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“Original innovation is key to the successful development of a Chinese industrial Internet. Different country is under different conditions, in different stages of development and with different foundations, social systems and market characteristics. All these mean that China cannot copy the modes and rules of other countries for its industrial Internet development, and must promote original innovation according to its own national conditions. In this regard, CASICloud has made useful attempts under the guidance of relevant government departments, achieving preliminary effects.” During the two sessions, Gao Hongwei, Deputy to the NPC, member of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the NPC, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and President of CASIC was interviewed by Posts & Telecom Press and explained in detail the “Chinese solution” provided by CASIC for construction of the international industrial Internet.
Focus on creating ecosystem for cloud manufacturing industrial clusters
Gao Hongwei told the journalist that there are three options for promoting transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and for accelerating digital, Internet-based and intelligent transformation of manufacturing industry: First, with a complete CPS (cyber-physical system) as foundation, begin from intelligent transformation of equipment, then gradually move upward to intelligent transformation of production lines, workshops and factories, and finally move forward toward industry 4.0 by creating intelligent manufacturing platforms. This can be called the German mode. Second, with the vertical supporting system having realized intelligent manufacturing basically, on the basis of offline work division and layout for global collaborative manufacturing, build a global online platform for collaborative manufacturing and collaborative after-sales services, and keep on maintaining the leading position in the vertical work division system of the global manufacturing industry. This can be called the American mode. Third, under the precondition that most enterprises lack the intelligent manufacturing capabilities and have not yet completed the information-based transformation of their operation processes, and are impossible to complete the intelligent transformation and information-based transformation in a short time, start from the reform of the production mode for cloud manufacturing, and carry out adjustment and reform of the enterprise system in the process of gradually implementing intelligent transformation of manufacturing capabilities and information-based transformation of operation processes of enterprises. With this development mode, the transformation from cloud manufacturing to collaborative manufacturing, and from collaborative manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing will be realized finally by “gradually deepening from top to bottom”.
CASICloud selected the third way of development. Establish a public cloud platform in the industry field first: Start with creating the ecosystem for cloud manufacturing industrial clusters; focus on resource allocation of main market players around the country and optimization of business processes; support group transformation of the manufacturing industry of China; prioritize services for transformation of the production modes of small and medium-sized enterprises and micro enterprises; satisfy the need for transformation of organizational structures and systems of enterprises; gradually progress from the perspectives of “saving money, earning money and making money” by cloud enterprises; make every effort to create the ecosystem for cloud manufacturing industrial clusters.
Over the past four years, CASICloud has achieved satisfactory results, which has preliminarily verified that the development path of “gradually deepening from top to bottom” the industrial Internet with Chinese characteristics is feasible and rational. The CASICloud mode is an “aerospace plan” that enables high-quality development, and transformation and upgrading of the Chinese manufacturing industry, and also a “Chinese plan” contributing to the construction of the international industrial Internet.
Through practice, CASICloud has become a national-level cross-industry and cross-discipline industrial Internet platform, promoting deep fusion of the new-generation information technology with the manufacturing industry. It not only plays a key role in the generation of internal growth drivers for CASIC, but also provides public products and resources for socialization and advanced manufacturing. With its system-level industrial application of “one brain, one cockpit, two studios, two stations and one data mining subsystem”, CASICloud is providing free services and personalized value-added services for enterprises and users in most countries and regions around the world, and is promoting creation of the ecosystem for cloud manufacturing industrial clusters in “nine cities of seven regions” in China.
Meanwhile, international cloud platform of CASICloud has realized online operation in 7 foreign language environments. At present, dozens of practice cases about collaborative manufacturing and intelligent transformation applications for flexible production have been demonstrated on the platform, generally shortening the R&D design cycle by 30%~45%, increasing production efficiency by 25%~60%, lowering cost by 10%~30% and reducing labor by 30%~60%, promoting social integration and sharing, optimal allocation and business collaboration of industrial services, industrial equipment and industrial products. CASIC has prepared the first international standard targeted at intelligent manufacturing service platforms around the globe, and has had its projects approved as “industrial Internet innovative development projects”, “Internet +” projects and artificial intelligence innovation projects.
