Abstract
This case depicts the digital transformation of SANY Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "SANY"). It details how SANY responded to internal and external challenges (such as poor financial performance and the industry downturn) by embracing digitalization to reduce costs and improve efficiency, with a particular focus on its preparations for digitalization (informatization), comprehensive organizational transformation, and rapid progress in building lighthouse factories. Given the industry's vulnerability to cyclical fluctuations, SANY proposed a digital strategy in 2016. Over the next four-plus years, SANY made implementing digital projects a top priority, spending over ¥20 billion building lighthouse factories. By the end of 2022, it had established 31 digital factories across China.
At 7:30 am on May 30, 2023, Xiang Wenbo, SANY's newly appointed rotating chairman who presided over the weekly Tuesday morning meeting, sparked a discussion on how SANY should implement its digital strategy in the future: Should SANY uphold the SANY spirit of "racing against time in pursuit of excellence" and step up investments in digitalization, or slow down its digitalization efforts and seek new ways to weather the industry downturn? It remained to be seen which path SANY would take to make a "digital breakthrough" …
Translated title of the contribution | SANY Heavy Industry: A Digital Breakthrough |
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Original language | Chinese (Simplified) |
Number of pages | 14 |
Publication status | Published - 20 Jul 2024 |
Case number
STR-24-082Case normative number
STR-24-082-CCCase type
Field CaseUpdate date
24/02/2025Supplement
For more details, please visit www.chinacases.orgPublished by
China Europe International Business SchoolKeywords
- digitalization
- digital transformation
- Organizational Reform
- organizational change
- organizational transformation
- organisational change
- Strategy Implementation/Execution
- Change Management
- lighthouse factory
- transformation of the manufacturing industry
- construction machinery
- flexible production
- project overseen by a top executive
- intelligent manufacturing
- smart manufacturing
Case studies discipline
- General Management
- Strategy
Case studies industry
- Manufacturing