Whole house customization 4.0 intelligent manufacturing base surfaced for the first time, Wu ＊＊＊＊＊＊ raved about Gu’s home furnishing
Two weeks ago, a splendid event showcased the Moments of many people, including not only millions of fans of Wu ******’s channel, but also a large number of homeowners who followed the latest developments in the industry. During the event, financial writer Wu ****** was in a modern factory, attracted by various advanced equipment and digital screens, and studied it with great interest.
This is the first stop of Wu ******’s channel "2022 Entering the Benchmark Factory", in the 220,000-square-meter intelligent production research and development base customized by the Gu family. This is also the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Gu family home furnishing, the first time to disclose the 4.0 intelligent manufacturing base. It is reported that the investment in the construction project of the base exceeds 1 billion.
Wu ****** Visits Gu Family Home 4.0 Intelligent Manufacturing Base
In the context of "Made in China" upgrading to "Intelligent Manufacturing in China", Gu Family Home Furnishing has become a representative case. However, in today’s home furnishing, not only in the production and manufacturing side, but also in the consumption side and operation model of the home, Gu Family’s upgrade will create new possibilities.
First, what is happening"New four modernizations", and the intelligent manufacturing upgrade of the home industry
Looking back at the 44 years of reform and opening up, China has gone through a turbulent journey from "manufacturing shortage" to "manufacturing first". China has also undergone three kinetic energy transformations and will continue to move towards the world’s largest economy in the next two decades. Wu ****** pointed out that "returning to the scene of China’s manufacturing industry, you can find the’new four modernizations’ that are taking place."
The "new four modernizations" here are manufacturing intelligence, organizational flexibility, platform empowerment and product localization. Among them, the first "manufacturing intelligence" is particularly critical, and when it comes to the home furnishing industry, the challenge is equally arduous.
The new generation of consumers represented by the post-8090s generation pursue more environmentally friendly high-quality, personalized and full stack home furnishing products and services, and at the same time have higher demand for customization under high housing prices.
On the supply side, home furnishing enterprises are also facing the urgent requirements of industrial upgrading such as environmental protection upgrading and flexible production, and complete the transformation from "traditional home furnishing manufacturing" to "home intelligent manufacturing".
Accidental hidden behind the inevitable. On the 40th anniversary of Gu Family Home Furnishing, behind the unveiling of the 4.0 Intelligent Manufacturing Base, in fact, as early as the layout of the whole house customization category, the transformation of intelligent manufacturing was promoted as a key strategy, and actively promoted the transformation and upgrading of the home industry.
Concentrating on development for 40 years, Gujia Home Furnishing has not only become the leader in the industry, but also assumes greater responsibility in meeting consumers’ pursuit of a better life. According to the just-announced annual financial report, Gujia Home Furnishing achieved operating income of 18.342 billion yuan in 2021, an increase of 44.81% year-on-year. In the challenging 2022 Quarter 1, it once again achieved operating income of 4.54 billion yuan, an increase of 20.05% year-on-year.
As an industry leader, can Gujia Home Furnishing set a good example on the road to intelligent manufacturing? Everyone is eagerly awaiting.
Gu Family Whole House Customization 4.0 Intelligent Manufacturing Base
Second, a pair of core contradictions are stumping China’s home furnishing industry30year
As mentioned earlier, the upgrading of demand on the consumer side and the misalignment of supply-side capabilities are the most central set of contradictions in the current home furnishing industry.
To put it simply, as a manufacturer, the company hopes to produce large-scale, standardized and efficient production to reduce various costs. At the same price, mass-producing 10,000 sets of identical wardrobes is definitely more economical than customizing 5,000 sets of wardrobes on demand.
But consumers don’t agree. Can you customize by size? Can you choose different colors? And can you install it quickly without waiting months? These all pose a huge challenge to the traditional furniture production model and are also the biggest stumbling block.
Only by solving this pair of core contradictions can we unlock the door to intelligent manufacturing.
How to solve it? In addition to advanced equipment, it also requires the brain of the control equipment and the matching of a new generation of industrial workers.
As Wu ****** saw, from intelligent cutting, flexible edge banding, laser edge banding, special-shaped edge banding, intelligent drilling center, CCD detection technology, to intelligent sorting, intelligent packaging and fully automatic blister line, etc., Gu Jia Home Furnishing 4.0 intelligent manufacturing base belongs to the top in hardware, can be said to be one of the most advanced home intelligent manufacturing base.
And behind the device, there are actually invisible data flows, business flows, and information flows.
Liu Cailiang, Deputy General Manager of Gu Jia Home Customized Home Furnishing Division
As the deputy general manager of the Customized Home Furnishing Division of Gu Family Home Furnishing, Liu Cailiang participated in the preparatory process of the intelligent manufacturing factory and summarized with the team the four core elements of intelligent manufacturing practice:
The first is the digitization of products, which is the foundation.
The second is to bring business online to improve efficiency and ensure the accuracy of data.
The third is process informatization to ensure that the same order for the same user can be completed on time.
Finally, it is equipment automation, intelligence, and flexibility.
