Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, aimed for further growth this year despite the difficult economic climate.
For 2018, Bosch expects to regain the momentum of growth.
“We had a good start into 2018. The local economy continues to benefit from stronger consumer spending and robust demand from the construction and manufacturing sectors,” said Richard Walker, managing director of Bosch in the Philippines, Tuesday at Bosch Philippines' annual press conference.
The number of associates employed last year at Bosch in the Philippines were more than 500. This year, it is expected to increase as Bosch progresses on its business expansion plans.
Continued strong growth of e-commerce business in 2017
The Philippines contributed the highest e-commerce sales to Bosch in Southeast Asia in 2017. Recording a growth rate of more than 100 percent in 2017, e-commerce remains one of the key business drivers for Bosch. Online vendors also increased by 400 percent (20) in the same year.
The company had more than 8,000 SKUs online and available for ordering by the end of 2017. Bosch expects to continue strong growth with e-commerce over the coming years.
Bosch to lead the business transformation to Industry 4.0 in PH
In the previous year, Industry 4.0 solutions made its way to the Philippine market enabling manufacturing processes to be connected, smarter and leaner.
“Bosch is a proponent of connected manufacturing and is a leading global user and provider of Industry 4.0,” said Walker.
Some examples of Industry 4.0 solutions were ActiveCockpit, which is an intelligent communication platform from Bosch Rexroth, and Online Diagnostics Network (ODiN), which utilizes sensors in monitor machine performance such as maintenance schedules and the potential breakdown of equipment.
Road safety: working towards significantly less road accidents
Devoting its global resources to developing crash-avoiding technologies, Bosch is also an advocate of road safety.
In collaboration with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Bosch Philippines is the only automotive parts supplier that have actively supported the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan in 2017.
“Road safety is a shared responsibility,” Walker said.
Advocating for “safer vehicles”, some examples where Bosch sees technology playing a role in safer vehicles were Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS), Electronic Stability Programs (ESP), and Driver Assistance Systems.
