Cipla Limited announced that its Indore Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) plant has been designated by the World Economic Forum as an ‘Advanced Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Lighthouse’. This is the first Cipla facility to receive the coveted recognition. The organisation is amongst the first pharmaceutical companies in India & Asia and one of the few generic pharmaceutical companies in the world to be part of the Global Lighthouse Network.

The Global Lighthouse Network is an exclusive community of manufacturing leaders from across sectors who depict an accelerated adoption of 4IR technologies to transform factories, value chains and business models for resilience, growth and sustainability.

Over the course of two years, Cipla deployed ‘Digital Automation Analytics’ (DAA) across a network of 22 India sites in parallel to unlock end to end costs, productivity and quality leadership. Cipla’s Indore Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) facility led this journey with 30+4IR use cases, spanning Industrial Internet of Things, Digital, Advanced Analytics, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Robotic Process Automation, etc. These revolutionary technologies (along with other classic levers) result in reduced manufacturing cost, greater agility, and speed. The impact generated across multiple fronts at Cipla’s Indore Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) facility includes 23%* rise in productivity, 28% decrease in specific Greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions and quality enhancement.

Commenting on the back of this development, Umang Vohra, Managing Director and Global CEO, Cipla said, “This recognition is a true testament of our steadfast focus towards transforming Cipla into a digitally native future-ready organization. We have embarked on a journey to enhance our connect with patients, doctors & other stakeholders in line with our aspiration to reimagine operations across the value chain. Embedding a digital culture in the organisation enables us to stay ahead of the curve and helps achieve our sustainability pledges whilst increasing operational efficiencies. I would like to thank team Indore for this remarkable demonstration of digital transformation”

Speaking about this, Geena Malhotra, Global Chief Technology Officer, Cipla added, “We are redefining benchmarks in pharma by being the early adopters of 4IR technologies at scale. Our digital transformation initiatives are ensuring greater agility, speed, process simplification, higher efficiencies and faster resolution of challenges. It has also aided in integrating sustainability into the core of our manufacturing operations, which is a key enabler of our ESG commitments.”

With Cipla deploying 4IR technologies in 22 sites simultaneously, the company has adopted a digital transformation approach that is ‘at-scale by design’. Overall, this has supported Cipla’s endeavour of pioneering access to high quality affordable drugs globally despite rising challenges of volatility, steep price cuts and growing input costs.

Speaking about the Global Lighthouse Network, Francisco Betti, Head of Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains, World Economic Forum said, “Global disruptions have highlighted the fragility of current supply chains – as rising inflation and material shortages are increasing pressure on manufacturing organizations, Lighthouses show that scaling the deployment and adoption of 4IR technologies across multiple factories and business functions is key to accelerate the achievement of their strategic imperatives, such as business growth, resilience and greener operations.”