Digital transformation in the chemical industry: Where to start?

Digital transformation in the chemical industry is a necessity and, in order to take the first steps towards the transition, chemical companies need to take a number of actions to facilitate the development of their technological capabilities in the short term.

The speed at which these organisations can achieve digital transformation in the chemical industry will depend on the decisions they make now and, of course, on the engagement initiatives for the coming years.

A clear understanding of their strategies can enable chemical organisations to plan their Industry 4.0 journey and help identify how to integrate their physical and digital asset world across the different stages of the value chain.

Clearly, in order to achieve the digital transformation in the chemical industry, organisations should identify their level of digital maturity, but before that, as they seek to shape their own structure for implementing Industry 4.0 in the chemical sector, The following actions could help them:

• Start with what you know or do best

A good starting point for thinking about achieving digital transformation in the chemical industry could be in the areas where chemical companies have a strong foundation: in using organisational agility to absorb changes in chemical products, mature processes, traditional products and supply chain operations, where there is good visibility. Then move on to the relatively new, more complex applications.

This approach should work well because chemical companies are likely to have related historical data on product and process maturity that is leveraged to uncover new insights and identify new sources of operational improvements or revenue expansion.

• Enabling Industry 4.0 with multifunctional equipment

The competencies required in the architecture sit in different business functions and it is therefore important for chemical executives to create a cross-functional team, which will focus on Industry 4.0 opportunities.

It is worth reiterating that Industry 4.0 applications extend across different stages of the value chain, making it all the more relevant for company chemists to bring together competencies from different departments, such as the research and development of new products, The aim is to create a common imperative related to the growth of operations, sourcing, manufacturing and commercial operations.

• Building and being part of a dominant ecosystem

Companies need to build diverse capabilities in big data infrastructure, management, integration, validation and analytics, in order to deploy Industry 4.0 applications. This is what enterprise chemists require to partner with technology, vendors, analytics providers, universities, manage operations at every layer, among others.

Chemical companies have access to customer data related to their assets, manufacturing activities and purchasing attitudes. However, that data is often underutilised to collaborate with partners and use data from abandoned fields to draw insights into the development of smart chemical products and service-based value propositions, devising new revenue models.

• Manage your cyber risk with more interaction with ecosystem partners

Chemical manufacturers, in order to achieve digital transformation in the chemical industry, must focus on risk management policies and technologies. These can help them manage the risks associated with retrofitting and undocking assets, as well as those associated with scalable automated systems that eliminate human involvement.

In conclusion, the impact of digital transformation in the chemical industry, as companies operate and grow, is likely to be greater to the extent that they do not take the path that leads them directly to facing an Industry 4.0 project in your organisation.

Chemical companies, once they are operational within Industry 4.0, will know how to how ERP for the chemical industry expands capacity and reduces complexity. This will enable them to improve their business operations through asset, process and energy management optimisation, while also growing their business through advanced material, discovery, smart chemistry and new service-driven value propositions.

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