IoT Assignment: Innovation And Sustainable Business Development Of Tech Mahindra

Question

Task: Prepare a report on IoT assignment which intends to present a business proposal of Tech Mahindra related to the implementation of IoT technology in the business manufacturing process of the organization.

Answer

Executive Summary
The particular IoT assignment intends to present a business proposal of Tech Mahindra related to the implementation of IoT technology in the business manufacturing process of the organization. The report unfolds the business model of Tech Mahindra considering the strategic fitness, competitive advantage, value proposition development, business operations development, supply chain development. The assignment also discussed in detail the phased plan development to deal with the uncertainties related to customer desirability, financial viability, and technical feasibility. However, the application of innovation tools and techniques has also been discussed that aims at supporting the innovation. A candid and critical self-reflection about the report has been attached in the last part of the report.

1. Introduction
Tech Mahindra explored in this IOT assignment is a multinational company headquartered at Pune, India and is involved with providing business process outsourcing services as well as information technology services across the world. However, as the company operates in the IT sector it is planning to incorporate a technological innovation of IoT across its manufacturing places in order to extract a vast number of benefits from such novel innovation. The basic intention of this assignment is to comprehend the scope of the novel innovation by utilizing the business model, core capabilities, resources, innovation tools and techniques that will support the technological up-gradation in the business process.

2. Discussion
2.1 Business model description: Business model canvas discussed in this IoT assignment is viewed as a template for strategic management as well as a lean startup that aims at evolving new business models or modifying existing business models (Joyce & Paquin, 2016). Basically, the business canvas model is a visual chart with nine core elements that define the value proposition of the product or firm, customers, finances, and infrastructure (Jarrín et al., 2016). Alexander Osterwalder proposed this business model canvas in order to provide a holistic view of the entire business (Upward & Jones, 2016).

Table 1: Business Model Canvas
Source: Created by learner

2.2 Value proposition development: In order to implement IoT sensors in the manufacturing plants of Tech Mahindra supported by IoT platforms and an internet connection, the organization has to rely on organizational capabilities as well as resources. The technological innovation will ensure the attachment of the manufacturing plants with IoT sensors and internet connection which will enhance the accuracy level in the work, on-time delivery as well as tracking the development (Gupta & Gupta, 2016). In order to add these value propositions to the business Tech Mahindra needs to develop an efficient research and development team in order to identify the technological needs. Thereafter, the technological evolution in the manufacturing site of Tech Mahindra also requires technically efficient human resources in order to develop the IoT software and network. A strong distribution channel, in this case of IoT assignment, would enable the company to reach the intended customer segment in a stipulated time frame. Financial assistance is considered as one of the major need for the organization to develop such innovation effectively. However, the value proposition of the business must be protected with Intellectual properties in order to safeguard the innovation from imitation.

2.3 Business operations development: The IoT services cater a layer of help to the enterprisers in terms of analyzing real-time data, M2M data as well as integration services. The successful implementation of IoT sensors in the manufacturing plan of Tech Mahindra requires to build a strong relationship with the technical developers such as IoT software developers because they are considered as one of the key partners or stakeholders of such novel innovation. More significantly, it can be said that the implementation of IoT in the manufacturing plants of Tech Mahindra requires employers who are technically savvy in order to extract the benefit from such technological innovation. The implementation of the technology needs efficient time management skills and a team that can accelerate the innovation in order to complete the same in the stipulated time period (Tidd & Bessant, 2018). However, the development of business operations also needs support and assistance from the key partners such as sponsorship partners because they will be responsible for sponsoring the entire innovation.

2.4 Supply chain development: For introducing IoT in the manufacturing plants, Tech Mahindra requires several technical assistance and support from the suppliers. As the IoT sensors in the manufacturing sit will be developed by the software developers who are treated as the major supplier. For network development and data analytics, the company needs to develop partnership with data analytics companies and networking experts. Hence, the platform developers are also considered as a part of supply chain development. In order to inform the business stakeholders about such technical innovation, Tech Mahindra had to rely on the internet and social media platform as this will ensure the creation of awareness about the list of benefits that the customers can have from the implementation of such advancement in the business process.

2.5 Financial value capture: Basically, an organization can make money from two core activities namely by enhancing the sales and by limiting the cost of operations (Vos, Volker, & Wamelink, 2019). In this particular case of IoT assignment, the implementation of IoT in Tech Mahindra will have a list of benefits that will enhance the business operations thus limiting the expenditure. The IoT devices, as well as sensors, will enhance the manufacturing environment of Tech Mahindra which ensures the alignment of actions with the algorithm and hence this will maximize the productivity which will be added as the financial benefit to the business. The network connectivity throughout the manufacturing site and communication over gateway will reduce the operating cost and hence this will capture financial value in the organization. The service management platform in IoT will offer to track the service status over mobile phones and accordingly the services can be managed. This adds value to the customers and hence enhance the sales volume. However, the transmission of data over cloud security ensures the security and backup of data which in turn will abolish the need for security and insurance cost. Thus the lowered cost enhances the revenue margin in the business and captures values for the entire organization. 