When these four elements are in place and the business is running, we can truly see the power of intelligent manufacturing – from the front-end measuring ruler – design – order placement, to the back-end dismantling and scheduling – transportation, and finally to the installation and delivery. All actions are connected at the front and back ends and respond quickly, thus greatly improving the efficiency of the entire customization process while ensuring high quality.
This is the new leading model of "personalization + scale + intelligence" that Gu Family Home Furnishing is creating.
After seeing hundreds of advanced factories, Wu ****** once again appreciated the vision of the Gu family’s whole-house custom 4.0 intelligent manufacturing base, and on behalf of the China Manufacturing Leaders Summit Organizing Committee, Wu ****** Channel, and the Enterprise Investment Conference, awarded the honorary title of "Benchmark Factory" to the Gu family.
It not only represents the advanced level of intelligent manufacturing factories, but also represents the recognition of the manufacturing industry for Gu Family Home Furnishing.
"Benchmark Factory" Awarding Ceremony
III. What is the whole house customization that makes users truly satisfied?
Whole house customization has come to this day, it is no longer a simple custom cabinet, but a one-stop whole house home furnishing including soft furnishings, which is what the industry calls the "whole house model". No matter what the name is, consumers are actually most concerned about a few things:
1Under the same price, the controllability of quality
"The goods are not on the right board", "unstable quality", etc., are the most prominent problems in the whole house customization consumption. Traditional customization manufacturers are subject to immature production processes, and various deviations such as non-connectivity between the front and back ends are the main reasons.
Intelligent manufacturing is not an end, but a means. "Ultimately, it must be converted into user value, reflected in efficiency, cost, quality, and ultimately into user value, including whether the user experience is better, and whether the user’s satisfaction with the quality of the product is higher." Liu Cailiang, deputy general manager of Gu Family Home Custom Home Furnishing Division, said.
The customized solution for the whole house of Gu Family is to start planning from the whole process and rely on digitalization for quality control.
For example, automated processing of panels is implemented from opening to warehousing, reducing manual errors.
The fully automatic feeding electronic saw imported from Germany has a high-precision sawing accuracy of ± 0.1MM/M, representing the highest level of manufacturing in the industry.
For example, through 3D laser imaging systems, intelligent image processing technology, etc., to achieve all-round quality inspection of plates during processing, automatic sorting of defective plates, and ensure that the quality of packaging front plates meets standards.
On this basis, through the barcode management system, intelligent control management system, etc., the whole process of digital management is realized. That is, let the "machine command the machine", and use a common language between a set of equipment to carry out non-destructive information transmission and control to ensure high quality.
2The consistency of product style and the integrity of space
If it is only the whole house cabinet customization, the product is still relatively simple. And today’s whole house or whole house customization, more important is the harmony of the whole house style, especially the combination of soft and hard cabinets, which has become the key demand of today’s consumer.
The whole-house customization model starts with the production, distribution and installation of cabinets generally completed by the customization enterprise, while the finished furniture is mostly purchased externally, and the primary goal is to sell together. The matching and style of the products are not the main considerations.
The key to overcoming this problem lies in the "integrated design and development of customization + software space", which is also one of the core competitiveness of Gu’s whole house customization, "all self-made, no piecing".
Only by starting from the source of the design and systematically researching and developing the soft furnishings and cabinets of the whole house can we meet the ideal lifestyle of consumers to the greatest extent possible, rather than "overturning and restarting" after a few years.
3Synchronous integrity of end point delivery
From the plan to the product landing is not over, the delivery of the last mile is also a major pain point for consumers. Many consumers have experienced "after placing a deposit, there is endless waiting, and the service process is like a black box". Maybe only half of the full set of products is given away, and the other half is far away. Behind this, it is actually caused by the lack of coordination of brand manufacturers at the production end and the inconsistent delivery rhythm.
To solve this problem, we still have to return to the advantages of Gujia Home Furnishing in digitalization of production and the ability of one-stop delivery.
One of the major advantages of the 4.0 smart manufacturing factory is the digitalization of the entire production process, from order placement to production, packaging, and even transportation, all of which can be traced.
Due to the comprehensive product advantages of Gujia Home Furnishing, it can achieve simultaneous production of wardrobes, cabinets, balcony cabinets, wall guards, sofas, mattresses, soft beds, etc., and achieve complete delivery and one-stop matching.
Ultimately, a whole house customization that truly satisfies users is achieved.
The ultimate challenge of the customization model is to empower dealers in depth
For dealers, the brand endorsement of Gujia Home Furnishing for 40 years, the ability to provide all categories, the end point empowerment of intelligent manufacturing, etc., will also provide more powerful empowering support in the process of increasingly intense industry integration.
The essence of the "customization model" is actually the reverse customization of C2B (Customer to Business). The end point store order is only the beginning of the whole process, and the final service landing still depends on the end point dealer. This also determines that the key to the enterprise is to "empower the dealer" and support the end point store front desk through a strong enterprise background.
Today, the competition of whole house customization has reached a new fork in the road, and the end point stores need both strong cabinet intelligent manufacturing capabilities and professional and rich personalized soft furniture empowered.
The Gu Family Home Furnishing, which has been established for 40 years, has precisely combined the two creatively. The strong brand appeal, coupled with the ability of "integrated design and development of customization + software space", is ushering in better opportunities in the next whole house customization/decoration track.
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