Strategic Session on "Digital Transformation of the Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan"
Implementation period: 2018
Over the last 10 years the global industry has been facing exhaustion of growth opportunities on the previous technological and resource base. We have entered the period of significant transformations associated with the development of advanced production and digital technologies, which will have a radical impact not only and not so much on the production process itself, but on the products and business models of industrial companies.
Strategic session held in April 2018 at KNRTU-KAI named after I. A.N. Tupolev in Kazan focused on the discussion of the upcoming changes associated with digitalization and possible steps to be taken to achieve transformation of the industrial complex of Tatarstan. The session was organized jointly with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The total number of participants of the session exceeded 100. The session was attended by heads of republican enterprises from different sectors of industry. Among the external experts were leading suppliers of digital solutions for industrial business including Siemens, FANUC, IBM, IRISOFT, National Instruments, as well as companies that had already begun digital transition and elaborated on their own digitalization experience – UEC-Saturn PJSC, Connected Aircraft Enterprise, UAC PJSC, KAMAZ PJSC.
Results of the strategic session and results from the survey of Tatarstan companies conducted before the event showed the following:
Only one third of companies had set strategic targets for the digital transition, 25% of companies lacked clear understanding of the goals and objectives of digitalization, and “digital” projects were implemented sporadically. Most companies discussed digitalization exclusively in the optimization logic, planning to launch projects aimed at enhancing production and management efficiency, introducing new design technologies to optimize the business process. Only 9% of companies established creation of new products as a potential strategic goal of digitalization.
Companies identified a number of problems challenging implementation of digital transition projects. Among them - improper understanding of the level of their digital preparedness, lack of data on the effects of digital transition, shortage of personnel with the necessary qualifications, regulated business processes, and the inertia of existing organizational structures.
The session resulted in development of recommendations to promote the digitalization of the industry of Tatarstan and involvement of companies in this process, including:
• Implementation of "digital audit" of industrial companies;
• Information and analytical support for digitalization of companies, including creation of a unified database of digitalization best practices;
• Educational support for the digitalization of industry, including the launch of a specialized training program for leaders in digital transformation strategies;
• Creation of the Center for Digital Transformation of Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan.
