Leveraging Advanced Time Analytics for Cost Optimization and Revenue Growth

In an exclusive interview with Asia Business Outlook, Edwin Simjaya, Head AI, PT Kalbe Farma, elucidates the advantages of advanced time analytics used in decision-making and how it can streamline budget allocations. He is a leading AI expert with over 15 years of experience. He excels in NLP and Reinforcement Learning, notably advancing AI Augmented Nutrigenomic Algorithms. He teaches at the University of Indonesia and Telkom University and leads key projects at Kalbe Digital University.

Advanced time analytics provides real-time data insights. How do you see the role of time analytics evolving in decision-making, and what strategies can companies adopt to leverage these insights for cost optimization?

Primarily advanced time analytics yields in better decision making owing to the prediction analysis it offers. This factor will help companies to predict trends and chart future outcomes armed with real-time information. With this tool, businesses can remedy problems before they manifest and utilize resources in an efficient manner while reducing expenditures.

Detailed time analytics allows flexible usage of limited resources and allows businesses to allocate said resources based on areas of requirement. Using an approach like predictive maintenance and inventory management can reduce operational costs to a considerable extent.

Data-driven decisions backed by time analytics can lead to more strategic resource allocation. How can business leaders use time analytics to prioritize investments in high-return activities and avoid unnecessary expenses?

Businesses can leverage time analytics to identify return on investment (ROI) patterns. It can identify activities that result in maximum profit. Leaders can use this information to invest more in projects that can give the best returns and trim the least profitable ones. At Kalbe, we have 20 manufacturing sites. Our time analytics shows us the rate at which production lines operate and which ones complete tasks faster with minimal errors. With this information, we can decide to upgrade the necessary production facilities. There are proven cases of efficiency being improved with data from time analytics. Budget allocation is made simpler with data.

Utilization of this data efficiently ensures avoiding overspending on low ROI areas. In Kalbe, the retail marketing team uses real-time online data to track the performance of its sales team across the board. The budgeting strategy is decided based on the efficient performance of the promotion methods and channels.

In industries where downtime directly impacts revenue, advanced time analytics can identify bottlenecks and reduce operational delays. What strategies can companies adopt to leverage these insights for minimizing downtime and maximizing revenue?

Advanced time analytics can narrow down operational delays and bottlenecks and permit problems to be solved before they arise. Predictive algorithms are deployed to forecast downtimes in which the company can take corrective steps to streamline the operation processes. Time analytics can optimize maintenance schedule by predicting machine failures. This reduces the unexpected downtime and ensures continuous operations and inflow of revenue.

The data can precisely indicate the moment the machines typically show signs of deterioration. In our case, the heat sealing machine, which is used to seal plastic packaging, the temperature variations are used to set maintenance schedules.

Supply chain processes often suffer from delays and inefficiencies. How can advanced time analytics provide real-time visibility into supply chain activities to optimize lead times and reduce costs?

Advanced time analytics can offer real-time insights into various stages of the supply chain, all the way from procurement to delivery. Monitoring delay and lead times in real-time allows the company to streamline process and avoid expensive delays. For example, if delay occurs at supplier’s facility due to material shortage, the client company is notified immediately.

Corrective actions like re-routing shipment to source materials from alternative suppliers can be carried out. Advanced time analytics can also help out with regard to inventory management and demand forecasting. Overall, operational inefficiencies can be curbed to the minimum possible instances.

By setting time-based performance metrics, companies can better monitor project timelines and costs. What role can time analytics play in identifying underperforming areas and ensuring projects stay within budget?

Time based performance tracking can track project timelines and highlight areas that are in need of improvement. Detection of delays in early phase allows for swift corrective actions to keep the project timeline on track and within allocated budget. Time analytics can flag prolonged activities that lead to budget overruns.

At Kalbe, we have dedicated IT professionals which handle the software development with regards to time analytics. They monitor the progress of every development to identify problems, especially if it leads to budget overrun. We then take preemptive action to make sure the projects stays in line with the stipulated budget.

AI has to be embraced in the future with regards to data, because in the future, those who don’t use AI will be replaced by people that use AI. Open-mindedness and adaptability is key.