Terry Smagh, Senior Vice President & General Manager – Asia Pacific Japan, Infor, discusses the new manufacturing mandate.
India’s manufacturing sector stands at a pivotal moment. With rising domestic demand, shifting global supply chains and the strong policy push of “Make in India,” launched to strengthen domestic manufacturing and position India as a global production hub, manufacturers face both unprecedented opportunity and growing complexity. Staying competitive now requires sharper customer focus, stronger supply-chain resilience and the intelligent adoption of technologies like AI.
AI is not about replacing people; it is about enabling them. Across Indian factories, AI-based analytics is helping forecast demand shifts, identify supply-chain risks early and detect equipment failures before they disrupt production. This gives teams the ability to act proactively: a critical edge in a market shaped by volatility and rising costs. Adoption is being accelerated by large-scale industrial infrastructure investment, from manufacturing corridors and logistics parks to ports, highways and power networks, transforming how goods move and how fast factories can scale.
Against this backdrop, AI adoption is gaining pace: according to reports, 99% of Indian manufacturers have either invested in or plan to invest in AI, and Indian companies now use 53% of the data they generate, compared to a global average of 44%. Together, infrastructure expansion and technology adoption are turning intelligence into a core competitive advantage.
Equally important is the human element. Technology alone is not enough as manufacturers need people who can interpret data, make decisions and manage increasingly digital operations. Hence, upskilling has become a business priority, not an HR initiative. Companies that invest in structured training programmes see up to a 52% increase in productivity and a 17% rise in profitability, highlighting the strong link between skills and performance. The factories that succeed will be those that build a digitally fluent workforce alongside their technology investments.
At the same time, the pandemic and recent economic shocks have taught us that lean, just-in-time supply chains, optimized strictly for cost can be fragile. Today, many Indian manufacturers are rethinking inventory, dual sourcing and buffer strategies. Technology helps here too: with real-time visibility across demand, supply and capacity, companies can monitor changes dynamically and respond with agility.
Manufacturing today is not just about products, it is about building lasting relationships. Digital tools enable predictive maintenance, product-as-a-service, flexible buy or rent models, lifecycle support and after-sales services, turning manufacturers into long-term partners. At the same time, manufacturing growth is strengthening India’s economy by driving services demand and reinforcing the industrial ecosystem.
Smart factories drive this shift. Indian companies are adopting cloud, IoT, MES and digital twins to build connected, data-driven operations. When MES integrates with ERP and supply chains, factories gain real-time visibility, faster response and higher efficiency, enabling early issue detection, automation and better use of human skills.
The result is hence a manufacturing sector that is faster, smarter and built to withstand disruption.