Changeover efficiency increased by 77%, Meiqi Printing's smart factory implementation practice
In the wave of digitalization and intelligent transformation in the manufacturing industry, the printing industry, as an important part of the real economy, is undergoing a profound shift from traditional production models to smart manufacturing. However, the label printing sector, which is mostly composed of small and medium-sized enterprises, has a relatively weak digital foundation and faces multiple challenges such as a shortage of technical talent, limited capital investment, and a lack of industry-wide standards. As a result, it encounters numerous difficulties in the transformation process and struggles to keep pace with the digital and intelligent development of the industry. Guangzhou Meiqi Intelligent Printing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Meiqi Printing") has focused on the label printing industry for many years. Based on its own practice, the company has fully developed intelligent printing solutions suitable for small and medium printing enterprises, outlining a clear path for the digital and intelligent upgrading of the label printing industry, and providing a replicable and practical model for industry transformation.
Analysis of intelligent printing solutions
01/ Analysis of the scheme architecture
With "data input-intelligent decision-output" as the core logic, Meiqi Printing creates a full-process intelligent solution with the characteristics of "lightweight, high adaptation and low cost". Specifically, it is manifested in the following aspects.
In terms of technical architecture, the underlying architecture of the intelligent printing solution adopts a configurable B/S architecture based on JAVA development, equipped with Siemens fully integrated industrial automation (TIA) platform, and comes with "Industry 4.0" standards to ensure system stability and compatibility.
In terms of core mode application, the solution adopts the enterprise business capability (EBC) platform architecture, which can reconstruct the five capabilities of linking customers, linking employees, linking partners, linking devices, and data-driven, and supporting the assembly and iteration of data asset packages without upgrades, so that the system can continue to evolve with the development of the enterprise.
In terms of expansion capabilities, the solution technology center is equipped with a light code development platform, a third-party interface development platform, and a BI custom development platform, which can independently expand system functions and connect with external systems in the later stage, without relying on manufacturers' customized development, which can greatly reduce long-term investment costs.
In terms of equipment compatibility, the solution supports all printing equipment, back-end processing equipment and controllable equipment with PLC access, and does not require open interfaces, covering mainstream models such as Heidelberg, Gaobao, Evergreen, Longhua, etc., perfectly adapting to the existing equipment assets of small and medium-sized printing enterprises, so that enterprises can achieve intelligent upgrades without additional equipment procurement costs.
02/ Summary of program highlights
With a series of innovative and practical core highlights, this intelligent printing solution created by Meiqi Printing has tailored a set of comprehensive and in-depth digital and intelligent transformation solutions for small and medium-sized printing enterprises in the label printing industry, becoming a powerful booster for industry transformation.
(1) Data-driven prepress automation
Through automatic order taking and standard material dictionary, 100% standardization of source data can be realized, subsequent production errors caused by data confusion can be avoided, prepress preparation efficiency can be greatly improved, and accurate data guidance can be provided at every step of production.
(2) Three-dimensional warehousing with synchronized accounts and realities
The QR code is scanned to ensure real-time accuracy of the inventory base. In addition, it can synchronously correct the inventory deviations left over from the history of the ERP system, providing reliable data support for enterprise production planning and cost accounting, so that inventory management can bid farewell to extensive and move towards accuracy.
(3) AI Strategy Assistant (EBC Decision Brain)
The introduction of AI into the production system makes it like a 24-hour online "factory manager assistant", which can match the production status and business objectives of the enterprise in real time, analyze the optimal production path through professional data modeling, and clarify the execution plan with the lowest cost and highest efficiency for the enterprise, so that production decisions can get rid of experience dependence and achieve scientific control.
(4) Digital twin visualization production line
With the help of digital twin technology, the speed curve and standby time of the equipment are monitored in real time, and the production status and equipment abnormalities are clear at a glance, which is convenient for enterprises to quickly respond to production problems, optimize scheduling, and make the whole production process visible and controllable.
(5) The DCS nerve center of the Internet of Everything
Relying on the Siemens PCS hardware architecture, it seamlessly opens up various equipment ports such as Arnojet and Eco, so that enterprises can realize the networking of equipment in the entire production line without additional modification of existing equipment, break the equipment data island, and achieve efficient linkage between devices and free data flow.
(6) Digital implementation of industry standards
By outputting the proven "Meiqi Model" Implementation Statement of Work (SOW) standard and five implementation steps, it can provide a standardized transformation path for small and medium-sized Indian enterprises, greatly reducing the threshold and risk of enterprise digital implementation.
