“Difficulties and obstacles encountered in digital transformation are inevitable, and since meeting Siemens Low Code in 2020, SAIC Motor has found a true friend who can help them realize their digital transformation vision. Siemens low-code has done a large number of verifications and projects for SAIC passenger cars, proving the feasibility and advanced nature of Siemens’ low-code solution in terms of use and performance, which can effectively save project development time and cost.

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Siemens low-code helps SAIC passenger car “1+4” digital transformation

Key findings:

• Driving force for change: With the rise of the Internet wave, embrace new technologies with an open mind, and strive to build a high-tech automobile company. From the overall architecture level of IT, in addition to building an “industrial Internet platform” and “industrial big data platform”, it is also necessary to efficiently connect various sectors within the enterprise, such as “smart supply chain”, “smart factory” and “digital marketing”. , so as to achieve structural cost reduction in the industrial chain, internal cost reduction and efficiency increase, and most importantly, agile response to market demand.
• One of the solutions: gradually introduce Siemens low-code platform, integrate into the existing IT development system, and complete the launch of smart factory lean human resource management system, ME working hour system, missing parts vehicle management system, QMS and other systems.
• Implementation effect: Through a large number of project verifications, the feasibility and advanced nature of Siemens’ low-code solution has been proved in terms of use and performance, which can effectively save project development time and cost. Compared with traditional JAVA development projects, the overall efficiency is increased by 10-15%, and the deployment and maintenance costs are also reduced.

Facing difficulties, traditional car companies challenge the “1+4” digital transformation strategy

SAIC Motor Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as SAIC) is the largest listed automobile company in the domestic market. SAIC Motor is one of the largest independent brand manufacturers in the domestic market. In the long-term informatization development process, SAIC has built large-scale traditional IT systems including ERP, PLM, WMS, QMS, iMES, TMS, iLink B2B platforms, etc., and successfully realized the systematization of the company’s core business.

Digital transformation is the general trend. Technically, intelligent networking has become a battleground for the majority of auto companies, and the auto industry is undergoing a transformation from providing transportation to intelligent terminals that carry services. In the industry, the rules of the game formulated by traditional auto companies have been broken by the mushrooming new forces, and if they do not change, they may face the end of being eliminated. In this context, SAIC Motor took the lead in proposing the “1+4” digital transformation strategy, with product digitalization as the core, and actively promoting the comprehensive digital transformation of four major business systems, including digital R&D, digital marketing, intelligent manufacturing and smart parks. Among them, digital R&D will focus on “software-defined vehicles” and “digital twins”; in terms of intelligent manufacturing, it will focus on the construction of “smart factories” and “smart supply chains”.

Figure 1: Yang Min, Director of SAIC Passenger Car Data and Information System Department, gave a speech at the Siemens User Conference

Yang Min, Director of the Data and Information System Department of SAIC Passenger Vehicle, said: “The realization of the vision of a high-tech automobile company is accomplished in three steps. The three steps are not carried out sequentially, but can be interspersed. The first is to achieve a comprehensive digital transformation. Improve its own digitalization; the second is to become a software-driven enterprise; the third is to create an environment and templates for the industry with its own digital capabilities and experience, empower the entire supply chain, and lead the entire industry ecosystem.”

However, for SAIC Motor, if it wants to achieve a comprehensive digital transformation, it must embrace the collision brought by the Internet thinking. For example, whether the business is to solve unexpected problems or meet new demands, it will raise the efficiency of system construction and delivery. Require. Taking “missing parts car management” as an example, in the special period of the current epidemic, all missing parts information, part numbers, storage location numbers, repair plans, repair control submissions, etc. are all manually counted and processed, and there are information errors and process. A huge risk that is difficult to control. How to quickly meet sudden business needs in the shortest time possible.

There are two important departments in the whole system of intelligent manufacturing, one is IT and the other is ME. The ME department has its own professional characteristics and is responsible for all the equipment OT fields at the manufacturing end. It uses the network and data. It is a relationship of division of labor and cooperation with IT, and the IT department has its own standards and specifications. Because of the division of labor, cooperation is formed; the construction level is driven by ME, and the bottom layer is built by IT. How does IT standardize and serve basic services, and cultivate the soil for one-click deployment for the application of business departments to release the productivity of the business to the greatest extent. and creativity.

If you don’t make a small step, you can’t go a thousand miles, Siemens low-code solid every step

Difficulties and obstacles encountered in digital transformation are inevitable, and since meeting Siemens Low Code in 2020, SAIC Motor has found a true friend who can help them realize their digital transformation vision. Siemens low-code has done a large number of verifications and projects for SAIC passenger cars, proving the feasibility and advanced nature of Siemens’ low-code solution in terms of use and performance, which can effectively save project development time and cost.

Figure 2: Reasons for choosing Siemens Low Code

“In the process of cooperating with Siemens low-code, we have seen the expected things continue to emerge.” Yang Min said, “We hope to form a ‘developer paradise’, which is not only built by the IT department, but can be combined with related businesses. Departments do construction together, such as ME and logistics. They do not need to be network security experts, nor middleware experts, because these ITs have already been standardized, that is, they are connected and used, and what the business needs to do is based on their expertise. business, and build the required applications through the Siemens low-code platform.”

