Current Situation, Development Prospects, and Trends of the Mechanical Equipment Industry

　　The machinery industry is a typical discrete manufacturing industry, characterized by multi-variety and small-batch production; there are many types of products, complex products, and many uncertain factors affecting the production process. Emergency orders and equipment failures often occur, leading to changes in production plans; the manufacturing process is complex, with many uncertain factors in the production process. Dispatching based on experience cannot guarantee the coordination of the entire production process, process control is difficult, and management is difficult.

　　Four Characteristics of the Mechanical Equipment Manufacturing Industry

　　1. Production is based on customer requirements, product processes frequently change, and production plans change frequently;

　　2. Multi-variety and small-batch production, with production methods mainly based on orders and supplemented by market forecasts;

　　3. The main production processes are machining and then assembling the various parts. Assembly is the key, and there is a large amount of processing equipment;

　　4. There are many semi-finished products and outsourced parts, frequent warehousing and de-warehousing, requiring high accuracy of BOM and inventory.

　　Three Major Management Difficulties in the Mechanical Equipment Manufacturing Industry

　　Difficult Planning Management

　　Intense market competition, increasing personalized product demands, and increasingly shorter customer-required delivery times;

　　Production plans are greatly affected by the market. The multi-variety and small-batch production model leads to heavy planning management tasks, low plan accuracy, and difficult market prediction.

　　Difficult Production Coordination

　　The main production model in the machinery manufacturing industry is mainly discrete, supplemented by processes, and with assembly as the focus. Product production is characterized by multi-variety and small-batch production, with the possibility of inserting orders, requiring high coordination of the production process;

　　Research and development and production are carried out simultaneously, with a project manufacturing production model. Frequent changes in product production directly affect the control of production costs, especially in project-based cost accounting production models, where data accuracy directly affects project costs and corporate profits;

　　The product production process is long, and there are many quality control points, making it difficult to detect problems and defects in a timely manner. Therefore, the ability to control the production process and quality is directly related to production efficiency and product quality.

　　Difficult On-site Control

　　The product structure of the mechanical equipment industry is clear and well-defined, but the product configuration is complex, with multiple BOM levels, leading to complex issuance of production orders and management of on-site processes;

　　The management of materials and logistics at the production site and the control of the line-side warehouse are key points. There are many semi-finished products and outsourced parts, requiring high inventory accuracy;

　　Raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished products are frequently warehoused and de-warehoused. Material loading, unloading, and fool-proofing are key to improving production efficiency and product quality.

　　Two Major Digitalization Needs in the Mechanical Equipment Manufacturing Industry

　　Production, Supply, and Sales Coordination

　　Mechanical equipment enterprises need to design, manufacture, and deliver products on time according to market and customer needs. However, the production process has problems such as dispersed production workstations, non-fixed process routes, and random resource allocation. Therefore, the optimization and reasonable arrangement of resources are crucial. It is necessary to fully consider market, supply chain, manufacturing site, and customer factors to formulate scientific production plans. At the same time, in order to better utilize resources, it is necessary to provide timely feedback on the production site information to support production decisions.