Smarter manufacturing for competitive advantage

The application of digital technology represents an important direction for China's manufacturing industry to develop new competitive advantages. Digitizing the production chain and business ecology can help improve the efficiency of manufacturing companies and make the industries more responsive to market needs.

As such, China should seize the historical opportunity of digital technology innovation and the booming digital economy to promote the digitalization and digital transformation of its manufacturing sector.

Policymakers should plan the layout for the next generation of mobile communication networks, the internet of things, gigabit optical fiber networks, big data centers, cloud computing centers and supercomputing centers.

The country should strengthen its support for digital technological innovation and focus on core technologies of intelligent manufacturing, such as smart chips, ultra-precision processing and 3D printing to seek breakthroughs in key know-how and industries.

The digital transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry should be regarded as a key field of the technological transformation of manufacturing enterprises. The authorities should tilt more funding and favorable policies to it.

At the same time, policymakers should formulate rules for the implementation of laws on data protection and data security and strengthen international cooperation on the drawing up of the rules.

Also, governments of various levels should support the construction of intelligent manufacturing platforms. For instance, leading enterprises in key industries should be encouraged to build smart workshops, factories, supply chains and ecosystems, and build industrial internet platforms with comprehensive connectivity, real-time data collection, intelligent analysis and control. These industrial internet platforms can then help drive the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Governments should also encourage innovation in business models and forms of business. The manufacturing companies, internet companies and start-ups should be encouraged to use digital technology to reshape value chains and advance the innovation of business model and industry forms.

21ST CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD