(76a) Utilizing Digital Transformation to Accelerate Technology Commercialization

Expanding competitive landscape has placed a sense of urgency in specialty chemical companies to continuously innovate and expand their product portfolio. This requires multiple time intensive processes such as R&D for new products, debottlenecking studies, project implementation, trial production runs, product qualifications which is then followed by full-scale commercial production.

In order to overcome these challenges, many companies are leveraging digitals tools, to expedite the process, achieve production agility and reduce lead times. However, there are several caveats. Proper integration and deployment of digital tools to reach their full potential require consideration of several factors such as: 1) Adaptability of the tools, 2) User-friendly interfaces, 3) Cost in upkeep and training, 4) long-term applicability of the tool, 5) Pilot studies for model, 6) Adaptation phase and much more. These pose significant challenges when scaling the technology to achieve the economic benefits.

This talk will go over the best strategies used to leverage certain digital tools to accelerate innovation, realize resilient and autonomous production with specific examples and scenarios. It will also address the challenges faced when deploying and integrating digital tools to increase innovation, capacity, and provide strategies to avoid pitfalls.