3Cs point the route to success in 21st century industry
The 3Cs - code, collaboration and capability – are the keys to separating the winners and losers in global manufacturing. Code describes the software important in linking networks of products. Collaboration covers the relationships connecting companies with suppliers, developers and users. Capability encompasses employee skills. The 3Cs grabbed attention at the latest in a series of annual "manufacturing summits" held by the Financial Times. At the latest gathering, held in London in early October, the topics for discussion included autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and the challenges of Brexit. Pictured above is a taxi coming off the production line at a UK factory run by Chinese-owned London Electric Vehicle Company.The plant shows how collaboration between different businesses can lead to useful benefits. First, consider code – the lines of software that act as the “glue” between interlinked machines. The key resource here is data. Every time a manufacturing process takes place, or a finished product interacts with the outside world, an item of data is created. In the past, most manufacturers have failed either to collect, store or process the data- in many cases they've done none of these things. Now, the position is changing as businesses realise that the data - backed up by the software that keeps track of it and uses the data to make judgements - can help them to improve. "Everyone [in manufacturing] is a software company - it's just that some don't know it yet," was one phrase heard during the FT conference. Extracting data from manufacturing processes can help raise revenues and profits Driverless cars offer examples of where data and products connect. An autonomous car interacting with other vehicles and objects around it is an