The manufacturing industry is highly predominant in Asia and presents an excellent economic and trade development tool. India and China are the world’s top manufacturers of electrical machinery, machinery, precious metals, and chemical products. China’s enormous influence on the Asian region helped Southeastern countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam develop their manufacturing activities (Clarke & Lee, 2018). Currently, these states are leading electronics, textile, petrochemical products, automotive, and agriculture producers. Due to innovations, the states’ production has been affected, especially during the past few years. Hence, this paper aims to explore how technological advances have impacted the manufacturing industry in the Asian region.
For Asia, digital transformations have brought about significant changes in the manufacturing field. It signifies that such a boost is most likely to put forward the region as the biggest manufacturer and beneficiary in the fourth industrial revolution. The epidemic of COVID-19 has had a grim impact on Asian countries and brought a decline in raw materials vital for chemical, automotive, and electronic production. To tackle the challenges of the pandemic, the internet of things (IoT) has been revoked to establish domestic and international trade. According to Mohapatra et al. (2022)., “IoT can aid the transit manufacturing process in several ways, such as tackling manpower, machine-condition-monitoring, and tracking products” (p. 2). Moreover, the digitalization of the economy has enabled Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam to connect with European countries (Ng, 2022). For instance, considerable data utilization enabled digitalized tracking of raw materials and goods delivery. What is more, during the pandemic, the countries’ governments invested in developing logistics, which has maintained the supply chains across Asia. In general, the pandemic has activated digital potential in the Asian region.
Growth in the manufacturing industry leads to the development of other sectors. The Asian region is a remarkable example of how manufacturing can play an essential role in economic improvement. For instance, Huawei, a famous Chinese technology corporation, has expanded its influence worldwide over the past decade. Its products are available and affordable to an average resident of any country, which is appealing in the market (Zhang et al., 2020). The corporation’s technological boost has primarily affected China’s outer influence – the country with great innovative potential proved its aspiration to be a world-leading electronics manufacturer (Zhang et al., 2020). Now, the Chinese company exports its goods to different countries, and its revenue exceeds billions of dollars annually (Zhang et al., 2020). What is more, the company aims to promote sustainability vital for economic development. It makes Huawei more attractive to foreign investors, which also boosts the state’s financial stability.
Businesses in Asia constantly involve technologies in the working process and become more automatized and digitalized. It explicitly concerns such technology as the internet of things (IoT), which is a data network between devices. According to Tan (2022), “in 2020, US$83.4 billion was spent on IoT technology by manufacturers in Asia/Pacific” (para. 4). The manufacturers can benefit greatly from upgrading smart sensors to older equipment. In manufacturing, the IoT presents a network of sensors installed on devices to collect relevant information regarding production data to assess how well the manufacturer performs (Chew, 2022). It enables a company, plant, or producer to robotize the equipment, store massive data, monitor performance, and connect devices digitally.
Nonetheless, technological advances pose challenges to the development of the manufacturing industry. Primarily, it concerns attracting business investments (Chaponnière & Lautier, 2020). Due to the global crisis, it is difficult to concentrate the power and attract foreign investors to the manufacturing sector. In addition, the field struggles with Chinese influence – the Southeastern countries heavily rely on China in terms of raw material import (“Manufacturing & sourcing,” 2022). However, these threats are temporary, meaning the nations will be able to balance these issues.
In conclusion, the region has the potential to expand its manufacturing potency due to emerging new technologies. By 2025, the Asian part will likely digitalize its manufacturing industry by enrolling in computerization programs. Most workers are at risk of being fired due to robotic mechanisms. In addition, the influence of digital networks will allow for storing massive amounts of data and transmitting it in seconds to international partners so that the trade will be well-established.
References
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Chew, J. (2022). How manufacturing firms stand to gain from the next wave of industrial transformation. Tech in Asia. Web.
Clarke, T., & Lee, K. (2018). Innovation in the Asia Pacific: From manufacturing to the knowledge economy. Springer.
Manufacturing & sourcing in Southeast Asia: Industries, trends, and benefits. (2022). Asia Perspective. Web.
Mohapatra, B., Tripathy, S., Singhal, D., & Saha, R. (2022). Significance of digital technology in manufacturing sectors: Examination of key factors during Covid-19. Research in Transportation Economics, 93, 1-15. Web.
Ng, V. (2022). Industry 4.0 and the state of smart manufacturing in Asia Pacific. DIGICONasia. Web.
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