Huntkey: The Road to "Intelligent Manufacturing"

On the road of transformation and upgrading of intelligent manufacturing, Huntkey has been serious and down-to-earth all the way. Shenzhen Huntkey Chiyuan Electric Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huntkey") CEO Liu Maoqi told the CEConlines: In the past 25 years, Huntkey has made significant progress in the layout of the digital product line. It can be said that Huntkey has put "digitalization" into the daily business transformation for a long time. Starting from the construction of digital workshops, Huntkey has gradually realized large-scale customer customization by upgrading intelligent manufacturing.

In the brand-new digital workshop where machines "sit in rows", the workers on the traditional production line are nowhere to be seen, and the highly efficient robots and robotic arms can be seen directly. This is the epitome of the "digital workshop" under construction by Huntkey. Similar scenes have not been uncommon in large and medium-sized manufacturing plants in the Pearl River Delta in recent years.

When interviewing many manufacturing entrepreneurs, the author found that: on the one hand, many entrepreneurs have high expectations and enthusiasm for the digital transformation of manufacturing; In the process of intelligentization, enterprises have also encountered a lot of confusion. "Whether facing the uncertainty of orders or the control of production capacity, Huntkey has upgraded not only automated equipment, but also strengthened digital and intelligent operations. However, the implementation of digital and intelligent operations must lay a solid foundation and focus on growth. Quality and connotation. The important thing is that transformation needs to think in a holistic way and formulate a reasonable action plan, which is also a challenge for business leaders." Liu Maoqi said to the CEConlines.

Digital transformation is the cornerstone of intelligent manufacturing.

In 2019, Huntkey established the Intelligent Manufacturing Development Institute, striving to realize the visualization, automation and digitization of intelligent manufacturing, and at the same time strive to improve the efficiency of intelligent manufacturing. According to the overall plan, Huntkey has carried out large-scale upgrading and transformation of factories in Shenzhen, Hefei and Heyuan. Since 2018, Huntkey has invested more than 100 million yuan every year to build "Digital Huntkey". "In 2019, digitization has achieved initial results, with more orders and better quality. After the digital transformation, Huntkey's internal management and employees all hope to accelerate the process of digitalization and intelligentization of the factory. We have invested a lot of R&D funds for three consecutive years. , this year's investment will reach 170 million yuan." Obviously, Huntkey's digitalization is on the way. In this context, Liu Maoqi began to think again: how to further reduce costs and increase efficiency while coordinating various production lines?

Why do you want to be a digital factory?

"Improve quality, reduce costs, and increase efficiency." This was the initial starting point, said Liu Maoqi.

Huawei's digital strategy has given Liu Maoqi considerable inspiration. As a partner of Huawei for many years, Huntkey also resolutely chose to embark on the road of digital transformation. The huge investment has brought about a significant increase in benefits: at present, in Huntkey's workshop, a considerable part of the assembly, testing and other technological processes are completed by digital production lines. Therefore, Huntkey's intelligent manufacturing capabilities have been further strengthened. The position on the chain is solid.

In 2020, more Chinese enterprises will embark on the road of intelligent manufacturing. But compared with the standards of German Industry 4.0, "there is a long way to go". Liu Maoqi pointed out: the development of intelligent manufacturing walks on two legs, one leg is the development ability of the enterprise to process technology and product technology; the other leg is the application ability of the enterprise to the information technology. The deepening of technology application and the introduction of intelligent technology also promote the improvement of the production level of enterprises to a certain extent. Any weakness in one leg will make the enterprise unable to go fast or not far.

Digitalization is a process of gradual upgrading of traditional manufacturing. Huntkey's cognition of digitization can be traced back to 2010, when Huntkey started the R&D and application project of digital simulation. "At that time, the cost of robots in hardware workshops was very high. One unit cost more than 1 million yuan, but now the price is less than 100,000 yuan." The sharp drop in the price of robots has brought about a surge in the number of applications of robotic arms and a higher degree of popularity. In a workshop with more than 270 people, only more than 20 workers are left to control and maintain the machine after the machine is replaced. The Heyuan factory used to have nearly 70 people on one production line, but now it has been reduced to about 20 people.

Whether it is Industry 4.0 or Made in China 2025, the manufacturing industry can only continue to progress through continuous upgrading. In the critical stage of transformation and upgrading to intelligentization, the external business environment has undergone great changes, and enterprises cannot stick to the rules and stick to the "successful experience" in the past.

The driving force and pressure from the three directions of promotion by major customers, user requirements and challenges from friends and businessmen urgently require enterprises to promote digital transformation.

Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, wrote in his book, "Satisfying the needs of customers is the mission and purpose of every business". Key customers have always been an important driving force for Huntkey, including top 500 companies such as Huawei, Lenovo, and HP. Large customers require high-standard digital factory upgrades and transformations. For many years, Huawei has implemented "three modernizations and one stability" for ecological partners, namely management IT, automation of production operations, and professionalization of personnel; and stable personnel in key positions. "People are involved in all three aspects, and digital transformation talents are very important." Liu Maoqi pointed out.

