Songjiang leads the way in digital innovation

In an era where artificial intelligence is not just a buzzword but the backbone of innovation, digital technologies are setting the stage for unprecedented transformations.

Songjiang, situated in the heart of the Yangtze River Delta region, is at the forefront of this industrial renaissance.

The district, known for its historical richness and cultural heritage, is now synonymous with the cutting-edge of digital transformation in the manufacturing sector. It is rapidly becoming a center of industrial digitalization. Over the past year, Songjiang has distinguished itself by leading the city in the number of national-level smart factories and exemplary digital scenarios.

Its approach to digital transformation is both comprehensive and strategic. By adopting advanced technologies, including AI-driven analytics, IoT (Internet of Things) and cloud computing, the district has fostered a conducive environment for the development of smart factories.

These factories are not just about automation but are focused on enhancing connectivity, real-time data analysis and decision-making processes, mirroring the cognitive and predictive capabilities of AI systems.

Intelligent factories

As a major upstream component manufacturer, Songjiang-based Baolong Group is among the early explorers of digitalization in the automotive manufacturing sector.

As early as 2005, Baolong established an information center dedicated to the development of informational software and embarked on digital exploration and application in 2008.

"Currently, with the advancement of full-chain digitalization projects, the company has achieved digitalization across all processes of production, sales, management and research," said Huang Qicai, the deputy general manager of the group's tire pressure monitoring system section.

Baolong has created a smart factory based on advanced technologies such as simulation and modern sensor technology. With an intelligent workshop control system, it integrates computer-aided design, product data management, and enterprise management software systems, achieving integrated optimization across design, process, management, manufacturing and logistics.

"In the past, all stages from order acquisition to delivery required offline communication. Now, these stages are interconnected online, which not only saves manpower but also allows managers and customers to promptly monitor the progress of orders," Huang said.

Relying on the digital "smart brain," the company's production efficiency has increased by about 30 percent, the inventory stagnation rate has decreased by 75 percent, and the on-time delivery rate has reached 100 percent.

This is a vivid practice that exemplifies the rapid digital transformation in traditional manufacturing sectors, highlighting a case where addressing operational challenges paves the way for innovations.

Beibian Science and Technology, a leader in the specialized niche of electrical equipment, commands over 20 percent of the domestic market with its high-end frequency converters and transformers.

It recently launched the "Digital Industrial Power Supply R&D Management Platform" on the basis of its original digital system. "The market demand is growing, but the process of interfacing with customers is cumbersome, affecting product delivery efficiency and unable to respond promptly to customer needs," said the general manager, Shi Yaojie.

The new platform enables remote R&D collaboration between the enterprise and customers, allowing them to customize designs based on their needs through the platform.

The omission of intermediate links such as marketing and pre-sales enables rapid product delivery; the application of data simulation technology shortens the trial-and-error cycle, reduces cost consumption, and significantly increases product development speed.

"The delivery time for individual projects has been reduced to within 21 days, and the product yield rate has increased to over 94 percent," Shi said.

Accelerate pace of digitalization

As the main battleground for high-end manufacturing in the city, Songjiang has in recent years accelerated the pace of digitalization in manufacturing, creating the "Songjiang Model."

Last year, Songjiang announced a three-year plan to digitalize at least 85 percent of the district's manufacturing enterprises by 2025.

The district is building five to 10 industrial Internet platforms in three years, opening more than 100,000 small and medium-sized businesses and incubating at least 10 major enterprises with the potential to radiate at least 400 upstream and downstream companies in the industry.

It will build three to five smart factories as benchmarks, as well as 30 to 40 exemplary smart factories, to create 200 to 250 intelligent manufacturing scenarios.

The three-year action plan aims to cultivate no less than 10 "industrial chain leaders." Relying on industry leaders like Tencent and COSMOPlat, support and empowerment are provided to manufacturing enterprises, promoting companies such as ICKey, Lyfen, and Weben Smart to become city-level "industrial chain leaders."

Meanwhile, a draft of "Policies and Measures for the Digital Transformation Development of the Manufacturing Industry in Songjiang" has been formulated to fully leverage the leading and pioneering role of policies.

This initiative encourages low-cost, high-efficiency transformation among small and medium-sized enterprises in the chain, accelerating the development of a comprehensive industry-wide digital transformation.

At the same time, there is a strong push for the construction of smart factories across the district.

Songjiang has three national-level intelligent factories, such as Noark Electric, 25 city-level smart factories, including Baolong Automotive, and 71 district-level smart manufacturing demonstration factories, such as the nation's leading household appliance provider Haier.

Noark Electrics (Shanghai) has recently earned a spot on the list of 2023 Smart Manufacturing Demonstration Factories and Scenarios issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Its high-end electrical appliance smart factory showcases an impressive achievement in operational transparency, achieving over 90 percent in both automatic data collection of production information and the digital control of key equipment.

"The overall production efficiency is improved by more than 60 percent, while the production and operation costs are reduced by more than 15 percent," said Liu Gaoqian, the project's leader from Noark Shanghai. "It helps us achieve the digital transformation of the whole industrial chain, including R&D design, production mode, quality control, logistics and warehousing."

A bunch of Songjiang-based companies and institutions are joining the tide of digital transformation, such as Shanghai Spaceflight Precision Machinery Institute, Yanfeng Visteon Automotive Electronics, Shanghai Zhongke Education Equipment Group, and many more.

Haier's Shanghai washing machine smart facility in Shihudang Town started operations in 2022.

The project has four intelligent assembly lines, four smart module processing areas, and two intelligent logistics systems. It will create 2 million machines worth 5 billion yuan (US$742 million) annually.

"It's estimated that by 2025, 80 percent of the industrial enterprises above the designated size in Songjiang will finish their digital transformation," said Wu Qing from the district's Science and Technology Commission.