WEF Recognises Hindustan Unilever's Doom Dooma Factory As Advanced 4IR Lighthouse Site

Tinsukia: Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has achieved another significant milestone with its Doom Dooma factory in Assam's Tinsukia, which has been designated as an Advanced Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) End-to-End Value Chain Lighthouse by the World Economic Forum (WEF). This prestigious recognition results from the factory's successful implementation of cutting-edge technologies across its operations - like AI, automation, and cloud computing.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also took to Twitter to share his opinion. “When you invest in Assam, you are investing in the future. Our enabling ecosystem not only encourages innovation but also supports implementation of various Industry First measures,” a part of his tweet read.

Now, the Doom Dooma factory joins HUL's Dapada and Sonepat sites, making it the third in India to receive this honour. The company currently stands as the only Indian company with three factories recognised as Global Lighthouses, highlighting its commitment to digital transformation and operational excellence.

With an annual production capacity of +5.4 billion units and a team of 675, the DDF site, the largest Beauty & Wellbeing manufacturing unit of India, produces over 130+ SKUs of beauty products, including Glow & Lovely, Pond’s, Vaseline, Sunsilk, Clinic Plus, TRESemmé, and Dove. The site implemented 50+ digital use cases to improve end-to-end supply chain agility in partnership with local institutes to create a skilled workforce while operating in a remote region with limited resources. 

WEF's Global Lighthouse Network celebrates factories that leverage digital technologies to enhance efficiency, drive sustainable growth, and upskill their workforce. Here are some of the key 4IR applications employed at the factory, which led to the Lighthouse recognition:

An AI-powered vision system maps product features and detects anomalies in real time, enabling rapid one-click changeovers between products and reducing changeover times by 85%.
 
Unmissable product superiority through data and insights Generative AI-enabled consumer insights are used at the site to improve product quality swiftly. The site has achieved 97% accuracy in analysing consumer feedback, which helps in optimising operations.

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Dynamic planning to meet real-time demand. The site uses an AI-enabled digital planning system, analysing over 10,000 product combinations to meet real-time demand, reducing the frozen period from 14 days to one and improving product availability by 92%. Enabling sustainable packaging using a Digital Twin approach, the teams can create a digital replica of the machine and simulate and test operations virtually, leading to a 60% reduction in laminate plastic waste and a 21 per cent reduction in virgin plastic use.
 
Enhancing labour productivity An in-house developed AI-powered workforce allocation tool has boosted labour productivity at the site by nearly 400% by assigning staff to high-priority lines based on their skills and providing targeted training to address skill gaps.

“We are proud of the Doom Dooma site securing this prestigious recognition. By integrating advanced technologies, we have revolutionised our operations, significantly enhancing productivity and product quality. Such initiatives are not only beneficial to our business but also represent a significant step towards building a better future," Hindustan Unilever Limited CEO and MD Rohit Jawa stated while expressing pride over this achievement.  
 
“This recognition is a testament to our relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence and testifies to the increasing strengths of AI and digitisation. It underscores our unwavering commitment to leveraging these technologies to drive efficiency, sustainability, and growth across our operations. We are committed to demonstrating that innovation, sustainability, and workforce development can go hand-in-hand.
Kiva Allgood, Head of the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains at the World Economic Forum, stated that Lighthouses like the Doom Dooma factory are revolutionising production ecosystems by demonstrating how digital technologies can drive transformational change across the entire value chain," Executive Director of Supply Chain, Yogesh Mishra, added.