The current macroeconomic environment is unsatisfactory, the automation market downturn and external uncertainties coexist, and many companies are under pressure, even global manufacturing manufacturers, and take measures to face the battle. Mitsubishi Electric, which is in it, tells us with practical actions: solid foundation is the best action.
Recently, Pan Yingzhang, President of Gongkong®, had a dialogue with Zhang Wei, Director and President of Mitsubishi Electric Automation (China) Co., Ltd. Zhang Wei shared Mitsubishi Electric's various measures in terms of market strategy, corporate culture, localization operation strategy, etc., as well as Mitsubishi Electric's thinking and choices on business development in the face of opportunities and challenges brought by digital transformation and green manufacturing. It was not too late to meet, and Zhang Wei's confidence, vision and mind were quite hearty.
Zhang Wei, Director and President of Mitsubishi Electric Automation (China) Co., Ltd
Seek progress in stability and stand by in adversity
In recent years, affected by multiple factors such as the impact of the epidemic, the situation in Russia and Ukraine, and Sino-US trade frictions, the global supply chain has faced great challenges, and some manufacturing giants have fallen into the embarrassing situation of parts supply being out of stock. Thanks to the proactive "stocking" and proactive response strategy, when other companies faced the problem of tight inventory in 2020, Mitsubishi Electric was not affected by the delivery time, the market price was relatively stable, and it still maintained a stable market share in the supply chain fluctuations, and achieved a phased victory in this supply chain challenge with a counter-cyclical response strategy.
Mitsubishi Electric participated in the 2023rd Industry Fair
Zhang Wei believes that the automation market cannot remain sluggish, and the two-way superposition of the economic cycle and the global environment has created a relatively difficult situation today. Based on this confidence, Zhang Wei said, "This is an opportunity for us to rest. In the first two years, Mitsubishi Electric grew against the trend, but it also ignored the careful observation of itself and market competition, and this winter it was just able to pause, quietly summarize, and practice internal strength to meet the market recovery. ”
After years of experience, Mitsubishi Electric has come up with a market law with a cutting-edge wind vane. Zhang Wei knows this well. "From the CNC market to the machine tool market to the FA market, it is a traceable development trend. At present, the CNC market is gradually picking up, and the machine tool market will also be the same. Mitsubishi Electric is ready to make efforts to recruit talents and adopt plans and strategies to quickly attack when it recovers. Pan Yingzhang agreed: "Whether it is cultivating internal strength or judging the time to attack, your perspective on the market can be described as unique, not only have a clear plan to deal with it, but also go beyond the passive understanding." ”
Seek progress in chaos, outwit victory in integration
Currently, economic risks and uncertainties have increased dramatically. Organizational resilience and local agility are critical.
Mitsubishi Electric China Co-creation Center
For Mitsubishi Electric, the Chinese market has always been one of the most important markets in its global business, as well as the most competitive and complex market. Compared with the advantages of local enterprises in the same industry in service response and price, Mitsubishi Electric has opened up a different way to strengthen the pace of local deployment from the aspects of technology research and development, product advantages and software. In April 2022, Mitsubishi Electric China Co-creation Center was officially opened, which is a key step towards its localization layout, which can respond more quickly and flexibly to the diverse needs of Chinese customers in the field of automation.
"Mitsubishi Electric has always been known for its rich product lineup and advanced integrated solutions, and in the current digital transformation, we must increase our investment in AI, digital twins, and software. Mitsubishi Electric should make efforts at the information collection end and equipment side, strengthen the layout of upper-layer software business, and further enhance the value of hardware. From simulation-driven to intelligent control, gradually break through the bottleneck of industrial digital twin applications. Zhang Wei continued, "Compared with the same industry, the software developed by Mitsubishi Electric pays more attention to the underlying logic of production, and we believe that from the product side, we should aim to promote intelligent manufacturing and achieve bottom-up human-computer interaction." ”
In recent years, Mitsubishi Electric has made frequent moves in software innovation, not only at the industrial Ethernet level, vigorously promoting CC-Link IE TSN, but also making efforts in software, and successively launching a variety of digital industrial software. At the same time, many of the e-F@ctory Alliance Alliance, an alliance ecosystem created by Mitsubishi Electric, are software suppliers that have good compatibility with Mitsubishi Electric FA equipment, and system integrators who flexibly use FA equipment for system construction. Relying on the e-F@ctory Alliance alliance, Mitsubishi Electric will further open up the upstream and downstream ecological chain.
In the face of the increasing trend of domestic substitution, Zhang Wei emphasized, "The biggest advantage of Mitsubishi Electric products is high quality, in the face of the needs of Chinese customers, we will focus on improving product quality, increasing local research and development, improving response capabilities, and further strengthening Mitsubishi Electric's competitive advantage." Pan Yingzhang said that he saw that Mitsubishi Electric still maintains a high level of service to Chinese customers under the fierce local competition, and has become a model for international brands to take the initiative to implement the second phase of localization.
"Automating the World" subway commercial
At the end of 2022, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced the global FA business brand concept "Automating the World". Zhang Wei pointed out, "In China, to express Mitsubishi Electric from a diversified, methodological and all-round perspective, 'free Linghuo' does not mean borderless, facing the Chinese market, Mitsubishi Electric not only needs flexible tactical strategic innovation, brand trust, but also needs to integrate with Chinese culture, in order to truly realize the development state of 'Freedom Linghu'." Pan Yingzhang said that through Mitsubishi Electric's "free sublime", we have seen the combination of Mitsubishi Electric automation and the wisdom of the Chinese team, seen Zhang Wei's active promotion of innovation and harmony in localization integration, and also seen the image of a large enterprise that avoids its edge and wins by outwit in the fierce market competition.
Based on the fundamentals, the resilience of traditional industries returns
China's manufacturing industry is shifting from a stage of rapid expansion to a stage of high-quality development. The new momentum of economic growth is gradually gestational, and the demand for customers for relatively simple scale is becoming less and less, and the demand for high quality, personalization and digitalization is gradually increasing. At the time of industrial change, who is in charge of traditional industries and emerging industries?
Digital communication
In Zhang Wei's view, traditional industry has always been the foundation of economic development. "Traditional industries have a large base and a high proportion in the manufacturing industry, which may be affected by the economic cycle in the short term, but in the long run, it must be the most stable and long-lasting part of the automation market." The automation industry has unlimited potential, and in the future, CNC machine tools will develop in a more intelligent and flexible direction, which can adapt to a variety of different products and achieve human-machine collaboration. As an advantageous industry of Mitsubishi Electric, CNC machine tools will usher in new development opportunities. ”
In addition, he mentioned that all industries will return to normal development tracks. As the most important growth industries at present, emerging industries such as lithium batteries, new energy vehicles, and semiconductors have received strong support such as capital support and policy tilt, and are developing rapidly, but they should also be wary of the risk of "bubble" that may be caused by too rapid development.
Before officially serving as President of Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Zhang Wei has been deeply engaged in Mitsubishi Electric for nearly 20 years, and every step he has taken and every decision he has made has actively promoted Mitsubishi Electric's transformation close to China's local market. Through this exchange, we can see Zhang Wei's open, enterprising and calm business strategy, and also feel Mitsubishi Electric's attitude of constantly challenging and pioneering the future. There is reason to believe that Mitsubishi Electric will continue to stride towards the future of China's automation with steady and resolute progress.