Up to now, SAIC Passenger Vehicle has implemented the following systems based on Siemens low-code development, in chronological order:

1. Smart Factory Lean Human Resource Management System
2. Missing car management system
3.ME working hours system
4.QMS quality management system

Taking the “digital factory personnel lean management system” as an example, the human resources department has become the main force in the construction. The whole process is quite fast because it is very clear about its own business processes and needs, and does not need to rely on the IT department for a lot of development. The human resources department felt that this system was very suitable for their ideas, and it was very easy to use. Even if there were problems in use, it could be improved quickly. At present, it has begun to be promoted in various bases.

Figure 3: Digital Factory Personnel Lean Management System

Another typical example is the aforementioned “Vehicle Management System with Missing Parts”. Using the Siemens low-code platform, it took only 2 weeks to quickly develop the management of missing parts vehicles according to business requirements. During the whole process, the business department made demands at any time, and the IT department updated it on the low-code platform in a timely manner to quickly meet the sudden business needs. The business department was very satisfied after the system went online.

The launch of the ME working hour system enables the ME department to independently develop the applications it needs on the IT platform, avoids the problem of communication efficiency with the IT department, and realizes one-click deployment and launch. Through this project, it has been proved that business departments can make full use of the low-code platform to mobilize subjective initiative and focus on developing applications required by their own business, instead of repeatedly communicating with IT professionals, so that they can develop their own business more efficiently than ever before. .

SAIC Motor has replaced the QMS quality management system developed with package software with Siemens low-code development. Based on its own Know-how, the advantages of low-code are reflected, because with the help of low-code, it is easy to reconstruct a set of its own. Quality management system without being constrained by the functional boundaries of the packaged software. Yang Min concluded: “The successful launch of the QMS project proves that Siemens’ low-code is a relatively complex core system capable of being an enterprise. This is also one of the important reasons why we recognize Siemens’ low-code very much.”

In the past less than a year, SAIC Motor has continuously improved development efficiency and established its own component center, accumulating more than 40 components, covering different categories such as login modules, connectors and small parts. The content of the components is still expanding.

Figure 4: From point to plane, Siemens low-code development quickly implements digital scenarios

At the same time, in order to verify the advantages of Siemens’ low-code, SAIC Passenger Vehicle has also conducted several POC landing and functional tests, including the online order system of the marketing department, the supply chain system-contract management, high-concurrency stress testing, and large-data-volume related tests. Import presentations and more. Talking about the conclusion of functional testing, Yang Min said: “These tests and POC have achieved the expected results, ensuring that our related demands can be well realized on the Siemens low-code platform.”

Reborn, using Siemens low-code to improve the technical system

At the just-held Siemens 2022 Realize Live User Conference in Greater China, Yang Min delivered a keynote speech titled “Siemens Helps SAIC Motor’s Digital Transformation Road”, he said: “The traditional enterprise IT department needs to leave the The vicious circle of cost centers seeks both internal and external circulation: internally we have our developer paradise, and relevant core departments can participate in the joint construction of a ‘big garden’ for intelligent manufacturing; externally empower business departments and suppliers to use standard The system and advanced management form service output, improve the ability of suppliers, and at the same time make their own services continuously lean and form a reputation in the market. Only with the approval of the business department can IT be recognized. Only by generating profits can prove the strength of its own products. , the value of the IT department will become higher and higher, and the department will gradually transform into a profit center.”

So fundamentally, how does Siemens’ low-code help SAIC Motor’s IT department realize value-added and strengthen its strength? Yang Min believes that the main reasons are reflected in the following aspects:

1. The ability of personnel has been improved through the Siemens low-code platform, more business personnel have joined the development ecosystem, and more value can be realized in a shorter time.
2. Although Java is still faster in some complex reprogramming links, it is mainly because the existing IT staff are more familiar with Java. On the whole, low-code is obviously faster and has a shorter lead time.
3. IT personnel, managers, and business personnel recognize and accept low-code platforms more and feel the dividends brought by low-code.
4. Siemens low-code brings new opportunities to traditional car companies, including personnel thinking, management framework, and infrastructure.
5. By using Siemens low-code, SAIC Passenger Vehicle can think big, start small, iterate quickly, and comprehensively promote digitalization.

Summarizing the cooperation with Siemens low-code, Yang Min said: “We increasingly feel the advantages of Siemens’ low-code in data-driven business value, user experience-centric, and deep and rich integration capabilities. We have used Colleagues in the supply chain sector of the low-code platform often tell me that the efficiency is indeed higher than before, and the related output is indeed faster than before.”

SAIC Motor has an open mind and the courage to embrace new technologies. IT has absorbed the platform architecture idea of ​​the Internet, and has introduced a lot of people in the Internet field at the technical department level. Due to the platformization and serviceization of the architecture, the delivery speed at the application level is getting faster and faster, more inclusive, and more willing to absorb the practice of Internet companies. experience. The adoption of Siemens’ low-code platform has further accelerated the development process of SAIC Motor and has the ability to help SAIC continue to try innovation and breakthroughs on new tracks!