The World Economic Forum has admitted 10 new members to its global platform, Lighthouse Network, including the Midea Group, a domestic air conditioner factory located in Nanshe, Guangzhou.
The Lighthouse Network project is part of the World Economic Forum's Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Manufacturing Platforms project. The global manufacturing community is lagging behind in adopting technologies from the Fourth Industrial Revolution. More than 70% of companies are still stuck in "experimental purgatory", while only a select group of leading manufacturers can deploy advanced manufacturing on a large scale. To close this gap and accelerate the fuller and more inclusive adoption of advanced technologies in manufacturing, the World Economic Forum's Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Manufacturing platform has created the Global Beacon Network.
Faced with intense competition in the home appliance industry and the increasing complexity and speed of e-commerce, Midea Group has used 4IR technologies to transform a factory into a high-tech enterprise, increasing labor efficiency by 28%, reducing unit costs by 14% and cutting time, according to the World Economic Forum. fulfillment of orders by 56%.
This community of manufacturers is demonstrating leadership in leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies to transform factories, value chains, and business models to generate compelling financial and operational returns. To date, 54 production beacons have been identified from various industrial sectors. They began learning together by participating in joint projects, developing ideas and creating new potential partnerships.
The World Economic Forum has also released a new report based on the results of the global lighthouse network. The Global Lighthouse Network report: Four Durable Shifts for a Great Reset in Manufacturing highlighted four trends in the manufacturing and supply chain sector that include agility and customer focus, supply chain resilience, speed and productivity, and sustainability. The report also added that these new trends will help pave the way for the recovery of the manufacturing industry and supply chain after the COVID-19 crisis.