China is far from "Industry 4.0"

2014, on the "Industry 4.0" seminar frequently held, a variety of Voices: "Industrial 4.0 to eliminate Taobao as long as ten years", "China should hurry to learn German industry 4.0 model." In fact, most of them are just stereotyped, wishful thinking.

The gap between China and Germany

Why say China is far from "Industry 4.0", I think we should first analyze the current situation of Germany and China which will open "Industrial 4.0".

German manufacturing industry is one of the most competitive manufacturing industries in the world:

1, Germany is more focused on innovation in industrial science and technology products of scientific research and development, as well as the management of complex industrial processes.

2, Germany has a strong equipment and workshop manufacturing industry, in the world of information technology has a high level of competence, embedded systems and automation engineering has a very professional technology.

3, in the excavation of the potential of new industrialization, Germany has an advanced industrial base and a large number of talent reserves.

4, the EU has a large number of scientific and technological powers, Germany as a member of the European Union, in scientific research, management technology, professionals and other EU members of the exchange can be more frequent and convenient.

In view of the current situation of China's manufacturing industry, I think that the following are:

1, China's manufacturing industry is developing rapidly, but it belongs to the rugged development, concentrated in the low-end. Although the foundation is very big, but the overall technical content is not high, this also is the Chinese enterprise only to "the big" pursue the morbid phenomenon.

2, China is now a lot of production equipment can be localized, but its quality, stability, scalability and compared with foreign countries, there are gaps. For example, in precision molds, it also requires a large number of imports.

3, employees, the front-line workers in the manufacturing industry, cultural quality is generally not high, the lack of skilled workers, relying on foreign technical personnel.

4, "Industrial 4.0" requirements of the production of digital control, can realize the premise of automatic production of precision processing, and the main body of Chinese manufacturing still stay in the primary processing.

5. The form of China's periphery has led to limited communication between China and its neighbours in scientific research, management and talent.

So, to synthesize these aspects, I think Germany is a thick and thin hair, fully capable to carry out the next industrial era of exploration. China's current situation has left China powerless to achieve "industrial 4.0".

I've been on the horse, but I'm struggling

The core concept of "Industry 4.0" CPS (cyberspace) is a networked sensor, production facility and product control system connected by communication equipment. Similar concept the Chinese government has already put forward--"two integration", that is, to promote industrialization with information, industrialization and promoting information. The national strategy as early as 2002, until the end of 2013, the Ministry of Information Minister Miao in the State Council press conference said: "Two integration" is the Ministry of the Department of the base, is now developing "two fusion" standard. At this point, the only paper on the national strategy to have a complete explanation, with the system standards can be followed.

On the other hand, the shift in production patterns also means a lot of demand for intelligent manufacturing equipment. From the breadth and depth of the application of intelligent manufacturing equipment, many enterprises ' internal infrastructure, manpower and other conditions do not have the requirement of using industrial machines. At the same time, due to the uncertainty of the cost return ratio and cycle, many enterprises still have doubts about the use of intelligent manufacturing equipment, the price of intelligent manufacturing equipment is too high, difficult to bear, cost back | Cycle is too long, investment risk is big. This has led to slow progress in national strategies such as "Two-way integration".

Today, this enterprise to promote the core of the "Industrial 4.0", but "two integration" extension, "two fusion" from the proposed to set standards in 10 years. China's success stems from the sweatshop model, so how many enterprises in China can make changes, dare to break the wrist, and promote the "Industrial 4.0"? I think it's premature.

The debate on standardization has yet to be settled.

In the "Industry 4.0" era, equipment is more complex, equipment and system of the smooth configuration of the need for new standards to support. Such issues are also being considered by organizations such as ISO and the International Electrotechnical Association. A survey conducted by the German Association of Information Technology industry, the German Machinery Manufacturers Association and the German Association of Electrical and Electronic industries shows that more than half of the nearly 300 companies surveyed believe that the standardization of data is the biggest challenge of "industrial 4.0", which is even more difficult than the process and work organization.

The primary problem with standardization is how to classify and describe equipment through device characteristics, which requires a new standard and is applicable to every manufacturer. Each device then has its own set of data packages that describe all the features and services of the device. Of course, parts from different manufacturers must use the same language, and the parts can communicate with each other spontaneously.

