At this moment, when talking about the new coronavirus that is still rampant, its negative impact is still one of the most concerning issues. But everything has two sides. While this "black swan" flying out of Wuhan has a strong impact on China's economy, society and people's lives, it also contains many opportunities. In addition to talking about negative impacts, various experts also made predictions around potential opportunities, such as the "top ten trends", "top ten changes", and "top ten business opportunities" brought about by the epidemic.
As a pure bricklayer, Brother Chan talks about "Tao" today and also talks about the main trends and changes that may occur in the ceramic industry under the influence of the epidemic.
1
Accelerate the process of information management
To put it bluntly, as a labor-intensive industry, the management level, especially the level of informatization, in the ceramic industry is very backward. For example: a leading ceramics company that is considered to be at least among the top five in the industry. A few years ago, the level of information office work was still at the level where OA was limited to checking attendance and other functions were not used, lagging behind the level where Brother Chan once worked. The level of one of the top 100 pharmaceutical companies in the pharmaceutical industry ten years ago; a powerful ceramic company that may be ranked among the top ten in the industry, the level of informatization office a year ago was still at the zero stage, and even employees could take normal breaks or take time off and ask for leave. This simple process has to go back and forth between the brand marketing center and the group headquarters building which are not in the same place, not to mention the complex process of onboarding and resignation, which has to go back and forth several times, sometimes even more than Once upon a time, you have to drive or take a taxi to a factory dozens of kilometers away to find the boss to sign. The process is cumbersome and the informatization is backward, which makes people speechless.
The epidemic has caused many ceramic companies to delay the start of construction again and again. This has not only worsened the situation for some ceramic companies and dealers who have fallen into financial crisis due to the industry recession, but has also seriously disrupted some ceramic companies and dealers that have received engineering orders and are in urgent need of supply. Dealer’s business plan. Under this situation, having a high level of management, especially informatization, has become a necessary condition for ceramic companies and dealers to resume work online.
In short, ceramic companies and dealers with a high level of informatization can successfully resume work online, allowing employees and the company's various business operations to get into the status quo in advance, or carry out online training, or through OA and other networks Tools promote relevant work processes and prepare for the official resumption of work offline.It is better to be fully prepared; while ceramic companies and dealers with very low level of informatization can only be anxious in the face of the epidemic. If they want to resume work offline, firstly, it is difficult to meet the government requirements; secondly, even if they successfully resume work offline after meeting the conditions, they will Bearing huge uncontrollable risks, wanting to resume work online but having no way to start, and having no effective management system and information technology to guarantee it, it is "can't do anything, just chat first".
In order to avoid falling into the dilemma of being forced to shut down offline and being unable to do anything online in the future, most ceramic companies may learn lessons after the epidemic and speed up their informatization process. The " "Traditional office" will eventually be replaced by "online office".
2
Accelerate the development of intelligent manufacturing
Intelligence and informatization are inseparable. It can be said that there is me in you and you in me. From this perspective, the former is the continuation of the latter. Compared with informatization, which has already appeared but is progressing slowly, intelligence, especially intelligent manufacturing, which has only been introduced into the ceramic industry in recent years, is still in its infancy. As far as Brother Chan knows, the only ones currently involved in smart manufacturing are Dongpeng, Weimei, New Pearl, Mona Lisa, Oceano, Shunhui, Gold Medal Asia, and AsiaWait for one of the few ceramic companies.
Intelligent manufacturing based on big data has many benefits: first, it can effectively optimize the production and manufacturing model, further strengthening the control of the entire production process; second, it can strengthen the collaboration capabilities between different departments, improve employee work efficiency, and reduce production costs and Management costs; third, it can improve the accuracy and timeliness of various production and operation data, making management more standardized; fourth, it can improve quality management levels, reduce product failure rates, and improve customer satisfaction; fifth, it can open up terminal paths , effectively connect users; sixth, it can improve the stickiness of products; seventh, it can improve the ability to deal with environmental protection storms.
