Partnership and synergy in the development of industrial markets
The market can be developed in different ways. One way is to position yourself exclusively as a leader and build an ecosystem exclusively around your brand. Another way is to make joint efforts with partners and within a common ecosystem. If you are looking for vivid examples of partnership and synergy in the second case, I will tell you about our 4.0 leaders in the community of APPAU - INTERPIPE and IT-Enterprise.
Challenges of the Ukrainian market in the development of industrial high-tech
The APPAU, as the founder of movement 4.0, constantly analyzes these challenges, manifests them and then talks about how market players respond to them. During 2016-2017, we see three main challenges typical for the initial formation of any innovation in industrial high-tech.
- Education - the formation of a market for new technological directions
- Involvement of end customers and demonstration of first case studies in area 4.0
- Launch of active, innovative ecosystems - including research, development and education
Simply put,
the one who quickly “got through” to the market, showed the result, managed to bring it to the level of market norms and rules (standards), involved developers and trained cadres - quickly begins to promote not only himself, but the entire market.
The market in response recognizes such innovators as leaders.
The best examples of ideological leadership from INTERPIPE and IT – Enterprise
The term “thought leadership” refers precisely to those who are able to respond to such key developmental challenges. The need for such leaders is huge in every market, in every segment, and of course, at the very top. After all, our overall development rates depend it is precisely from the ability to solve specific problems (challenges) of a strategic nature - of enterprises, industries, regions, countries. And the fact that in the whole country development rates are too slow only reinforces the need for leaders.
So let's see how our heroes responded to development challenges.
1. Industry Conference 4.0 at INTERPIPE
The INTERPIPE group of companies for the 2 nd time sponsored and hosted the reception of the conference "Industry 4.0 in manufacture". This is the only large-scale 4.0 conference in Ukraine, which takes place on the territory of an industrial enterprise and gathers the country's best professionals in this field. Like most of the UppAU conferences, it aims on sharing experiences, on education and on development, and not to advertise their products. IT-Enterprise also participated in the conference for the second time - as a speaker, as well as a sponsor of a separate evening event. For the first time, partners demonstrated the Smart.Factory and Smart.EAM technologies already implemented at INTERPIPE in actual production conditions.
2. INTERPIPE TechFest
In September, INTERPIPE held the 3rd largest technical show of the country for the 3rd time - the festival of science and technology in industry. This mass event (this year already 17 thousand people took part in it) is intended to popularize engineering and working professions among young people. But it is also a huge stimulus for the development of all professionals in the field of IT and industrial engineering. Here, IT-Enterprise and INTERPIPE for the first time presented their joint stand, demonstrating VR / AR technologies using steelmaking as an example.
3. Joint support of CIEF
For several years now, INTERPIPE has traditionally supported the Kiev International Economic Forum (CIEF) - platform No. 1 on economic development, which gathers the entire establishment of the country. This year the largest area on the demo stand of the forum was occupied by IT-Enterprise. Together, the partners again demonstrated the benefits of technologies 4.0 already implemented at INTERPIPE enterprises.
4. Joint support for Worldskills
In November, partners also participated in a leading festival - a competition of working specialties in Kiev. INTERPIPE sponsored the arrival of nearly 100 college students from Dnepr, had its large booth on mechatronic (the only one in this competition from the high-tech category), and IT-Enterprise again showed a common booth with VR / AR technologies.
5. The first full case study
The partners made wonderful videos demonstrating 2 digital transformation projects at INTERPIPE plants. No one on the market has such stories about the scale of digital transformation in the industry - and this is extremely important for the “awakening” and the beginning of the movement of other customers.
6. Support for standardization initiatives - TC 185
Both companies also agreed to the proposal from APPAU to analyze the integration of the automated control system at the Dniprostal plant for compliance with the MEK 62264 standard (integration of systems CAD-MES-ERP). In case of such compliance, partners will receive their image and reputational benefits, and Technical Committee 185 - the first implementation, a case that can be referenced to involve other customers.
7. Support of the 1st strategic session 4.0 in the Dnipro region
INTERPIPE also sponsored the 1st regional session to create a common strategy for industrial high-tech, which will be held for the first time in Ukraine in the Dnieper on December 20-21. The significance of this session cannot be overestimated both from the point of view of integrating regional stakeholders, and from the point of view of other important aspects - the development of cluster movement, the creation of an innovation ecosystem at the regional level, international cooperation (consultants of session are the German TUM Int agency) and others.
