Are Countries in Southeast Asia Ready for Industry 4.0?
By Ranggi R.
Published on May 26, 2023
The only way for industries in all countries to keep running is by adapting.
The future is already here without us even realizing it. Therefore, if you are wondering when to leverage opportunities from Industry 4.0, now is the time.
Businesses around the world are welcoming the fourth industrial revolution. This has led organizations to start adopting smart manufacturing or real-time technology to support their business, which is something that needs to be done.
Although there are countries that still need to prepare themselves for Industry 4.0, several countries have become the leading ones that are ready for this and considered as the pioneers.
“All countries should be ready for this era.”
Types of Countries that Deserve Industry 4.0
In terms of readiness for Industry 4.0, the World Economic Forum creates country classification to divide countries into groups. Let’s see each of them below.
1) Leader
With many investors investing their money into these countries, they stand on the frontline to welcome Industry 4.0. Therefore, they have a high level of preparation for the future, enough to make them pioneers of this game.
2) Legacies
Much like countries in the ‘leader’ category, these countries also have a high base production level. Unfortunately, these countries have some weaknesses in certain fields. Thus, they are not able to welcome it first.
3) High potential
These countries show good performance in some fields. Also, they have promising growth potential. However, their productions are not as massive as the ‘leader’ and ‘legacies’ categories.
4) Nascent
Bottom of the list. Not only are their productions very limited, but these countries also do not show strong values in most fields, either.
Many factors classify all countries around the world. In order to determine where a country belongs to, fields can be an indicator.
There are areas that countries need to focus on, such as technology, innovation, human capital, global trade, investment, institutional framework, sustainable production, and the demand environment.
What Countries Are Ready for Industry 4.0?
According to research conducted by World Economic Forum, three out of the top five countries ready for Industry 4.0 are from Asia. Japan has the gold medal, South Korea has the silver one, and China remains fifth.
It is not surprising that countries from Asia are the best prepared. Take a look at Japan. This country is very aware of the importance of technology.
With Society 5.0, is a technology concept introduced by the Japanese government to increase efficiency and productivity in every sector and decrease the negative impact on the environment altogether.
What About Southeast Asia?
Japan, China and South Korea are undoubtedly developed countries, and they are all located on the east side of Asia. So, what about countries in Southeast Asia?
As time goes by, Southeast Asian countries start moving. Singapore and Malaysia are the first two countries to bring themselves into the digital age and followed by Thailand as the third country.
Furthermore, these three countries are considered as potential export partners in the international sphere. This is profitable for them, because one of their goals is to increase the productivity of the economic sector.
Southeast Asia seems promising in welcoming Industry 4.0.
