On March 30, the list of a new batch of Lighthouse Factories was announced at the World Economic Forum held in Geneva, Switzerland. Thirteen factories from Europe and Asia became new members of the Global Lighthouse Network to lead the world in adopting and integrating the cutting-edge technologies emerged from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Since the launch of the Global Lighthouse Network initiative by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company in 2018, the Global Lighthouse Network has brought together outstanding manufacturing enterprises from all over the world to explore and demonstrate the potential of "Digital Manufacturing" and "Globalization 4.0", and to drive the on-going evolution of the whole industry.
Just as said by Francisco Betti, Head of Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing & Value Chains; ExCom Memb, World Economic Forum, "As the world grapples with many challenges, it is remarkable to see how Lighthouses are yielding sustainability benefits while achieving business goals, which we call eco-efficiency. We need them to continue illuminating the way forward for the global manufacturing community by shaping a responsible future of manufacturing that works for people, society, and the environment."
So far, eight batches of Lighthouse Factories have been designated. In their research on the Lighthouse Factories around the globe, the World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company found that the core of building Lighthouse Factories lies in opening up the end-to-end value chain. Upon a series of technological empowerment activities, it is expected to realize all-around changes in business models, product R&D models, production models, quality management models, and consumer services, enabling the organization of the industrial chain to readily adapt to the demands of consumers.
Haier, a China-based enterprise, reappeared on this list. According to statistics, this is the fourth end-to-end Lighthouse Factory set up by Haier and the first end-to-end "Lighthouse Factory" in the global water heater industry. A major driver behind this success is the Industrial Internet platform COSMOPlat. COSMOPlat adopts the mass customization mode allowing for the whole process participation of users, and applies advanced manufacturing solutions, such as Big Data and 5G Edge Computing, to empower the factories to make significant improvements in quality management, productivity, and cost optimization, as well as help the factories closely contact with suppliers, vendors, and customers, with the order response lead time shorten by 25%. From 2020 to early 2021, productivity was increased by 31%, and product quality was improved by 26%.
It is learned from the global practices of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that the Industrial Internet platform has played a key role in promoting the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry. As an Industrial Internet enterprise in China, COSMOPlat has demonstrated its extensive international influence by virtue of empowering the end-to-end Lighthouse Factories, especially its extraordinary leadership in the adoption of new production models and adoption of new technologies at a large scale, as well as its distinguished capabilities in delivering the innovations for the whole value chain and designing creative and disruptive business models.
The Lighthouse Factory Network, composed of all Lighthouse Factories from all over the world, defines a novel partnership and provides a strong driving force for pursuing a new path for developing the manufacturing industry. These Lighthouse Factories show us the future of manufacturing and industry development. They will continue to help other factories apply innovative solutions and jointly create a promising future for the industry based on sustainability and digitization.
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