25 Sep 2025
On 20 September, the thematic event "IBSS Suzhou Executive Academy – Guiding with Lighthouse Intelligence, Focusing on Smart Manufacturing in China," jointly organised by the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) and the Advanced Manufacturing Club, was held at the university. This forum was not only an intellectual exchange at the forefront of smart manufacturing but also a clear reflection of IBSS's ongoing commitment to its strategic mission of bridging academic theory with industrial practice and supporting regional economic transformation and upgrading.
The event opened in a warm and collaborative atmosphere. In her welcome remarks, Junmei Liang, Chairperson of the Advanced Manufacturing Club, emphasised that the club is dedicated to uniting industrial strength, building an innovation ecosystem through flagship events, and partnering closely with institutions like IBSS to jointly promote the development of "Smart Manufacturing in China."
Lihua Cui, Business Engagement Manager at IBSS, underlined the school’s core focus on keeping pace with the times by deepening industry-academia-research exchanges to cultivate talent for the era of smart manufacturing. She also introduced the diverse cooperation platforms IBSS has built to create an open and mutually beneficial industry-academia-research ecosystem.
Frontier Practice Sharing: From Lighthouse Factories to Transformation Pathways
The forum featured five insightful keynote speeches offering perspectives on smart manufacturing from multiple dimensions.
- Jungang Zhang, Digitalisation Expert from Bosch Suzhou, drew on Bosch Lighthouse Factory practices to highlight the significant measurable benefits brought by digital transformation, such as a 20% productivity increase. He outlined their transformation path based on four pillars: organisational culture, personnel capability, business application, and IT/data strategy.
- Yunli Ma, Smart Manufacturing Expert from Mettler Toledo and project leader for a newly designated Lighthouse Factory, shared how the company addressed the core challenge of "high variety, low volume" through end-to-end digital transformation, from customer demand and flexible production line configuration to field services. He emphasised the key to success: aligning strategic vision with organisational and talent empowerment.
- Dr Jianghang Chen, Associate Professor of the Department of Intelligent Operations and Marketing at IBSS, analysed the essential differences between intelligent decision-making and human decision-making from a theoretical perspective. Through collaboration cases with companies like SAIC-GM, she vividly illustrated the impact of data-driven decision-making in enhancing enterprise operational efficiency, demonstrating the guiding role of IBSS academic research for industrial practice.
- Zhen Zhang, Vice President of Tongyou Elevator, outlined a pragmatic digitalisation path for SMEs.. He proposed the core concept that "Advanced Technology + People = Digitalisation," emphasising the need for a solid foundation in lean management, harnessing infrastructure like 5G, and gradually achieving operational transparency and collaboration.
- Kunpeng Yang, Founder of Da Dao Yang Yi Consulting, presented a transformation framework for enterprises aspiring to Lighthouse Factory status. He pointed out that successful digital transformation must be preceded by "Process Re-engineering," achieving the "integration of three flows" – business processes, data processes, and information processes – supported by simultaneous organisational and talent changes.
Collision of Ideas: Building a Smart Manufacturing Ecosystem
During the roundtable forum, moderated by Chair Junmei Liang, five industry leaders from diverse fields – Zhu Ping, Vice President of Nanjing Iron and Steel Group; Chen Jun, General Manager of Honeywell-Majie Technology; Sheng Jie, General Manager of GE High Voltage Switchgear; Zhang Beijing, General Manager of Decathlon Suzhou Factory; and Zhang Ruijie, General Manager of Nanjing Wangyan – engaged in a lively discussion on the theme "Building China's Smart Manufacturing Ecosystem under the Guidance of Lighthouse Factories." The guests exchanged perspectives on key issues such as replicating and promoting Lighthouse Factory experiences, collaborative innovation in the supply chain, breakthrough paths for SMEs, and talent cultivation. The discussion generated valuable ideas for building a healthy and collaborative smart manufacturing ecosystem in China.
The successful hosting of this forum highlighted the diverse roles played by IBSS as an international business school. For students and alumni, it serves as a valuable platform to engage with industry frontiers and pursue lifelong learning. For corporate partners, it provides a bridge to academic expertise and new collaboration opportunities.
More importantly, as a world-class business school rooted in Suzhou and serving the Yangtze River Delta region, IBSS once again demonstrated its role in supporting China’s high-quality economic development. With cutting-edge academic research, a deep talent pool, and an open industry-academia-research cooperation ecosystem, IBSS continues to illuminate the path for smart manufacturing in China, contributing expertise and solutions.
IBSS will continue to uphold the spirit of innovation, internationalisation, and responsibility, building high-quality platforms for knowledge exchange and working with partners across sectors to support intelligent upgrading and sustainable industrial development.
25 Sep 2025