Software giant looking to capitalize on smart manufacturing drive
Mark Gibbs, president of SAP Greater China, believes the Made in China 2025 strategy will bring new opportunities for the German software company, as China injects new impetus into the national effort to upgrade industrial manufacturing amid ongoing economic restructuring.
“As the world’s largest manufacturer, China will be at the forefront of the changes that lie ahead,” Gibbs said. “The country is working hard to not only remain a manufacturing powerhouse, but also to elevate its manufacturing capabilities to a new level of innovation and move up the value chain.”
According to Gibbs, China now has more sophisticated technology, better-made products, efficient services and increased innovation. But local companies that want to stay competitive need to act intelligently.
“China is putting more focus on quality and sustainable growth driven by industrial upgrades and structural transformation, all powered by innovation. We believe this direction will make a significantly positive impact and generate tons of opportunities,” Gibbs said.
In the eyes of the seasoned executive, the Made in China 2025 strategy chiefly concerns smart manufacturing, an idea that he thinks is not easy to conceptualize and understand because there are few things more complex than the entirety of a global supply chain.
“Smart manufacturing is, in essence, about connecting intelligent systems. It’s something that’s possible thanks to digitization, which allows data — once unavailable or trapped in silos — to be more readily used in supply chains, manufacturing and distribution processes,” Gibbs said.
From informing suppliers about needed specifications and quantities, enabling predictive maintenance that prevents downtime, and deploying robots at bottlenecks or at points that are deemed unsafe for humans, these connected systems share data throughout the supply chain, thereby enabling synchronized processes and informed decision-making.