Manufacturing industry escapes from the Pearl River Delta truth: high-end intelligent low-end miniaturization

Faced with rising costs, the manufacturing industry in the Pearl River Delta is undergoing a distinct differentiation: high-end manufacturing pursues intelligent production through the organic combination of automation and information technology to reduce labor input and improve production efficiency; Ways to reduce production costs, leaving the factory scale tends to be miniaturized, as a window to meet customer needs for research and development.
High-end manufacturing:
Automation + Informatization to improve production efficiency A production line automatically recognizes, detects, and assembles products by a robotic arm. A production line relies on manual identification, inspection, and assembly of products. The final products are all walkie-talkies, but quality, cost, and production efficiency. There are big differences.
At the Hyundai Global Manufacturing Base in Longgang District, Shenzhen, you can see the scenes of traditional production lines, automated production lines and intelligent production lines that are moving towards Industry 4.0, making it a good example of observing the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.
From a visual point of view, intelligent production lines are much longer than traditional production lines. Director Gu Guyong explained: "Because people have complex thinking skills, one can do more actions. On the contrary, the machine can only do the same action repeatedly."
This intelligent production line invested 12 million yuan in the first phase, integrating 29 sets of radio frequency identification (RFID) equipment, 11 six-axis robots, 34 sets of test instruments and other hardware equipment. Che Guyong said: "This is just a hardware part that can be seen. In fact, for an intelligent production line, the most important part is the invisible software part, that is, the informationization input. In an image, automation allows the machine to have Hands, and information technology allows the machine to have a brain, thinking and judgment." This intelligent production line integrates 18 sets of systems and programs independently developed by Haineng, involving 6 patents.
Che Guyong said: "With information technology, the machine can judge and communicate independently. For example, how does it know in the automatic feeder that this material has been taken and needs to be replaced? That is because when this disk After the last one is taken away, a message is sent to the feeder 'You should take the next one out.'"
In the view of Che Guyong, informatization is also the key to achieving mixed line production. With the diversification of orders, if only one product can be produced in one production line, it will lead to waste of production capacity. Traditional production lines need to rely on people to identify product categories and make production adjustments. The intelligent production line, with the RFID tag installed on the fixture of the product, can know what product is on the fixture when scanning, and should stop at which link, and realize communication between the machine and the product.
Similarly, the production of walkie-talkies, compared with the traditional production line, the intelligent production line can reduce the number of employees per shift from 25 to 12, a 52% reduction, and the hourly output increased from 65 to 90, an increase of 38%.
Zeng Hua, senior vice president of Hainengda, said: "In the process of rising costs, we have also considered moving away, but the accumulation of technology and talent may be wasted. We observe that German companies rarely rely on moving factories to solve the rising costs. The problem is to challenge the challenge through technological innovation and upgrade to Industry 4.0. We feel that the German model is more suitable for us, so we choose to move towards Industry 4.0."
Siemens, which provides Industry 4.0 consulting services, diagnosed Hyundai's manufacturing process as a consultant. "According to the diagnosis, most of our improvement is the work of informationization. The automation work is good, the equipment can be solved, but the automation is only the industrial 3.0, the automation combined with the informationization is the industry 4.0. The informationization needs to be combined Personalized production characteristics, personalized development, not just by buying software can solve." Zeng Hua said.
At present, in the global manufacturing base of Hainengda, the automated production line is still the mainstream. The intelligent production line that has been put into use has only completed the one-fourth transformation process required by Industry 4.0, but the effect has been quite obvious. Zeng Hua said: "We invest 150 million yuan each year to transform manufacturing. The annual output is 40% to 50%, and the expense ratio (investment/output) is up to 30%, indicating that the return is greater than the investment, and the investment is worthwhile."
At present, in the intelligent production line, some parts of the work are still done manually. In this regard, Che Guyong said: "In the process of intelligence, we are not a one-time investment, but a batch of investment. Because, at this stage, investing 1 yuan in some links, may save 4 dollars, but Investing a dollar in some links can only save 5 cents. It is not hot to engage in intelligent manufacturing. It is necessary to think ahead, systematically plan and implement it step by step to ensure financial benefits."
Low-end manufacturing:
The contrast between miniaturization and external migration to reduce production costs and increase investment in high-end manufacturing industries and increase production efficiency is that in order to reduce production costs and maintain profit margins, the scale of the low-end manufacturing industry in the Pearl River Delta is shrinking and the capacity is moving outward. The invention is obvious.
Shenzhen Huaqiang Jufeng Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Huaqiang PCB”) is a factory mainly engaged in the production of small-volume printed circuit boards (PCBs), mainly for the production of test parts for the company's research and development stage. “The smallest order, such as doing test pieces, 5 pieces and 10 pieces are all done,” said Zhang Xinhua, head of the company.
At present, in order to win in the fierce market competition, Huaqiang PCB's commitment is one word: fast. Zhang Xinhua said: "Quick is very important. Because a R&D engineer has a daily salary of more than 1,000 yuan. If a test piece order comes, it will take several days to deliver, which not only increases the customer's R&D expenses, but also lengthens the customer's R&D. Cycle. We can deliver within 24 hours, not let R&D engineers wait."
Zhang Xinhua told reporters that their factory in Baoan District of Shenzhen has just been upgraded. In order to improve production efficiency, a lot of automation equipment has been added, and the production process layout has been optimized, reducing the investment of three to four adults. "Our industry has been turning to fine management after years of elimination. If we still use the rough management method of the past, maybe there is no money to earn if there is no good link."
"Our electronics factories, especially those that receive large orders, are moving to other places in the Mainland and moved to Chongqing, Huangshi, Zhangzhou, Guangde, Tongling and other places." Zhang Xinhua said, "Like us. Small-volume orders are still here, but they will also turn to the mainland in the future. After all, we are manufacturing, and the cost in the Pearl River Delta is still high."