Premier Li Keqiang put forward specific requirements in the report on the work of the government: By centering around promotion of high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, strengthen the industrial foundation and technical innovation capacity; promote integration and development of advanced manufacturing and moder service industries; accelerate construction of a strong manufacturing power; build industrial Internet platform and expand “intelligent+” to enable the Company in transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry. Gao Hongwei said with deep feelings: “I think these requirements put forward in the report on the work of the government are consistent with the guiding principles from the Party’s 19th National Congress and the second and third plenary sessions of the 19th Party Central Committee, consistent with the requirement proposed on the Central Economic Working Conference for high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, and consistent with the trend of development of times and the China's national conditions, having great immediate significance and far-reaching historical significance.
According to Gao Hongwei, promoting transformation and upgrading of Chinese manufacturing industry is the original intention of CASIC carving the path of development of the industrial Internet with Chinese characteristics. Consistent innovation is the key to CASIC standing out in the tide of Industrial Internet development. The construction and development of the industrial Internet platform is a process of iteration, optimization and constant upgrading. Both the supply-side and demand-side consistent innovation is which CASICloud is channeling its efforts to. With the improvement of platform architecture and increase of users, CASICloud has entered the stage of market-oriented development in which practical application is the main traction force and users’ experience is the main criteria for testing work efficiency.
Therefore, in the future, CASIC will be devoted to establishing and maintaining an ecosystem for cloud manufacturing industry clusters based on the industrial Internet. The CMSS (cloud manufacturing support system) generated therefrom is composed of the application provider, the user and the operator. All three parties form the mutually beneficial and win-win ecosystem, with the purpose of building an open and shared innovation ecosystem that provides stable and reliable comprehensive solutions for digital transformation and cloud-based industrial transformation.
Accelerate digital, Internet-based and intelligent transformation of manufacturing industry.
How to further promote transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and how to accelerate digital, Internet-based and intelligent transformation of manufacturing industry? How to write the glorious chapter of deep fusion of information-based transformation and industrialization?
Gao Hongwei had his unique understanding and opinions. He said that to re-enable traditional manufacturing industry of China with the industrial Internet and the advanced tools, methods and means provided by new-generation technologies on which the industrial Internet is based will generate a series of unprecedented innovation results.
First, the organizational form of the enterprise will change remarkably. Some conventional internal management functions of the traditional hierarchical “pyramid” organizational structure of the enterprise will be replaced by the function of transaction of shared resources on the Industrial Internet platform, making the enterprise structure “smaller and streamlined”.
Second, the form of the enterprise will rapidly evolve towards being “extremely large” and “extremely small”: An extremely large platform will include vertical and horizontal business data of the industrial chain, and form a super industrial ecosystem through data mining applications, to cover the whole industry and even all industries; in terms of being extremely small, enterprises on the platform will become smaller and more micro-sized through collaboration of their capabilities and sharing of resources relying on the detailed and socialized discipline-specific division of work.
Third, OEM of general manufacturing process will continue to develop until only a few OEM giants are left around the world, and brand enterprises will gradually “hollow out” (better than creative design and marketing).
Fourth, traditional “independent” enterprises will gradually phase out the market. Platform-based enterprises and specialized enterprises on the platform will cooperate closely to gradually squeeze traditional “independent” enterprises out of the market with the most professional design, the most complete range of capacities and the lowest cost. A batch of asset-light and high-efficiency new manufacturing enterprises will spread across the globe.
Encourage small and micro industrial enterprises and technique innovation enterprises to open factories online.
How to get a head start and grasp initiative in self-development in the new round of transformation and upgrading of global manufacturing industry?
As suggested by Gao Hongwei, the country should support capable industrial Internet platform enterprises in their building of cross-industry and cross-discipline industrial Internet platforms that service a full business chain; encourage more small and micro industrial enterprises and technique innovation enterprises as well as technique innovation personnel to open factories online, taking the key step for fusing with the industrial ecosystem based on industrial Internet; actively include the government supervision and service functions (such as industrial and commercial inspection, taxation, quality inspection and production safety) into the cross-industry and cross-discipline industrial Internet platforms to lay a foundation for building the modern socialist market economy system; actively provide access to a variety of public resources (education, science and technology, culture, medical care and laws) that can be shared on the industrial Internet platform so that enterprises can use such public resources, avoiding repetitive utilization of the same resources in various regions and giving new connotation to “green development” and “sharing-based development”. (Written by/Posts & Telecom Press Photo by/Zhang Songyan)
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