In today's digital age, "cloud mobility" has profoundly affected everyone's lifestyle and the operating model of every enterprise. With the increasing popularity of the Internet, the rapid development of computing and storage capabilities, the wide application of the Internet of Things and sensor technology, and the continuous evolution of industrial software, data acquisition, storage, transmission, display, analysis and optimization have a good technical foundation. In this context, the wave of digital transformation in the manufacturing industry is unstoppable.
01
What is digital transformation?
In fact, digital transformation is the process by which enterprises truly realize digitalization. The digital transformation of the personal services industry is happening very rapidly. Today, almost all life services such as air ticket booking, train ticket purchase, car rental, hotel reservation, shopping, and meal ordering can be completed online through digital means, and the competition among various online service platforms is fierce.
As far as the manufacturing industry is concerned, industries such as home appliances, home appliances, mobile phones, and automobiles that face individual consumers are under greater pressure for digital transformation, and the transformation is relatively fast; in industries such as equipment manufacturing, energy, parts, and raw materials that face corporate customers, digitalization The pace of transformation has been relatively slow.
No matter what type and industry it belongs to, every enterprise should think about, formulate and promote a digital transformation strategy. The in-depth application of digital technology will have a profound impact on the business model, business operation, decision-making mode, organizational form, and corporate culture of enterprises.
02
What is the value of digital transformation in manufacturing?
Manufacturing companies that are good at deeply applying digital technology will gain a significant competitive advantage. For example, through timely insights into business data such as procurement, production, inventory, capital, quality, energy consumption, and equipment status, enterprises can not only understand the nature of various complex problems in operation management, but also understand their causes; Work performance can further stimulate the potential of employees; we can improve customer satisfaction through personalized customization according to customer needs; by collecting and analyzing marketing data, we can truly understand ourselves and others in the market and serve customers better;
Excellent manufacturing companies are also committed to the digital transformation of the product itself, realizing data collection, status awareness and remote control, increasing the added value of products, and increasing service revenue. At the same time, only by promoting digital transformation can manufacturing enterprises cope with increasingly complex compliance requirements, especially for livelihood industries such as medicine and food, as well as export-oriented enterprises. The entire production process must be traceable through digital transformation.
03
What difficulties do manufacturing companies face in promoting digital transformation?
The complexity of manufacturing enterprise organization, business, product and value chain has brought many obstacles to the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises.
Specifically, the difficulties faced by manufacturing enterprises in promoting digital transformation include at least the following aspects:
01
The senior management of enterprises does not realize the necessity, urgency and complexity of digital transformation, and this concept is still stuck in the deployment of commonly used IT systems. In fact, IT departments are far from achieving digital transformation. It must be led by the decision-making level of the enterprise and promoted from top to bottom.
02
Enterprises employ many information systems, but with many silos, inaccurate underlying data, and inconsistent coding systems, they cannot drive digital transformation.
03
Many companies believe that the promotion of automation systems can achieve more direct results, and there is a general emphasis on automation rather than digitization. When I walked into many enterprises, I found that enterprises pay more attention to the automation of production lines and lack of manpower, but the foundation of equipment networking and data collection is poor, and the workshop has not really realized visualization.
04
Enterprises' investment in promoting digital transformation has not achieved significant results, which restricts the motivation of enterprises to further promote digital transformation. For example, although some companies have invested in self-built e-commerce platforms, in the era when traffic is king, customers are still controlled by mainstream e-commerce platforms, and self-built platforms have not achieved the expected results.
05
The various sub-sectors of the manufacturing industry are very different. Enterprises in different positions in each industrial chain are highly individualized, and the breakthroughs for digital transformation are also different. There is no template that can be copied directly.
06
The profit margins of my country's manufacturing companies are low, and they often lack sufficient funds to invest in promoting digital transformation.
04
What models can be used for reference in the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry?
The digital transformation of the manufacturing industry is comprehensive, and the deepening application of digital technology will completely change the manufacturing enterprises from the following six aspects.
01 Business model transformation
Pay by use is a new business model based on the application of digital technology. Enterprises are no longer selling products, but selling services used by products. In addition, enterprises promote online product customization and carry out experiential marketing combining online and offline, which also belongs to business model transformation.
02 Transformation of service model
Enterprises develop product and service APPs to allow customers to realize self-service, thereby improving service efficiency.
03 R&D model transformation
In the process of new product development, digital technology is widely used. Through the research and development data and process management of the product life cycle, the reuse rate of parts and components can be improved, the research and development efficiency can be improved, the cost of research and development can be reduced, and collaborative research and development in different places can be realized; customers' demands for products can even be collected through the Internet, and in the process of research and development, the realization of public package design.
04 Operation model transformation
In the process of enterprise operation, there are many scenarios of digital transformation, which can help enterprises achieve refined management.
05Manufacturing mode transformation
In the machining process, different mechanical parts can be processed fully automatically.
06 Transformation of decision-making model
By promoting digital transformation, enterprises will have massive data, use data to speak, and promote managers at all levels to improve management performance by comparing the performance of different production lines and workshops.
05What
is the relationship between digital transformation and intelligent manufacturing?
The promotion of digital transformation by manufacturing enterprises is the basis and necessary condition for the realization of intelligent manufacturing. Digitization and automation are the two pillars for enterprises to realize intelligent manufacturing. To achieve flexibility in the automation system, it must rely on the support of the digital system.
06How
can manufacturing enterprises promote digital transformation?
To promote digital transformation, manufacturing enterprises must clarify the digital transformation strategy, formulate a digital transformation plan, and then implement the plan. In this process, manufacturing enterprises need to rely on professional consulting service agencies to complete the process of digital transformation status diagnosis, demand analysis, process sorting, overall framework design and implementation plan formulation.
◉ The first step is to assess the current state of digital transformation.
◉ The second step is to analyze the opportunities and breakthroughs in the digital transformation of enterprises.
◉ The third step is to clarify the overall framework of the enterprise digital system.
◉ The fourth step is to determine the roadmap for the digital transformation of the enterprise.
◉ The fifth step is to implement the digital transformation plan and revise the plan in time.
To promote digital transformation, enterprises are the main body. To truly realize digital transformation, it is necessary for the top management of the enterprise to have the determination and perseverance to truly understand the connotation of digital transformation and lead the process of digital transformation. Digital transformation cannot be formalistic or formal, and it does not need to be comprehensive. It must formulate a personalized digital transformation strategy based on the company's own needs, its position in the industry chain, its strength, and its development vision.