Therefore, the "Industrial 4.0", which is in the exploratory stage and not yet established by the unified standard, is a huge risk to China, and the world has a unified standard to implement it, and it is not too late for China to discuss "Industry 4.0" until the standardization of Germany is over.

China's manufacturing industry, bogey Handan

Some industry insiders said that the recent "Industrial 4.0" is not suitable for China's manufacturing industry. First of all, China's industrialization process has not completely finished. From manufacturing equipment to product technology and other major manufacturing countries gap is very large, no core technology, low productivity, can only stay in the low profit of the primary processing stage. Second, China's manufacturing industry is currently a common problem: quick success, bigger and stronger. Lenovo acquired the IBM PC business in 2005, resulting in its US market share falling 8.7% from 9.2% to 2012 in 2005, and now acquiring Motorola, 2.9 billion dollars for only 2000 mobile core patents; Tcl's takeover of Thomson, a 18-month profit Results 2006 cumulative loss of 2 billion yuan, 2007 bankruptcy liquidation; look at the 2010-year Geely acquisition of Volvo, 2012 Volvo lost 446 million yuan a year.

China's manufacturing industry should not greatness, want to buy their own bigger and stronger, squeezed into the world's 500 strong ideas. The real bigger and stronger is not through the acquisition of such a way, look at the European and American manufacturing industry, are all focused on mastering the core technology, adjust management methods, optimize cost control, the enterprise bigger and stronger is the enterprise's profit margin bigger, the ability to do strong resistance to risk.

Chinese enterprises are facing the difficulties of transformation before the plight of the high labor costs, in the face of this dilemma, million can not be an "industrial 4.0" on the horse hastily. From the 2002 "Two integration" to today's "Industrial 4.0", we should clearly recognize that the "two-fusion" was only a good idea for the future industry, is simply unrealistic. The "Industrial 4.0" is now in the same situation. Therefore, Chinese manufacturing, eating in the bowl, looking at the pot of this mentality can not have, do not handan.

To solve the creep effect is to succeed

"Industry 4.0" is really far away from us, but in the direction of individual excellent enterprises (such as Siemens) moving forward in this way, it will bring the corresponding creep effect to the whole industry. These creep effects are the urgent problems we need to solve at present.

In China, "Industrial 4.0" brings a lot of creep effect, we can not go into the details, just one example: the problem is a cliché, is from China to create the transformation of China. The key to hitting the problem is intellectual property.

We will take the current science and technology company rookie charm family for reference. The Charm clan, founded in 2003, did not begin to invent the patent layout until 2007, only to submit a utility model patent for 2010 years. As of October 2014, the number of inventions published by the Enchantment was 107, and the total amount of patent searchable was 180. From the above data we can see that the intellectual property rights in the layout and protection, the charm people are very "slow", as a new generation of technology companies even so, what is the traditional manufacturing in the face of intellectual property rights? Intellectual property is the weapon of contention for the future, China's transformation and upgrading, the most indispensable is the promotion of intellectual property rights, use, protection, norms. At present, China's manufacturing industry generally lacks the effective use and protection of intellectual property rights, enterprises can not form competitiveness. The problem facing the Government is that the courts currently governing tort litigation are widely distributed, many, the Court of Appeal is not unified, can not ensure that the standards of the referee and in the field of patent rights, including "long time" "proof difficult" "high cost", so strengthen intellectual property protection, is also to help from China to create an effective way. Now the supreme law proposes to study the establishment of a high court of intellectual property rights is undoubtedly a great boon for intellectual property protection.

The Creep effect also has many resources efficiency, the urbanization and the talented person structure adjustment and so on, but we now can see from the intellectual property right that "the industry 4.0" is still too ideal for the current China.

It is not clear that the world's manufacturing powerhouse is proposing a revitalization plan for the manufacturing industry, and that Germany's "Industrial 4.0" can change its economic growth. In the industry exaggerated, speculation "industrial 4.0" at the same time, we must recognize that "industrial 4.0" for any country is not a one-click, for China, is very remote.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)