2.6 Competitive advantage illustrated in IoT Assignment: Digital transformation in the manufacturing and service sector creates a list of opportunities which are treated as the competitive advantages (Huh, Cho, & Kim, 2017). Through the adoption of IoT technologies in the manufacturing sector, the organizations are moving towards digital transformations (Khan & Salah, 2018). The IoT device and sensor will enable Tech Mahindra to expand and grow exponentially through managing, interpreting and leveraging a set of data. The innovative organizational culture, as well as creative human resources, is considered as one of the major capabilities of Tech Mahindra which will enable the organization to hold a prominent market position. As Tech Mahindra has strong brand recognition over the global market and hence this adds as a competitive advantage to the business. Thus implementation of IoT in the manufacturing plant of the organization will add a competitive advantage to the business in terms of enhanced productivity and lowered operating cost due to the heavy reliance on the automation system. The automation system in the Manufacturing site of Tech Mahindra will add value to the business in terms of making smarter decisions and servitization. In other words, it can be said that machine learning and artificial intelligence technology techniques has been applied to the IoT networking system which will enable Tech Mahindra to forecast the market trend and accordingly the products will be designed and hence this is considered as one of the competitive advantages. Application of IoT in the automobile industry is considered an emerging trend and in such a scenario early implementation of this technology in Tech Mahindra will add a competitive advantage to the business.

2.7 Strategic fit: The proposal of implementation of IoT devices and sensors in the site of Tech Mahindra is strategically fit for the company as the organization possesses the knowledge, financial resources, and technical support as well as infrastructure that are required for such development. On the other hand, apart from fulfilling the business requirements, the particular technological innovation will also enhance customer experience due to the delivery of the product within the estimated time (Bertino & Islam, 2017).

Table 2: Disciplined Entrepreneurship canvas
Source: Created by learner

2.8 Identification and assessment of assumptions and uncertainties: One of the major uncertainties with the implementation of IoT sensors in Tech Mahindra manufacturing sites is its cost of the installation which can change the installation decision of the technology (Borgohain, Kumar, & Sanyal, 2015). Hence, the company can utilize the technological advancement in the major manufacturing sites and thereafter to other minor sites. This can help in the organization in dealing with the uncertainties related to the Consumer Desirability. However, another risk or uncertainty has been identified which is related to the financial viability. Basically, the organization can extract the entire benefit of IoT technology after one or two years because the technology will require some time to generate revenue. Thus in order to deal with the issue strong financial support is needed. It is assumed that the financial resources of Tech Mahindra are enough to support the implementation. However, it is assumed that the company is technically feasible to support the innovation in the business process but in order to extract benefits the company needs to strengthen the technological infrastructure.

2.9 Phased development plan to address uncertainties: In order to address the uncertainties the phased developmental plan for Tech Mahindra is presented below:

Phased-development-plan-to-address-uncertainties
Source: Created by learner

2.10 Selection of innovation tools and techniques: Basically, Porter’s five forces have been utilized in this assignment in order to comprehend the scope of risks from the utilization of the technology in the manufacturing site of Tech Mahindra. The Rationale Tool used in this IoT assignment has contributed to the development of the business proposal because it has stated the importance and future of IoT technology in the manufacturing sector. The SWOT framework revealed the external as well as internal threats and opportunities that result from the implementation of IoT. The Innovation readiness analysis identified the effort of the company for implementing the technology in the manufacturing sites of Tech Mahindra. The value chain analysis determined several activities and resources needed for the project of Tech Mahindra. The bring-build-buy map indicated the additional needs for the project of Tech Mahindra. The tool of core capabilities depicted the knowledge of the company about the technical skills, management skills, as well as business skills. The customer journey canvas has enables the company to understand the impact of technology in enhancing the experience of the customers.

2.11 Candid and critical self-analysis: The IOT assignment is basically based on the secondary that has been collected from the official website of Tech Mahindra as it uncovered the insight of the company regarding the implementation of IoT in the production sites. However, for innovation tools and techniques I completely relied on several journal articles but the application of the same is based on the primary research. Due to the availability of the student guide and marking criteria the writing part was sound. I have used several headings and sub-headings in order to maintain the transparency of the contents. This would enable the readers to have a clear idea about the intention of the assignment. From this assignment, I gathered some experience that has enhanced my learning curve because I have implemented my strengths while collecting data and apart from that I came to know about my weaknesses also. 

3. Conclusion and recommendation
Based on the above discussion in this IoT assignment, it can be summarized that having knowledge about the core capabilities, supply chain development, business operations development, strategic fit, competitive advantage and application of innovation tools are important for the development of the business proposals. The assignment has discussed in detail the above-mentioned topics in the context of the implementation of IoT in Tech Mahindra production site. However, it is recommended to consider social media platforms as the key partners in order to generate awareness about the same because this will attract the customers towards the business products.

Reference List
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