Redefine "digital talent"

Nowadays, some companies simply copy the German model, overemphasizing the value of equipment and technology, and simply buy a large number of high-end machine tools, Industrial robots and advanced computer software systems ignore the value of people in the enterprise, which is a misunderstanding. Only by putting people first and thinking holistically from the aspects of strategy, human resources and management can we achieve the purpose of digital transformation of enterprises.

Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei once pointed out that nearly 40,000 CNC machine tools are needed for every one percentage point increase in the numerical control rate of machine tools in my country's manufacturing industry. , it is necessary to increase a large number of CNC machine tools and their supporting software and hardware; at the same time, a large number of professionals who understand CNC technology, information technology, CNC machine tool operation, programming and maintenance are needed. "Made in China 2025" also emphasizes "strengthening vocational education and skills training, guiding a group of ordinary undergraduate colleges and universities to transform into applied technology colleges and universities, establishing a group of training bases, and forming a complete range of skilled technical talents with superb skills. Team."

In addition to actively implementing "Made in China 2025", manufacturing enterprises should also earnestly study and study advanced concepts such as German Industry 4.0, American Industrial Internet, and Japan's industrial value chain, compare and summarize their Similarities and differences, combined with the actual situation of the enterprise, formulate a practical implementation strategy of the enterprise. Among them, the German dual system vocational training is worth learning from. The in-depth cooperation between the school and the enterprise allows students to grow up in the atmosphere of the enterprise as soon as they enter the school, and become the professional and technical personnel needed by the enterprise as soon as they graduate. Students' vocational skills development is consistent with the real production environment. In order to solve the problem of cultivating intelligent manufacturing technical talents, Huntkey has opened two Huntkey Colleges in Heyuan, and each college has two orientation classes to train intelligent manufacturing professionals.

“Traditionally defines software talents as full-time software programming and engineering talents as engineering development, but digital factories require talents who both understand production and manufacturing and have certain software development experience, as well as cross-border and compound talents. The engineers of the digital factory are very different from the workers who used to hold fitters and saws. They must understand both software development and production. This is a rigid requirement." Liu Maoqi introduced Huntkey's solutions to the CEConlines: "Send software developers to The workshop is familiar with the production process and process, and it also allows the engineers to learn software development, and eventually they become generalists.”

Digitalization also requires managers to have a strong ability to learn new technologies. "No breaking, no standing, breaking eggs from the outside is death, breaking from the inside is life. Ultimate growth is driven by internal management innovation." Liu Maoqi talked about the training of management talents: First, go to peer companies to learn. Since 2019, Huntkey has sent several batches of talent training. Second, active learning. Always keep learning. Huntkey's innovative IVC management concept plays an important role.

Three questions about digital transformation

I believe that many companies, including the entire Chinese manufacturing industry, will face difficulties and challenges in digital transformation.

First, the uncertainty factor. For example, in the event of trade frictions, inventory will face material shortages. Digital factories are most efficient at warehousing zero inventory, but can be devastating under the influence of uncertainty. How to solve the shortage of inventory?

Second, data security. Data is the most important asset of a business in the future. Unexpected events will bring data crisis, such as hacker attacks or system bugs, and the entire production line may be stopped. How to plug security loopholes?

Third, the ability of multi-skilled workers is defective. Smart manufacturing will test the hands-on ability of workers, and after new equipment or systems are delivered, there will be an adaptation period. How to ensure production efficiency and product quality?

Liu Maoqi believes that digital transformation is not about completing everything that can be done at once. For flexible manufacturing lines with small batches, multiple batches and a high degree of customization, Huntkey has reserved some manual lines or semi-automatic lines. "As long as we are half a step faster than our friends, we can seize the opportunity. If we are half a step behind, we will face greater challenges. Huntkey pursues sustainable operation, and safety and stability are the corporate philosophy." Liu Maoqi said about Huntkey's digital transformation have unique insights.

Do not blindly pursue digitalization

It should be noted that digital transformation requires gradual and long-term changes. It is not a short-term project or plan and requires and fully mobilizes the participation of all staff. At the same time, it should be noted that digital transformation is not a matter of a certain department, but needs to be promoted by the top of the enterprise, or even as a "top-in-command" project to achieve top-down innovation.

Toyota believes that "advanced equipment is only the starting point, and talent is the ultimate guarantee of quality. Don't blindly pursue automation." In 2014, intelligent robotic arms began to be used in Huntkey's workshops. Since the "machine substitution", the production efficiency of the digital workshop has been greatly improved, and the employee's happiness index has been significantly improved. "The company rewards workshop employees and cultivates the enthusiasm for digital transformation from the inside." Liu Maoqi concluded. From point to line, and then from line to surface, it is only a matter of time before digital is fully rolled out. Huntkey has comprehensively built a new generation of digital workshop of "equipment automation + management digitalization + production lean + personnel efficiency".

In 2020, according to the plan of intelligent manufacturing, Huntkey's digital strategy will also extend from the manufacturing end to the R&D end and the supply chain end to build Huntkey's "smart ecosystem". "In management, leaders must master a bit of humanity and wisdom, and cannot blindly press digital transformation from top to bottom." Liu Maoqi said to CEConlines: digital leadership is the leading force in transformation.