industry should support vocational training institutes for developing skilled labour pools as well as establish standards for curriculum and certification testing. This will ensure all entry-level workers to have the skills needed to perform their jobs.
Thirdly, supply chain inefficiencies with most opting to carry excess inventory to compensate for the inefficiencies and demand volatility. Most of the companies should focus on supply chain agility. Agile companies carry less inventory, manage flow better, and have fewer stock-outs.
Q. Are the challenges of global electronics manufacturing same as that of India? How do you compare India’s manufacturing sector compared to China, Vietnam, Europe, USA, and other South Asian countries?
Globally, companies are facing high entry barriers and competitive challenges. The companies are adopting advanced technologies to optimize its manufacturing power, investing in smart robotics, cloud data and automated factory technologies as groundwork for industrial upgrade. India stands out as a cost-effective alternative and labor represents one of the main costs of manufacturing. But, India is unmatched in the size of its labor force. One area where India suffers is in “know-how”
Q. Technology is now playing an important role to boost the growth of electronics manufacturing in the country. As an industrial expert, what do you think of the technologies being deployed in manufacturing of electronics goods in the nation? Is the technology same as that of the other competitive nations?
Electronics Manufacturing has been embracing technologies to a larger extent. The technologies include Internet of Things, predictive maintenance, ERP Systems, Big Data, Robotics, VR & AR, 3D Printing and innovative technology across the logistics field. These technologies are being deployed globally as well. These technologies have proven to help manufacturing companies achieve product precision, which improves quality and reduces costs and error. Thus, it is necessary for companies to focus on innovation and work closely with other technology sectors.
Q. Apart from policies and incentives, how do you think cutting-edge technologies and making of new equipment and tools would boost domestic manufacturing? Which are the new kinds of technologies and machinery/equipment do you think can solve the problems?
Today, there is a need to build reliable product that can give you reasonable profit. This will reduce the services expenses and drastically increase the profit. We need to adopt & implement efficient energetic processes. This can be achieved by providing software and hardware customized solutions.
Q. What are the various tasks and initiatives undertaken by Best Power Equipment to uplift the growth of the domestic electronics sector?
We have been able to provide Product reliability, imparting knowledge & education to the dealers and associates, and target the solutions as per the needs of the customers. These strategies have made us grow. We are offering various products like Rack mount UPS, Modular UPS, Modular Data Center solutions, ESS (Energy Storage Solutions) and various special projects. Apart from this, are integrating our UPS with Lithium Battery solutions, also working on ESS (Energy Storage Solutions) with lithium batteries. We are using PWM, DSP & IGBT technology in all our products that helps in better battery management and reliability.
Q. Currently, how many manufacturing units you have in the country? Any plans to have more in the future? Also, what is your role in investing in R&D of electronics manufacturing?
We have a manufacturing unit in Noida and Greater Noida and increased its capacity last year. Recently, BPE also acquired a new manufacturing facility of 15,000 Sq.Ft area in Noida, with its automated production lines & high end processes equipped with advanced production facilities with the product range of 300 kVA three phase large UPS. We invest a minimum 3 percent annually on R&D and hire engineers every year who have rich experience in UPS and other industrial electronic products. The task of these Engineers is to bring out innovation in UPS. We also have a testing lab for product evaluation.
Q. Highlight your roadmap in the coming years.
Our aim is to be the leading manufacturer in the industry, which will be known for innovation and adapting to new age technologies like the inclusion of IoT & 5G. We plan to maximize the market segment reach by 2025. We are working towards aligning to 4.0 technology and bringing faster, flexible and more efficient processes to produce higher-quality goods at reduced costs.
