From automation to artificial intelligence, when will the future of Malaysia's manufacturing industry come?

Malaysia's manufacturing sector has long been hailed as the cornerstone of the country's economy, from which it has shown great resilience and potential.

According to some data, Malaysia's manufacturing GDP is expected to reach RM597.5 billion by 2030, an increase of 61% from the current level. However, in my opinion, as the global landscape evolves, the industry still faces an urgent challenge – it needs to use technology to bring more creative and innovative solutions to the market.

At this stage, despite the positive attitude towards the state of development in the coming years, Malaysian manufacturers are still struggling to solve the problem of inefficiencies caused by technological backwardness. Not only did this expose them to cybersecurity risks, but their existing processes were also much more expensive to maintain than with new, dynamic solutions. Add to this the fact that companies often do not actively adapt to and adopt new technologies such as automation, as well as long-term challenges from labour shortages and supply chain disruptions, Malaysia's manufacturing industry still has a long way to go to achieve greater efficiency.

From this point of view, it is not difficult to find that for the protagonist of this article, the manufacturing industry in Malaysia, automation should no longer be a distant existence. On the contrary, it is a necessary tool to alleviate difficulties and ensure maximum efficiency in daily processes.

As we can see, labor shortages have always been a common and long-standing problem in the manufacturing sector, which relies heavily on outside labor to manage manual processes on site. With most of the existing workers lacking basic technical skills, supply chain disruptions, cost constraints, and relatively conservative development strategies, the industry is lagging far behind when it comes to embracing technological advancements.

Meanwhile, in the manufacturing sector, while Malaysia has strong multinationals and the ability to deploy new technologies in their day-to-day processes, the adoption of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies by SMEs in Malaysia has lagged behind in the adoption of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies. These companies are often more difficult than multinationals to understand the true benefits of automation and even to justify the costs of transitioning to automation. Naturally, they will focus more on output and how new solutions can directly and immediately increase profits to break even.

Based on this path, it is easy for small and medium-sized manufacturers to rely on legacy systems & processes for long periods of time, which directly affects their output efficiency and overall productivity. This can lead to their decline, leaving employees bogged down in manual tasks that could easily be automated (e.g., e-invoicing processes, invoice reconciliation, and purchase order processing). So, to address these issues and distrust of new tools and changes, businesses must consider comprehensive, cost-effective, and easy-to-use solutions that reduce employee resistance to changes in the way they work.

In manufacturing, automation is a multifaceted solution that solves multiple problems at once. Robotic process automation (RPA) is able to automate a large number of repetitive manual tasks and increase efficiency by saving time and additional costs due to human error.

According to the survey, RPA solutions have demonstrated impressive capabilities to achieve indisputable results across different manufacturing processes – such as reducing processing time by up to 90% and delivering cost savings of up to 80%. This approach has a direct impact on the overall productivity of the business, as employees can shift their attention to other more pressing tasks that require direct human intervention, and the company has the resources to invest in other, more effective productivity tools for the team.

Of course, while different RPA solutions on the market may offer different specific benefits, the benefits are similar and undeniable. As more menial tasks are taken over by automation, employees are freed up to focus on tasks that are of higher value and impact to the company.

In addition to this, RPA enables small and medium-sized manufacturers in Malaysia to achieve more significant gains in terms of accuracy and efficiency by proactively managing essential tasks such as invoice reconciliation and purchase order processing, while also reducing human error in data entry. In addition, data shows that RPA is 99% accurate in managing supply chain disruptions, inventory monitoring capabilities, and purchase order management, not to mention the seamless integration of manufacturers' supply chains.

The author believes that the future of manufacturing automation in Malaysia is promising. The potential of this approach to work in tandem with humans in manufacturing demonstrates the irreplaceable nature of human labor and reaffirms the importance of technological progress in manufacturing. By 2024 and in the years to come, RPA will be an effective addition to the local workforce – not only to reduce costs when necessary, but also to keep employees engaged. With benefits such as cost-effectiveness, scalability, greater efficiency, and accuracy, enterprises are poised to reap more benefits from RPA over time and with continued adoption, and further solidify their position in local and global markets while continuing to embrace healthy human-machine collaboration.

Employers need to nurture curiosity and willingness to learn in their companies to ensure they are motivated to continue to adopt cutting-edge technologies. Embracing open communication and cooperation to adapt to the evolving times will continue to be a necessary step to encourage continuous improvement and increase market competitiveness. As we look to the future, our goal will be to move in the same direction – to create a more dynamic and resilient industry, and ultimately to a better tomorrow. Through the collaboration with RPA technology, I believe that Malaysian manufacturers can unleash their full potential to achieve and drive their own efficiency, innovation and sustainable growth.

注：本文作者为RPA解决方案提供商akaBot区域经理Ginny Truc To，原文《IF NOT RIGHT NOW, THEN WHEN? THE PUSH FOR AUTOMATION AND ADOPTION OF AI IN MANUFACTURING IN MALAYSIA》授权发布于动点国际（TNGlobal），动点出海出海经编译后发布。