From tradition to intelligence, what did Meiqi Printing's factory transformation do right? What can be learned?
In the wave of digital and intelligent transformation of the manufacturing industry, the printing industry, as an important part of the real economy, is undergoing profound changes from traditional models to intelligent manufacturing. However, the label printing industry, which is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises, has a weak overall digital foundation, facing multiple challenges such as shortage of technical talents, limited capital investment, and lack of unified industry standards. Guangzhou Meiqi Intelligent Printing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Meiqi Printing") has been deeply involved in the label printing industry for many years, and has made every effort to create an intelligent printing solution suitable for small and medium-sized printing enterprises based on the company's own practice, 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-making-value 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:
Technical architecture
In terms of technical architecture, the underlying architecture of the intelligent printing solution adopts a configurable B/S architecture based on JAVA, equipped with Siemens fully integrated industrial automation (TIA) platform, and comes with "Industry 4.0" standards to ensure the stability and compatibility of the system.
Core mode application
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.
Scaling capabilities
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.
Device compatibility
In terms of equipment compatibility, the solution supports all printing equipment, back-end processing equipment and controllable equipment with PLC, and does not require open interfaces, covering mainstream models such as Heidelberg, Gaobao, Evergreen, Longhua, etc., which perfectly adapts to the existing equipment assets of small and medium-sized printing enterprises, so that enterprises can achieve intelligent upgrades without additional investment in equipment procurement.
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.
Data-driven prepress automation
Through automatic order taking and standard material dictionary, 100% standardization of source data can be realized, avoiding subsequent production errors caused by data confusion, greatly improving prepress preparation efficiency, and ensuring accurate data guidance at every step of production.
Three-dimensional warehousing with synchronization of accounts and realities
At the same time, it can synchronously correct the inventory deviation 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 say goodbye to extensive and move towards accuracy.
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 goals 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 accuracy.
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.
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 Arnojie and Eco, so that enterprises can realize the networking of equipment in the whole production line without additional modification of existing equipment, break the equipment data island, and achieve efficient linkage between devices and free flow of data.
Digitalization implements 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.
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.
AI Financial Reporting Expert (Profit and Loss Alone)
The system can realize the real-time transformation of production data and financial indicators, and will automatically warn of abnormal cost expenditure, 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 also specially formulated targeted cracking methods, which can achieve precise policies and symptomatic treatment.
In view of the pain points of inefficient management 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 dispatching, timing, early warning and other work, forming an efficient collaboration mechanism of "process-driven and data speaking", so that management can say goodbye to extensive and move towards refinement.
In terms of delivery control, through the APS advanced scheduling system, multiple factors such as equipment, materials, and processes can be intelligently coordinated, and the impact of insertion orders can be automatically scheduled and simulated, 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 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 the enterprise, so that the business managers can know it.
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 these 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 transformation from traditional printing enterprises to smart factories, providing a vivid transformation case for the industry.
By introducing the ERP+MES+digital workshop integration system, Meiqi Printing has achieved breakthroughs in various key indicators of production and operation, such as the order change time has been greatly shortened from 35 minutes to 8 minutes, the efficiency has increased by 77%, and the ability to respond to small orders and urgent orders has been significantly enhanced; the equipment idle rate has been reduced from 28% to 12%, a decrease of 57%, the equipment utilization rate has been greatly improved, and the production capacity has been effectively released; The product qualification rate increased from 92% to 99.30%, an increase of 7.3 percentage points, the product quality tended to be stable, and the cost of customer complaints and rework was greatly reduced; the comprehensive cost of the enterprise decreased by 22%, and the profit achieved a 15% contrarian growth, and the operating efficiency of the enterprise was significantly improved.
In addition, in terms of industry recognition and policy support, Meiqi Printing was awarded the "Intelligent Transformation Demonstration Enterprise" with its excellent intelligent transformation results, and successfully obtained a special government subsidy of 500,000 yuan, covering 30% of the project investment, which fully confirmed the feasibility and implementation of the transformation plan. In terms of market expansion, Meiqi Printing has also successfully cut into the supply chain of well-known cosmetics brands, successfully entered the high value-added track, and the market competitiveness and brand influence of the enterprise have been greatly improved, opening up a broad space for subsequent development.
The intelligent practice of Meiqi Printing not only realizes the high-quality development of the enterprise itself, but also provides replicable and practical transformation ideas for small and medium-sized printing enterprises that are in deep trouble. In the wave of digital and intelligent transformation of the label printing industry, small and medium-sized printing enterprises can only abandon traditional thinking, take the initiative to embrace digitalization and intelligence, and achieve all-round upgrades in production, management and operation with the help of adapted solutions to solve the development dilemma and gain a firm foothold in the fierce market competition.