The chief executive of a smart supply chain company has called on the Government to embrace the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ and technology such as autonomous vehicles.
Tom Dawes, Valuechain’s group CEO, will speak at BusinessCloud’s ‘Tech in manufacturing’ breakfast event in March.
His company’s iQluster software increases clients’ competitiveness by connecting cross-sector manufacturing supply chains, technology businesses, Local Enterprise Partnerships, universities, technical colleges, industry associations and chambers of commerce and helping them automate complex business processes.
Dawes sees great opportunities within Industry 4.0 if it is backed by the authorities.
“The UK needs to embrace the opportunities and challenges of the fourth industrial revolution,” he told BusinessCloud.
“We need to leverage our significant high value manufacturing assets and augment them through integration with advanced technology businesses.
“iQluster can provide the collaborative platform but the UK Government and industry leaders must facilitate and focus on the new emerging technologies and sectors, such as autonomous vehicles.”
He continued: “To deliver on the Industry 4.0 we need a new multi-disciplined workforce that combines electronic and mechanical engineering, with advanced computing, data scientists and operations management.
“Universities and technical colleges need to work closely with industry to develop tomorrow’s workforce before it’s too late.”
Fellow speaker Vikas Shah – an investor, academic and CEO of textile firm Swiscot Group – has described the March 7th event as “a chance to have an exciting debate on manufacturing with a group of industry leaders”.