"The most effective response is to focus on the customer. During the pandemic this year, we have helped our customers through difficult times with connected factory-related technologies and services. Mr. Maoshu Liu, vice president and general manager of Honeywell's Performance Materials and Technology Group and general manager of Asia Pacific, told Forbes China.
Maoshu Liu, Vice President and General Manager of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies Group and General Manager of Asia Pacific
In the new year, focus on customers and crisis opportunities
The upcoming 2020 is the first year of Liu Maoshu's new role as Vice President of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technology Group and General Manager of Asia Pacific. He said: "Despite the epidemic, through the efforts of the team, so far, our business has not declined, but achieved a small year-on-year growth, which is also a point that we are very proud of. Whether it's remote control, pharmaceutical packaging or electronic materials, when we focus on customer needs and focus on these businesses, the crisis really turns into a business opportunity. ”
As one of Honeywell's four major business groups, Honeywell Performance Materials & Technology Group researches and develops process technologies, automation solutions, performance materials and industrial software to lead the transformation and development of the world's industries. The Group's business covers a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, refining and petrochemicals, chemicals, refrigeration and air conditioning, electronics, and life sciences. Liu Maoshu introduced that the Group's Asia-Pacific business will continue to pay attention to several major industry trends, such as intelligent manufacturing, crude oil chemicals, sustainable development and industrial safety, etc., to seize growth opportunities.
Connected factories enhance business flexibility and competitiveness
In Liu Maoshu's view, the real "connected factory" needs a set of response mechanisms that can reflect market changes from concept to reality. The process of a connected factory to external challenges should be optimized and changed in a timely manner. At the same time, connected factories also bring many benefits, such as reducing waste and increasing output, which correspondingly enhances the competitiveness of enterprises and gives them more opportunities to invest in other fields. In the digital age, if enterprises lose flexibility and competitiveness, they will fall behind and eventually be eliminated.
"We launched the concept of a "connected factory" back in 2016. For Honeywell, the connected factory is not a new concept and application subversion, but an evolution and improvement of the original automation technology, using the interconnected technology to add new functions to the original products and solutions. "In recent years, we have been continuously optimizing the technology, products and solutions related to the 'connected factory' every year. Many factories are also practicing certification. Interconnection and intelligent connection are a major trend that will continue to accelerate in the future. ”
The epidemic has accelerated the layout and construction of localization
Honeywell already has a number of R&D engineering bases in China, such as Tianjin, Chongqing, Zhangjiagang, and Shanghai, and the ability of localized R&D personnel, engineering and technical personnel has been greatly improved in the process of years of layout. Because of the epidemic, many overseas experts cannot come to China this year. In this case, Honeywell's local engineers played an important role, which made Honeywell's strategic achievement of "East for East" reflected. Honeywell's future focus in Asia Pacific is to further strengthen the strategy of "East Serves East", including local capacity building from R&D innovation to engineering service capabilities.
Liu Maoshu believes that this year's epidemic has made many multinational enterprises see the challenge that must be faced in globalization - enterprise supply chain. If the supply chain was regarded as the division of labor and the result brought about by globalization, the general trend now is that every multinational company is looking for a way to regionalize the supply chain and how to make the supply chain more secure, stable and efficient. "Driven by new demands, Honeywell's digital technologies and solutions have taken advantage of the pandemic, allowing everyone to see surprises and accelerate remote control operations. ”
After the test of the epidemic, everyone has a deeper understanding of the connected factory. Especially in the chemical field, where product prices change greatly, connected factories can make production more flexible, helping enterprises quickly adjust the proportion of production materials according to market changes, and shorten the adjustment cycle from previous months to weeks or even days.
Liu Maoshu said: "In the long run, whether it is a petrochemical enterprise with an investment of hundreds of billions or a chemical plant with a small number of people, we must think about the overall development direction of products from the perspective of the whole value chain. The extreme situation of the pandemic in 2020 prompted companies to rely on connected solutions to keep production running. In the industrial sector, a huge technological revolution is taking place, the connected factory. ”