【Industry News】Problems in the Application of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies in China’s Machinery Manufacturing Industry
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First, the issue of information technology adoption in China’s machinery manufacturing industry: There are some problems regarding the adoption of information technology by enterprises in this industry. Firstly, the integration level of information systems is insufficient. Due to inconsistent infrastructure standards and lack of uniformity in basic standards and application interfaces, various platforms cannot be interconnected, resulting in an \"information silo\" effect. This leads to waste of resources and serious cases of redundant development at a low level, and has become a bottleneck hindering the informatization progress of the industry. Secondly, there is a lack of industry standards and regulations. To date, there is no set of information technology specifications and product standards suitable for the various specialties in the machinery manufacturing industry. Once again, it is the severe shortage of funding for enterprise informatization. Finally, the enthusiasm of enterprises to engage in e-commerce needs to be improved. Surveys show that the likelihood of large companies engaging in e-commerce over the next year is only 15.8%, while among small companies, the proportion that does not consider engaging in e-commerce reaches 39.4%. Most companies’ understanding of e-commerce remains at a basic level, focusing on things such as product promotion and increasing brand awareness; they lack a deeper comprehension of e-commerce, and this greatly affects the effectiveness of the application of advanced manufacturing technologies.
Second, the issue of the organizational structure in China’s machinery manufacturing industry. As early as the 1950s and 1960s, due to practical needs, machinery manufacturing enterprises were spread out across different locations; various regions sought to establish relatively complete machinery industry systems, with each sector having its own machinery manufacturing sector in order to achieve self-sufficiency. This practice laid the groundwork for the current situation in which there are numerous machinery manufacturing enterprises, but no coherent overall structure； Since the reform and opening up, foreign-funded enterprises and township enterprises have emerged rapidly, further exacerbating the scattered layout and low-level repetitive construction in the machinery manufacturing industry. “\"Large and comprehensive, small and comprehensive\" is a concise description of the organizational structure of current Chinese machinery enterprises. Such an organizational structure prevents companies from making the most of their resources and talents, placing them under excessive strain – so how can they have the energy to pursue revitalization? Where does the financial resources come from for development? From the perspective of the overall national economy, this organizational structure not only leads to significant waste of social resources but also has a major impact on the effectiveness of the implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies.
Third, there is a shortage of human resources in China’s machinery manufacturing industry. In the 1980s, the machinery manufacturing sector almost became a synonym for a \"declining industry,\" which led to a large exodus of professionals who worked in mechanical design and manufacturing; they either started their own businesses or changed careers. Even among those who continued to work in mechanical design and manufacturing, their knowledge became outdated due to a lack of timely updates. Currently, there is a severe shortage of skilled workers, senior skilled workers, and master craftsmen. Meanwhile, regular higher education institutions have also been reducing engineering-related programs and introducing popular majors in order to maintain student enrollment and ensure the overall profitability of the schools. Alternatively, there may be a tendency for engineering education to lean too closely towards science education, which inevitably leads to deficiencies in the level and structure of technical talent in the manufacturing sector. This situation has severely hindered the development of the machinery manufacturing industry, and it has drawn widespread attention from leaders at all levels as well as various sectors of society.