"We call our Nanjing facility a ‘digital-native factory.’ It was designed, tested, and optimized entirely in the virtual world before a single brick was laid,” says Cedrik Neike, a member of the managing board of Siemens AG and CEO of Siemens Digital Industries. “This approach not only enabled us to construct the factory faster and with outstanding cost-efficiency, but also to build it under the toughest pandemic conditions. By combining our global manufacturing expertise with local insight and a digital-first mindset, we continuously optimize every part of the operation, making it one of the most efficient and flexible factories in the world.”

The WEF jury was convinced by the continuous digital transformation of the production site and the cutting-edge implementation of AI applications. The factory overhauled its assembly processes in response to mounting operational pressures. The factory was facing increasingly varied customer orders requiring assembly line reconfiguration every four weeks. Another challenge was that delivery windows had shrunk from 45 days to 10 while market demand was fluctuating.

To address these challenges in its high-mix, low-volume manufacturing operations, Siemens implemented a digital excellence strategy, deploying end-to-end digital twins, modular automation, manufacturing operations management systems, and more than 50 artificial intelligence applications. Compared to 2022, the initiative has reduced lead times by 78 percent and time-to-market by 33 percent, while productivity increased 14 percent by 2024. Field failures dropped 46 percent, and the factory cut its direct and energy-related carbon emissions by 28 percent.

The Nanjing site is Siemens’ largest research and production center for high-performance controls for machine tools (CNC systems), drives and electric motors outside Germany, setting standards in terms of digitalization and sustainability. 

Launched in 2018, the WEF Global Lighthouse Network brings together and celebrates the success of the world’s leading industrial sites that have achieved exceptional performance in productivity, supply chain resilience, customer centricity, sustainability and talent.