(7) JIT Intelligent Distribution (AGV Linkage)
When there is a shortage of materials in the production process, the system will automatically send out a call, at which time the AGV robot can accurately complete the material handling, helping enterprises achieve the lean production goal of "no more than 3 people in a single line operation", greatly reducing the dependence of enterprises on labor, and alleviating the dilemma of labor shortage.
(8) AI Financial Reporting Expert (Profit and Loss Alone)
The system can realize the real-time transformation of production data and financial indicators, and can automatically warn of abnormal cost expenditures, ensuring that the revenue, cost and profit of each order can be accurately accounted for, providing a solid financial data basis for enterprise business decision-making, so that enterprise managers can know what they are doing.
03/ Core pain points are solved
In addition, in view of the core pain points faced by small and medium-sized Indian enterprises in the digital and intelligent transformation, such as inefficient management and execution, inaccurate delivery time, and opaque production, the solution has specially formulated targeted cracking methods, which can achieve precise policy implementation and symptomatic treatment.
In view of the pain points such as inefficient management and execution and chaotic production coordination, the solution can realize task flow and visualization through the KPI timeliness management system and digital workshop kanban, and the system automatically completes the dispatch, timing, early warning and other work, forming an efficient collaboration mechanism of "process-driven and data speaking", making management more refined.
In view of the pain points of inaccurate delivery and unstable quality, this solution provides a double guarantee. In terms of delivery control, through the APS advanced scheduling system, multiple factors such as equipment, materials, and processes can be intelligently coordinated, automatically scheduled and simulated the impact of order insertion, so that enterprises can accurately commit to delivery dates. In terms of quality control, through the MES digital workshop system, process standards can be cured, production parameters can be monitored in real time, and abnormal situations can be alarmed immediately, so as to realize the "process error prevention" of quality and the digital inheritance of production experience, so that product quality is stable and controllable.
In response to the pain points of ambiguous costs and unclear profits, the solution implements the operation cost method (ABC), which can automatically collect the real cost of each work order, each equipment, and each process, accurately calculate the profit of each order, and provide data support for the scientific quotation and continuous improvement of costs of enterprises, so that business managers can know what they know.
In view of the pain points of equipment islands and opaque production, the solution realizes the automatic collection and interconnection of printing and back-end equipment data through the self-developed PCS production line control system + Internet of Things platform, and displays the equipment status and production progress in real time with the help of factory-level digital signage, so that the production of the workshop is fully transparent, so that management decisions can be followed and evidence-based.
Application practice of Meiqi printing
It is based on the development pain points of the enterprise that it has made every effort to create this set of intelligent printing solutions, and took the lead in implementing it within the enterprise, completing the gorgeous butterfly transformation from traditional printing enterprises to smart factories, providing a vivid transformation case for the industry.
By introducing the integrated ERP-MES digital workshop system, Meiqi Printing has achieved breakthroughs in key production and operational indicators. For example, the order changeover time was significantly reduced from 35 minutes to 8 minutes, with efficiency increasing by 77%, greatly enhancing the ability to respond to small and urgent orders; the equipment idle rate decreased from 28% to 12%, a reduction of 57%, significantly improving equipment utilization and effectively releasing production capacity; the product qualification rate increased from 92.0% to 99.3%, an increase of 7.3 percentage points, stabilizing product quality and substantially reducing customer complaints and rework costs; overall corporate costs decreased by 22%, and profits achieved a 15% countertrend growth, markedly improving business efficiency.
In addition, regarding industry recognition and policy support, Meiqi Printing, due to its outstanding results in intelligent transformation, was rated as an "Intelligent Transformation Demonstration Enterprise" and successfully received a government special subsidy of 500,000 yuan, covering 30% of the project investment, fully demonstrating the feasibility and implementability of this transformation plan. In market expansion, Meiqi Printing successfully entered the supply chain of a renowned cosmetics brand, smoothly entering a high-value-added sector, greatly enhancing the company's market competitiveness and brand influence, and opening up broad space for future development.
The intelligent practices of Meiqi Printing not only realize high-quality development for the company itself but also provide replicable and implementable transformation ideas for small and medium-sized printing enterprises struggling in difficult situations. In the wave of digital and intelligent transformation in the label printing industry, small and medium-sized printing enterprises can only break free from traditional thinking, proactively embrace digitalization and intelligence, and use solutions suited to themselves to achieve comprehensive upgrades in production, management, and operations, thereby overcoming development bottlenecks and holding their ground in fierce market competition.