Other stories can be remembered, but perhaps these two are enough to understand and appreciate the role of leaders.
Recognition - the statement of important purports
For me personally, this means, first of all, the approval and recognition of realities, that often on the verge of new purport. That probably not everyone accepts and realizes, but namely these realities, I am sure, will determinant the near future.
1. Directions and rates of development in our industry are now being set by large customers and domestic integrators. To them we definitely need to add major international vendors - although they are not visible in our history. This message is different from the discourse about “outstanding, breakthrough start-ups” generally accepted in the domestic mass media. While they are not visible - in any case significant start-ups - on the horizon of complex industrial applications. We all need to clearly understand this state of affairs and the existing roles of the players. This does not mean ignoring the role of startups. But an imbalance in this is evident, and this already leads to obvious distortions, which do not accelerate, but, on the contrary, slow down our general movement to 4.0.
2. These individual large customers, developers and vendors also invest the most in education, enlightenment, and also in the development of an industrial ecosystem.
3. They demonstrate complete openness to cooperation and partnership with others, but, above all, they themselves vividly demonstrate their common success.
4. They are masters of not only technical innovations, but also modern, proactive marketing and public relations, involving and attracting masses of specialists and ordinary people to the issues of industrial development.
5. They care about the future - even when it has nothing to do with short-term commercial interests.
I don’t know how obvious all this clearly and clearly follows from the above-mentioned actions of partners in 2018, but it seems to me important to fix them as certain value reference points.
Directions of action for the community of APPAU and Industry 4.0
Trying to find the sense of the success of this pair is important - especially if we want to scale it. I have a few "takeaways" for the community.
- Givers always takes more! - those who give the most, they get more. Regardless of the size of your wallet - support the infrastructure of the ecosystem from which your success grows. Our talents, competencies, level of education, etc. - not endless, but on the contrary, have a strong tendency to washing-out. Your reputation and image benefits sooner or later turn into commercial success. In the case of both of our heroes, we are already dealing with strongly pronounced market leaders, to whom many new customers are drawn.
- Just imagine, that tomorrow 3-4 more such couples will appear on the horizon. And What if 10-15, and not 2-3? Or maybe not pairs, but triples? - after all, there is not a word about vendors in our history. What effect can this have on the industry? It is obvious to me that, sooner or later, the quantity should pass into a critical mass. “Big brands are the driver of digital transformation in the industry” - we had this message appeared in the summer, and we very much hope that in 2019 DEK, NAK Naftogaz, Metinvest, AMKR, Ukrnafta, Ukrgrafit, Ukrspirt and many others will follow in INTERPIPE'S footsteps. Speech is not about copying events - everyone can have their own format. It's about the level of interaction with the professional community, about the contribution to the ecosystem, together with which our and your talents, innovations and engineering personnel grow.
- Invest in marketing! - our heroes are standing apart today, not only because they are so outstanding technically. Others also have something to show, but their level of marketing is clearly not up to what IT-Enterprise & INTERPIPE demonstrate. Well said the director of IT-Enterprise Oleg Scherbatenko
"If such cases as ours were not 1-2 - but 100, the demand for 4.0 technology would be completely different."
It's true! From the experience of technology development — and not only in our country — we know that customers are extremely sensitive to proofs of innovation. Therefore - make your case-studies, - in 2019 we expect a “stream” of cases 4.0 from the Ukrainian industry.
To this I will also add the thesis of cooperation with the executive directorate of the APPAU on the activities and plans of the year. # ДієвеPartnership is impossible without close cooperation, coordination of goals and plans. Both our partners were the best in 2018 in establishing joint actions with APPAU, many of which were planned for six months and even earlier.
This is not all of our stories from the series #EffectivePartnership in 2018 - I will tell you about others a little later.
In conclusion, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the INTERPIPE and IT-Enterprise management for their support and contribution to the development of our market, our community. I wish for all us new victories, new partnership projects in the new 2019.
Yurchak Alexander
Source: APPAU
Posted on 12/13/2018 by Fedak Misha