logo
logo
Sign in

Chemical suppliers consider leveraging advanced digital technologies and open platforms

avatar
tom lee
Chemical suppliers consider leveraging advanced digital technologies and open platforms

Chemical suppliers who want to survive the challenges of the future should rethink their traditional innovation methods. It can leverage innovation by leveraging advances in digital and materials science and technology, work with ecosystem partners, and focus on the acumen of business models.

Innovation is one of the main driving forces for the sustainable development of chemical industry. However, the traditional innovation and status quo maintenance of chemical suppliers may no longer be a choice. This is because the industry has changed dramatically, and there may be more changes in the future.

So, what has changed? The answer lies in the rise of open digital platforms used in digital technology and materials informatics. The value is shifting from the traditional R & D Department of chemical suppliers to the material information platform. So far, the process of discovery and development of new chemical substances has basically not changed, and it is mainly based on the laboratory. This makes it difficult to predict the behavior of materials under new conditions, and requires a large number of laboratory experiments, which are usually expensive, inefficient and time-consuming. There is often a disconnect between the acceleration of market change and the slowness of the innovation process.

In order to meet this challenge, a new start-up company in the intersection of materials science and computer science, the so-called Materials Informatics, is developing an open digital platform. These platforms have the ability to accumulate a large amount of material knowledge from various sources, form a single, reliable and searchable format, and use machine learning algorithm to develop new innovations quickly and effectively.

More broadly, digital technology is changing the basis of competition by releasing potential value and making markets more accessible. The applicability of advanced digital technology is more important in the current situation of the world. In response to the covid-19 pandemic, digital technology can help quickly redesign products to reduce costs in response to changes in the supply chain. For example, startups using artificial intelligence (AI) to promote material innovation have found low-cost formulations in less than three months by evaluating, optimizing and absorbing raw material formulations and domain knowledge.

Extended simulations and experiments can now run on computers, digitally model product or process results, and help companies determine the best combination of design, product, and process attributes, making solutions highly functional. Some large chemical companies have invested heavily in this digital capability, enabling them to simulate at a fraction of the cost of actual experiments. This kind of simulation helps the company to reduce the faults in the product development phase and make the physical laboratory test more reliable

Therefore, in order to create sustainable long-term value, traditional chemical suppliers can consider using advanced digital technology and open platform, as well as collaboration and partnership to reshape innovation. This may help bring new products and processes to market quickly and increase the return on innovation efforts. Industry leaders can first ask a few key questions:

Considering the transformation of the industry, is the existing innovation strategy still applicable?

What strategic investments can we make now?

Is there a new adjacent business, alternative source of revenue or other new opportunities worth considering?

Chemical suppliers who are committed to changing many established innovation practices and norms to most skillfully handle innovation challenges can be in a favorable position to make full use of the opportunities that are coming.

collect
0
avatar
tom lee
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more