In-Road is committed to helping traditional industries upgrade.
The E-work Permit Management software developed by Shanghai In-Road Information Tech Co. was installed and tested online in BASF’s Thailand’s Bangpakong site. E-work Permit is a digital management software system specially developed by Shanghai In-Road for chemical companies. 2020 April, In-Road signed a Master Service Agreement with BASF China to empower 7 BASF plants in China, and today, BASF Thailand became the first overseas plant user of In-Road System.
In-Road focused on providing leading and user-friendly digital software systems and solutions for the chemical industry and has successfully collaborated with more than 130 chemical companies. In-Road is committed to helping traditional industries upgrade their digitalization with technology innovation.
The framework of BASF China plants with the digital solution of In-Road includes Operation Management system, smart EHS Information Management platform, RC Responsible Care system, and Intelligent Visitor system. With this system, the plant can realize visualized and standard operation management, improve operation efficiency, realize the verification of personnel qualification, and optimization of work permit process. In production safety management, it realizes the digitalization of all elements of plant safety production. In RC management, system management requirements can be associated with daily operation records online. In visitor management, it can make visitors enter and leave the factory more conveniently.
Zhijie Zhou, CEO of In-Road, said, “We are very honoured to bring this system to BASF Thailand after serving BASF China, and I believe that the experience we have accumulated in serving BASF China for two years, will enable us to serve BASF Thailand more smoothly.”
According to the Boston Consulting Group BCG 2020 survey, 64 per cent of chemical CEOs consider digital transformation to be their main strategic concern over the next two years, more important than innovation, reviewing their portfolios, or reducing costs and protecting cash flow. Another E&Y 2020 survey found that 66 per cent of chemical manufacturing leaders expect to revolutionize digital transformation in the next three years, a 31 per cent increase from those who gave the same answer in 2019.
Also, according to a PwC 2020 study, chemical companies expect to invest an average of 5 per cent of their annual revenue in digital operational solutions over the next five years, with 75 per cent predicting advanced digitalization by 2026.
The gap is widening between the more digitally matured plants and those still in the early stages, with the former having applied digital transformation strategies to more advanced use scenarios. Gartner, the world’s most authoritative IT research and consulting firm, warns that a huge chasm is forming between digitally matured chemical plants and those that are lagging, adding that the laggers are likely to fail.
Regionally, factories in Asia Pacific are more advanced and see strategic opportunities from digitalization, while factories in Europe and North America remain focused on operational improvements. Thought leaders in Asia Pacific were the ones to indicate that the main benefits of digitization were not only improved market and customer access, but also cost reductions and efficiency gains.
Zhou said, “Starting with the global pandemic at the end of 2019, changing customer demands, no longer smooth supply chains, rising labor costs, and stricter regulations have driven traditional chemical companies to demand more sustainability, personalization, and greater efficiency, and the digitization of chemical companies has never been more urgent in this context than it is today. ”
