Feature 01: System integration will become an important fulcrum supporting the rapid development of intelligent manufacturing in my country.
Currently, the approach to enterprise intelligent transformation is shifting from simple equipment upgrades, software applications, and network deployments to implementing integrated system solutions for entire production lines and factories, and building industry-level platforms. As enterprises' demands for intelligent manufacturing development become increasingly refined and specific, on the one hand, intelligent manufacturing system integrators will accelerate the productization of their services, breaking down the customized needs of enterprise intelligent transformation into modular standardized services. This will improve the standardization level of integrator services, ensure service quality, and reduce service costs, while enhancing enterprises' willingness to transform through quantifiable transformation benefits. On the other hand, integrators with core technologies in general processes are expected to expand horizontally across industries, providing system integration services to manufacturing enterprises in multiple sectors, thus driving the intelligent transformation of traditional manufacturing. It is projected that by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the scale of my country's intelligent manufacturing system integration industry will exceed 550 billion yuan.
Feature 02: The converged next-generation industrial network promises to lead the future of smart factories.
A network integrating 5G, TSN, and OPC UA is better suited to meet the needs of intelligent manufacturing in the industrial sector. As enterprises increasingly demand flexible production and cross-platform, cross-industry applications, there is a pressing need to build large-scale, real-time industrial communication networks. Leveraging the ultra-low latency, reliability, high bandwidth, and massive connectivity of 5G, the secure, reliable, and stable real-time connectivity of TSN, and the platform-independent operation of OPC UA (which can run on any operating system), the combination of 5G, TSN, and OPC UA seamlessly integrates IT and OT into industrial communication projects, achieving a more reliable, intelligent industrial network that allows for remote and secure access to intelligent edge devices.
The combination of 5G, TSN, and OPC UA enables wireless connection of industrial equipment such as sensors and actuators, creating a network that is not limited by cables. This provides a more complete solution for industrial networks, and its future application in the industrial field is promising.
Feature 03: Intelligent manufacturing processes are key to the overall intelligent upgrading of the manufacturing industry.
In the process of transforming and upgrading towards intelligent manufacturing, enterprises have gradually realized that process innovation is the essential skill and core technology for the development of manufacturing enterprises. With the rapid development of the Industrial Internet, new-generation information technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence will empower the intelligentization of process equipment in eight aspects: parameter optimization, feedback compensation, intelligent iteration, process simulation, numerical modeling, scheme comparison, composite processes, and process equipment, thus opening up new directions for the intelligent transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.
Feature 04: Artificial intelligence technology will enhance the level of industrial intelligence from the edge.
The improvement of industrial intelligence through artificial intelligence (AI) technology is mainly reflected in the use of AI algorithms such as deep learning to learn from industrial data and achieve intelligent functions based on historical data. Generally, learning data using AI algorithms can be achieved through two methods: uploading to the cloud or deploying at the edge (terminal devices or gateways close to the devices). Uploading data to the cloud is a more direct solution that aligns with information technology (IT) architecture. Compared to uploading industrial data to the cloud, edge deployment is closer to the actual needs of industrial automation. With the exponential growth of industrial data, adding edge computing modules and embedding relevant algorithm software into industrial equipment or network management systems has become a distinctive solution for edge intelligence to empower industry.
Feature 05: Industrial Internet platforms that grow "bottom-up" based on industrial mechanisms will dominate.
Currently, the majority of industrial internet platform companies in my country operate on a "top-down" model (building the industrial internet platform first, then finding suitable industries to embed it into). As the industrial internet model matures, industrial internet platform companies will undergo a period of consolidation, with the number expected to decrease by more than half by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period. "Bottom-up" industrial internet platform companies, driven by the needs of manufacturing enterprises, possess extensive experience in the manufacturing sector and a deep understanding of industrial mechanisms and manufacturing equipment. These bottom-up industrial internet platforms, based on industrial mechanisms, will become the mainstream.
Feature 06: Mechanism models and artificial intelligence will drive the rapid growth of industrial software in my country.
Due to its late start and slow productization process, my country's domestic industrial software development still struggled to overcome the challenges of "weak foundation, difficult application, and limited innovation" during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. However, based on industrial mechanism models and accelerated by artificial intelligence technology, my country's industrial software development is expected to achieve a leapfrog development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
Looking at its sub-sectors, R&D design software will focus on Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) as a key breakthrough point, gradually finding a path to growth and expansion driven by the demand for flexible and customized production; production control software will focus on Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Distributed Control Systems (DCS), and Supervisory Control Systems (SCADA), leveraging the development of intelligent manufacturing to expand its market share in China; information management software will build on the traditional market structure, gradually increasing user stickiness through new models such as "cloudification" and "service-oriented" approaches, achieving rapid development in certain vertical industries.
Feature 07: Industrial e-commerce 3.0, which aggregates industrial services, forms a closed loop across the entire industrial chain, and the high-end value chain is gradually emerging.
Industrial e-commerce platforms, as a new business model derived from industrial internet platforms, can enhance the functions of industrial internet platforms. With supply chain collaboration at their core, supplemented by industrial services such as information, warehousing and logistics, and supply chain finance, they enable data connectivity among various stakeholders in the industrial chain, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and users. In 2019, the transaction volume of my country's industrial e-commerce platforms reached 9.9 trillion yuan. It is projected that by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the transaction volume of my country's industrial e-commerce platforms will double to 20.1 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of over 12%.
With breakthroughs and applications of next-generation information technologies, industrial e-commerce has evolved from Industrial E-commerce 1.0, centered on information matching and instant transactions, to its current stage of integration and development with industrial internet platforms. It has entered Industrial E-commerce 2.0, focusing on supply chain collaboration and connecting production processes with online transaction data. Now, it is ushering in Industrial E-commerce 3.0, which aggregates services and drives a closed-loop data system across the entire industry chain. Industrial E-commerce 3.0 utilizes transaction data accumulated over many years on its platform to analyze relatively accurate user needs, driving customer-to-manufacturer (C2M) production centered on user demand. Furthermore, more and more industrial e-commerce companies are deeply integrating online transactions with industrial services such as warehousing and logistics, finance, and quality certification to enhance the added value of traded goods. This achieves a closed-loop data system across the entire product lifecycle—from R&D to design, procurement, production, sales, service, and back to R&D—moving towards the high end of the value chain.
