“Chain Dynamics” of GBA Enterprises | 750,000 SMEs Forging a “Better Chain for Better Guangdong”

In 1995, Bill Gates, in his book, The Road Ahead, made a prescient prediction about the full digitalization of the future world. Over the past three decades, as the global wave of digitalization continues to surge, innovative models such as digital banking, e-commerce and digital governance have become a reality.

This trend has also affected the traditional manufacturing industry. For Guangdong, an economic powerhouse thriving through its manufacturing industry, digitalization is a need, rather than a want. Guangdong’s industry scale accounts for one-eighth of the national total, consisting of all 31 major manufacturing categories, with 15 ranking among the top enterprises domestically.

In 2023, the province’s value-added industrial output eclipsed 4.87 trillion yuan, accounting for over one-third of its GDP. It’s reasonable to claim that the industry has become the largest sector in Guangdong’s economy, and the single largest contributor to regional GDP growth.

Amidst the wave of digitalization, numerous enterprises have begun exploring digital transformation. Nevertheless, for millions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the constraints of limited technology, expertise, and funding, have led to a lack of willingness, ambition or technical ability to reap the benefits of digital transformation.

In the sense of modern industrial chain, the making of a single bar of soap would require the joint effort of multiple enterprises, both upstream and downstream. While Python and analytical datasets are widely adopted in leading enterprises, companies using manual processing of orders and reports are inevitably bogged down by inefficiencies, affecting the entire industrial and supply chain.

Under these circumstances, a unique “chain-style transformation” has emerged in the manufacturing industry. Put simply, a “chain-style transformation” indicates key enterprises serve as individual chain leaders in the industrial chain and cluster,” which facilitates the collaborative digital transformation of SMEs upstream and downstream. Metaphorically speaking, it's like a Kungfu master rallying his disciples.

As early as 2018, Guangdong took the initiative in relative policy-making and issuing, along with the construction of 14 province-level pilot cities, including Guangzhou and Zhuhai. In early 2024, the provincial government allocated 774 million yuan towards digital transformation for SMEs, focusing on full-process digital upgrades for these enterprises.

There are two main models in this digital reform. The first model is established by leading enterprises, whose methods of transformation are facilitated through commercial order, or supply chain collaboration platform for SMEs.

For example, home appliance giant Midea has established its industrial Internet platform, Meicloud. Through this platform, Saipu, a supplier for washing machine parts, has overcome its bottleneck of inaccurate inventory information and delayed order fulfillment, improving its overall inventory turnover rate by more than 10%. Thus far, Meicloud has included 4 million industrial equipment and devices, developed more than 1,200 industrial APPs, and served 470,000 enterprises.

The second model is led by a so-called “traction enterprise”, who provides commercial value to SMEs or develops digital products to facilitate the transformation. A standout example is the textile industry in Guangdong province. Zhijing Technology, as a traction enterprise, has developed several intelligent cloud services which are tailored for textile and garment industry. In the past, the procurement process for a clothing factory would take several days as its owner had to select raw materials in the market. Now with the cloud, a simple input of material and style information directs the user to the desired fabric, as quickly as ordering a takeout at home.

Through these methods, the “chain-style transformation” in Guangdong province has achieved remarkable results. Over the past five years, Guangdong has promoted digital transformation among over 30,000 industrial enterprises above the designated size, and “wide cloud adoption” for more than 750,000 SMEs. Key indicators including the scale of digital economy, the scale of industrial digitalization, and the regional development index of industrial internet platforms, all rank at the top nationwide. With the stout tailwind of digitalization, batches of SMEs have achieved remarkable gains in cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancements.

On the path of manufacturing powerhouse building, Guangdong has found its way forward. The industrial supply chain has achieved deeper integration with “chain-style transformation,” and the manufacturing industry will surely prosper under the outlook of a “better chain for better Guangdong.”

出品：南财国际传播中心 21新媒体中心 创意互动中心

策划统筹：于晓娜 丁青云

内容统筹：谭婷

责任编辑：黄欣然

执行统筹：黄欣然 

设计统筹：林军明

视频统筹：白宇航

监制：施诗

英文翻译&配音：李莹亮

海外运营监制: 黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹: 黄子豪

运营支持：曾静娇

审校：张晔 黄志明