According to Zhang Xinhua's calculation, not only rent, but also hydropower and labor costs, transfer to the mainland can reduce the cost of 20% to 30%. The factory is still in Shenzhen because the manufacturing facilities in the Pearl River Delta are relatively complete. “It’s easy to recruit skilled workers here. The suppliers of materials and machinery are here, the machines are broken, and people can be found immediately. Customers are here too. If you move outside, transportation time is also a problem.”
For clothing foundries, the situation is even more severe. In the hot July, in the production workshop of Chuangxin Huiyi Fashion Co., Ltd., more than 100 workers are working hard to sew down jackets to catch up with the upcoming autumn and winter new product order fair.
As a senior person who has worked in the foundry industry for nearly 20 years, Wang Bing, the person in charge of the company, witnessed the rise and fall of the clothing industry in the Pearl River Delta and witnessed the Shenzhen factory's garment factory from a thousand people to a family of more than a dozen people. The transformation process.
He said: "This industry is not as good as one year. I have experienced that brilliant era. The gross profit margin is 50%, and the net interest rate is above 30%. Ten years ago, the labor cost was very low, as long as There are only workers who can make a steady profit. Now the foreign orders are transferred to places like Southeast Asia. We have not received a single order with tens of thousands of styles, and the ones are all in the order, and the styles are small and small. ”
Wang Bing told reporters that in recent years, the cost of foundry has remained basically stable. Depending on the difficulty of the process, the cost of a garment is maintained between 15 yuan and 130 yuan, but the cost is rising. In fact, the profit of the factory is gradually decreasing. . "Three or five years ago, the net interest rate can be maintained at more than 15%. The profits in the past three or five years have fallen too much. Now the net interest rate is 4% to 5%. This is still managed in the case of management. If you are not good, you will lose money." "There are a lot of factories in this industry. There is basically no bargaining power. How much is the customer gives you? If you can do it, you can do it. If you can't do it, he will turn away."
Changing orders from large orders to small orders is a big challenge for garment factories. Wang Bing said: "The reduction in the order quantity of a single style is very harmful to production. Because of the style conversion process, employees need time to learn and the benefits are not high."
In the past few years, Wang Bing is also looking for opportunities to move out. Recently, this opportunity seems to be maturing. He recently went to Hubei to see a factory and is currently discussing details with the other party.
According to Wang Bing's calculation, although the customer is in Shenzhen, even if the logistics cost is counted, the production cost in other parts of the mainland is lower than that in Shenzhen. "The rent and water and electricity are saved a lot, the labor wage can be cheaper, and the production cost can be reduced by about 30%. The net profit is saved, and the net interest rate will definitely return to more than 15%."
Even if the factory is to be moved to another place in the future, Wang Bing will still keep the factory in Shenzhen as a “order window” to facilitate customer proofing, “but the scale must be smaller than now.” Moreover, "the clothing facilities there are still not perfect, and some embroidery, printing, washing and other processes that we have to use need to be done here."
The external migration is actually a vicious circle
Maintaining competitiveness and hard work . The “Annual Research Report of the Pearl River Delta Manufacturers” released by Standard Chartered Bank shows that rising wages and labor shortage are some of the major challenges facing Chinese manufacturing. To address these issues, high-end manufacturers are focusing on additional investments to increase productivity, while low-end manufacturers tend to move toward cost increases.
Among the more than 200 Pearl River Delta manufacturing companies surveyed by Standard Chartered Bank, 68% of the companies surveyed plan to increase their capital expenditures in 2017. Liu Jianheng, senior economist at the Research Department of Standard Chartered Bank Greater China, said: "Although the migrating capacity is increasingly becoming a long-term solution for the challenges faced by manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta, not all companies regard chasing cheap labor as the only solution. Many Manufacturing companies see current challenges as a catalyst for additional investment to improve cost structure, productivity and competitiveness, and most high-end manufacturing companies are still investing more in automation and assembly processes or capital equipment."
In Zeng Hua's view, the relocation of factories seems to be an active act, but in fact it is a passive choice, indicating that the company lacks core competitiveness. “External movement is actually a vicious circle, because the cost of each place will continue to rise. To maintain competitiveness, it is still necessary to practice hard. In the future, the manufacturing industry in the Pearl River Delta must be developed in a high-end and intelligent direction.”
“Our vision is to make the factory the first smart factory in the field of wireless communications, and it is still far from this goal.” In Zeng Hua’s vision, the future factory should be a factory with high automation and informationization rate, but Not an unmanned factory. "In the future, the operation of the factory will depend on the system. Many mental labor will be replaced by informationization, and manual labor will be solved automatically. People are just designers of the factory."
Ma Jian, general manager of Standard Chartered Bank South China and president of Shenzhen Branch, said: “High-end manufacturing mostly responds to challenges by increasing productivity. Automation can both ease the pressure of high wages and reflect the increasing complexity of commodity production. High-end manufacturing By increasing the production of more sophisticated and complex commodities, the position in the manufacturing value chain, while maintaining high output at a reasonable cost. Over time, this effort will be transformed into sustainable profits."
Affected by the concentration of the procurement period, Hainengda's main business has strong seasonal fluctuations. In the off-season, more than half of its global manufacturing base can be used for other technology companies. Zeng Hua said: "Hainengda does not charge low commissions, but the order volume is still very large. Last year, we also asked an old customer to raise the price by 15%. The other party agreed. Because we are in the manufacturing process. , to provide customers with a lot of advice to help them improve their products, significantly reducing their after-sales service costs, their profits have increased."
Liu Jianheng said: "This shows that if companies make correct behavior adjustments at the micro level, labor shortages and other challenges will have a positive impact on overall economic development."