SMC
“ This will give us the ability to consolidate and improve 83 countries worth of IT infrastructure , applications and capabilities , and then put in a new operating model that allows us to better disperse that technology across , across the entire world .”
Loggins said SMC is actively looking at different Machine Learning ( ML ) and Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) models as they work towards building centres of excellence .
“ The most important thing is getting the correct data and to start getting some correlations built , leveraging ML technology to help us make quick decisions . AI is important but a long way off for us , but we will be watching the developments and how we can integrate it into things like call centre applications , RPA applications , data management and data intelligence strategies .
“ One of the biggest uses for us right now in the ML and AI space is in our operational technology areas . How we manage the plant floors , how we make better use of our factory resources , how we better plan , and where we can leverage our people . For a manufacturing organisation that is one of the big capabilities ML can help us with .”
“ Technology is our toolkit ” Commenting on how SMC is engaging its global workforce with digital technology , Loggins says there is no longer an issue with so many digital natives now in the workforce . But he points out the challenge today is matching the right technology to a specific business process .
“ Adopting technology is not usually the hardest challenge anymore . Today , the challenge is finding the right technology that matches and enables the business processes , rather than finding a technology to put in because it ' s technology , we really need to find what the processes are and what the business value is to that technology .
“ Technology isn ’ t our job anymore , we do our job by helping the company grow , but for us in IT , technology is our toolkit . We are very good at technology , we can find new ways of utilising technology , but we ' ve become organisational change agents . We can ' t just put in and implement new systems , we have to work with the business to figure out how to best adopt those products and find ways to improve them once they ' re implemented .”
Competitive edge Loggins said it is the vast range of products that gives SMC its competitive edge in the
64 December 2021