Smart factories represent a crucial arena for advancing the digital transformation of the manufacturing sector. In Hebei Province, a concerted effort is underway to establish a tiered cultivation system for smart factories, leveraging technologies like artificial intelligence and advanced networking to empower the entire production process and supply chain.

This year, the province has added 526 advanced-level smart factories, bringing the cumulative total to 864. At the production facility of Hebei Changan Automobile Co., Ltd., one of the province's first batch of advanced-level smart factories, processes such as welding and final assembly operate seamlessly. Company personnel explained that intelligent upgrades have cut vehicle production cycles by more than half.

Zheng Yanchun, Director of the Information and Digitalization Office at Hebei Changan Automobile Co., Ltd., stated: "Before implementing the system, the entire vehicle manufacturing cycle took 26 days. After the system was deployed, efficiency improved across all stages, and it has now been reduced to 12 days."

Automobile production involves a major assembly line operation. Previously, data for production planning, equipment operation, and quality control at this enterprise were scattered across different systems and required manual effort to integrate. Now, the use of a digital-intelligent manufacturing execution system acts as a proficient "chief coordinator," effectively linking previously isolated segments, boosting production efficiency and precision management by 15%.

Zheng Yanchun added: "This includes our production plan formulation and distribution. Previously, this relied on manual Excel spreadsheets. Now, from production organization to material organization, quality management, and equipment operation status, the system provides comprehensive control."

In 2025, Hebei formulated and issued the "Hebei Province Smart Factory Tiered Cultivation Action Plan (2025-2027)," which promotes development across four tiers: foundational, advanced, excellent, and leading. The plan aims to establish a province-wide tiered cultivation system by 2027, complete the construction of 1,000 foundational-level smart factories, build 300 advanced-level smart factories that lead in key industries and industrial clusters, selectively develop 30 excellent-level smart factories that are domestically leading, and actively cultivate leading-level smart factories with global influence.

Currently, the province has already met its cultivation targets for foundational and advanced-level smart factories ahead of schedule. It has cumulatively cultivated 1,294 foundational-level and 864 advanced-level smart factories.

A smart factory requires not only an intelligent "brain" but also automated "hands and feet." As a newly recognized smart factory for 2026, the head of Renheyikang Huize Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in Zhaoxian County, Shijiazhuang, provided an example using their intelligent pharmaceutical production line. Once the production management center receives system-pushed production plans, material lists, and customer orders, an intelligent material distribution system precisely delivers required materials to the workshop. Processes from weighing and solution preparation to final filling and packaging require no manual operation.

Liu Jiekang, Director of the Preparation Workshop at Renheyikang Huize Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Hebei Co., Ltd., said: "Our current production is fully intelligent. What you see on site is unmanned operation; on-site personnel only need to monitor equipment operation dynamics. A packaging room that previously required about 8 people per line now needs only 3 people for the entire line."

The intelligent operational system covering the entire chain of supply, production, logistics and warehousing, sales, and finance has significantly enhanced the company's production precision and operational efficiency.

Wang Liliang, General Manager of Renheyikang Huize Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Hebei Co., Ltd., noted: "Through this series of intelligent control measures, production efficiency has increased by 40%, and production costs have decreased by 15%."

Moving forward, the province will continue to promote the construction of advanced-level smart factories by enterprises, organize advanced-level factories to create excellent-level ones, and guide high-level excellent-level factories with the capability and willingness to progress toward leading-level status.

Dai Yinuo, First-Level Principal Staff Member of the Software Industry Division at the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, stated: "We will promote leading enterprises to deepen digital transformation and networked collaboration, and explore intelligent upgrades. This involves systematically deploying smart manufacturing equipment, industrial software, and systems for typical smart manufacturing scenarios, conducting comprehensive optimization across the entire product lifecycle and all supply chain links, and promoting multi-scenario, system-level intelligent applications."