Page 37 - Taiwan Machinery 2021-09 Edition

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FEATURE TOPIC

How Taiwanese Businesses Can Move Ahead of subscription-type services, such as streaming platforms,
is also being piloted in the manufacturing sector. Clients
Taiwanese businesses often have an advantage in the wouldn’t need to buy new equipment outright and can
global supply chain thanks to their flexibility in operations have the companies set up the equipment in their factories
and production, Hsiung said, traits that are seen across through a pay-to-use mechanism. Hsiung admitted that
different industries. Apart from using smart technology to this subscription method would depend on trust between
improve internal operations, Taiwanese companies can the customer and company side, but on the other hand,
consider employing these resources for better transparency suppliers would be able to engage in customer usage data
and collaboration between partners from upstream to and build a better understanding of their customers and
downstream. potential services.

In the machinery industry, Hsiung named three The second is how suppliers can look to improving their
challenges that suppliers should consider to bolster their product added value by engaging in emerging technologies
competitiveness on the global stage. The first is introducing and markets. For instance, Hsiung said auto parts makers
a renewed focus on innovating new products and services. could look to reducing weight technologies for electric
He said that domestic suppliers often do business with vehicles. Adding to the first point, machinery suppliers could
trade companies, however, it would mean that they would look to engaging more with suppliers from different areas of
also have more difficulties understanding the client-side the production chain to better understand their customers.
of demands due to fewer interactions. Another reason is
that suppliers would look at what other competitors are The third is looking to building ecosystems to assist
doing and roll out something similar. Hsiung urged that suppliers’ development in improving added value to
companies should consider taking initiatives that would their products. Smart machinery solutions are no longer
enable them to interact more with their end customers. just investing in machinery equipment, Hsiung pointed
out that other technologies, ranging from data-based
Taiwanese companies can look to their global solutions, network communications, and such are critical to
counterparts, Hsiung suggested. For instance, the concept developing smart machinery solutions.

Taiwan Machinery 2021 September