Manufacturers in China ‘ill-prepared for Industry 4.0’ says McKinsey report
Despite being the ‘world’s factory’, its manufacturing productivity is still only a quarter of developed countries
Chinese manufacturers are not well prepared to brace for the coming wave of digitalisation to narrow the gap with advanced economies, McKinsey & Company suggest in a report .
McKinsey sent the warning when it launched a Digital Capability Centre at Tsinghua University, the fifth it has set up after ones in the United States, Germany, Italy and Singapore, to facilitate the application of smart production and digital operation to reshape manufacturing.
As the world’s factory, China produced 70 per cent of mobile phones, 80 per cent of air conditioners and 91 per cent of personal computers, but its manufacturing productivity was still only a quarter of developed countries.
Aiming to transfer the country from a manufacturing workshop to a leading innovator, Premier Li Keqiang launched “Made in China 2025” two years ago. It was China’s version of “Industry 4.0” to join the global wave of the fourth major upheaval in modern manufacturing.
“Digitalisation is not just the purchase and installation of expansive, state-of-the-art automation equipment. Organisational structure, management talent and mindset all matter”, said Arthur Wang, partner at McKinsey at a press conference on Friday.