When Carrier announced last fall that it would keep its Indianapolis plant open, a core piece of that decision was investing in automation to reduce overall operating costs in the plant. But focusing solely on efficiency isn't the way to win with automation, according to Greg Satell in his blog at Harvard Business Review.
"In this new era of automation, leaders will need to identify new sources of value creation," Satell writes.
Efficiency, as we've seen with lean operations, will only get you so far. As we've heard from several people over the years: You can't cut your way to growth. Instead, as Satell notes, leaders have to identify how technology can enhance the skills of human workers.
As much as industrialization moved us from a labor economy to a knowledge economy, automation and the other new technologies of today are shifting us toward an economy that values social skills. "…the ability to collaborate, with humans and machines, are rising to fore," Satell writes.
One of the core challenges facing the industrial sector is commoditization – and automation thus far has served to accelerate this change, as noted in an article from BloombergBusinessweek. Referencing the Carrier plans, the authors note that foundationally, all furnaces are basically the same: "a heater and a blower inside a box." Innovation still exists in the industry, particularly around improved efficiency, but in many ways the innovation is becoming commoditized.
Competitive edge, the authors note, is no longer about the products themselves. Instead it's about the retailers and the contractors that carrier them. It's about the relationships developed and the knowledge shared for the benefit of everyone in the supply chain.
As Mike Marks noted in "The Future of Relationship Selling," manufacturers want more from their distributors than just product selling; they want distributors who will help them expand their market penetration and reach. They want partners who will help them make markets, not just serve them. They want partners who will work with them on their plans to grow.
Human interaction will still be critical, even as plants and warehouses become more automated for the day-to-day operations.
"There are, quite clearly, some things machines will never do," Satell writes. "They will never strike out in Little League, get their heart broken, or worry about how their kids are doing in school. These limitations mean that they will never be able to share human experiences or show genuine empathy. We will always need humans to collaborate with other humans."
