Philippines geared towards Industry 4.0

The Philippines is looking to digitize the country’s manufacturing sector and enterprises, along with its neighbors in the region who are entering a fourth industrial revolution.

According to data released by consultancy firm AT Kearney, the Philippines is still at the “planning phase” of the so-called Industry 4.0, which promotes the use of technology to gather and analyze factory data allowing manufacturers to identify machine problems that hold up production processes.

AT Kearney’s data were presented during a press event in Singapore for “Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific” (ITAP), a conference and exhibition for the inaugural Industry 4.0 that will be held at Singapore EXPO from October 16 to 18.

In a 2018 report by the World Economic Forum titled “Readiness for the Future of Production”, the Philippines was categorized as a “legacy” country, which is characterized by a strong production base today but are at risk for the future due to weaker performance in three key areas: investing in human capital, improving institutional framework, and boosting technology platforms.

Meanwhile, last year’s joint report by the WEF and Asian Development Bank showed that 56 percent of jobs in five Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, are at high risk of automation in the next few decades.

Moreover, the WEF said that legacy countries should avoid getting “squeezed” between leading countries, which offer more advanced manufacturing, and nascent countries, which offer lower labor cost.

The report added that legacy countries can step up if they utilize the private sector more actively in tackling macro level challenges.

via Philippine Star / Ian Nicolas Cigaral