For ceramic enterprises in labor-intensive industries, intelligent manufacturing is not only the best way to relieve labor pressure and reduce human resource costs, but also free employees from some mental work, heavy physical labor and Free from harsh working environment. This is particularly significant under the epidemic situation where offline resumption of work and huge risks coexist. If it is a ceramics enterprise with a high level of intelligent manufacturing, it can reduceA lot less risk.
After the epidemic, ceramic companies with strength and plans to promote intelligent manufacturing may speed up their pace and strive to improve the level of intelligence to cope with the increasingly severe "labor shortage" in the ceramic industry and reduce risks caused by emergencies. , further reducing the dependence on labor in the production process.
3
Influence on product landscape
With the continuous improvement of living standards, people's awareness of environmental protection and health is increasing day by day. Environmental protection and health have increasingly become important factors for consumers to consider when purchasing building materials and home products. Under the epidemic, people have been living at home for a long time, and the environmental protection and health of building materials and home products have become particularly prominent. The new coronavirus can cause symptoms such as fever, dry cough, and difficulty breathing in mild cases, or kill people in severe cases. Inferior building materials and home products that do not meet environmental standards can release harmful substances such as formaldehyde, benzene, and TVOC, which are invisible killers of human health.
Functional tiles that can purify the air, such as negative ion tiles, which were once regarded as product hot spots, trends or outlets in recent years, received little attention in 2019. For a time, some people in the industry who were originally skeptical about this type of products scorned them, thinking that they were "gimmicks greater than reality." Brother Chan, who has been on the front line of terminals many times for research, was also pessimistically worried about their market prospects.
However, the terrible epidemic will definitely change people's ideas to a great extent. People will pay more attention to the environmental protection and health of building materials and household products. Air purifiers that can effectively kill harmful germs such as the new coronavirus will be in use. At the same time, functional tiles that can purify the air, such as negative ion tiles, will also be upgraded and iterated to meet consumers' sterilization needs. From this point of view, functional tiles such as tiles that can purify the air and anti-skid tiles may be revitalized and enter a substantial stage of development. The inventor of negative ion tiles dedicated and Dongpeng, Jiajun, Zhuoyuan Well-known brands that have taken the lead in functional ceramic tiles may usher in new opportunities.
The epidemic has prompted an upgrade in consumption concepts, which may cause some ceramic companies to adjust their product research and development directions, thereby affecting the entire ceramic industry.The product landscape of the industry.
4
Improve business model
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, industries such as wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering, logistics and transportation, and cultural tourism have been deeply hit. Other industries such as the ceramic industry have also been greatly affected. The "stay-at-home economy" and "online economy" with online consumption and services as the core "But it exploded because of this, just like the first generation of e-commerce that won development opportunities during SARS in 2003.
Due to the attributes of the product (it is considered a semi-finished product before it is laid, consumers cannot experience it intuitively, the area and weight are large, the logistics cost is high, returns and exchanges are troublesome, the sales cycle is long, etc.), ceramic tile e-commerce has always been in a state of great success. In the lingering stage, the ceramic industry is still one of the traditional industries least affected by e-commerce. Because of this, on the one hand, dealers are less affected by e-commerce, on the other hand, some dealers and ceramic companies have lost their determination to enter e-commerce and missed the opportunity of e-commerce.
The new business formats spawned by the epidemic have once again created a great opportunity for the ceramic industry to enter e-commerce and embrace new retail. According to Brother Chan, many home building materials stores cannot open as scheduled due to the epidemic. Some ceramic companies and dealers have successively launched online group buying activities with considerable discounts, which have received enthusiastic responses from consumers. Negative ion ceramic tiles and other products that pay attention to environmental protection and health Functional tiles are in favour. It is foreseeable that the longer the epidemic lasts, the higher consumers' acceptance of online brick purchases will be. Those ceramic companies that have taken solid steps in new retail channels can be said to have gained the upper hand.
The new business format may promote the upgrading of the business model of some ceramic companies and even the entire ceramic industry, thereby catering to consumers whose consumption habits have been changed by the epidemic.
Of course, the trends and changes that may occur in the ceramic industry under the influence of the epidemic are far more than the above four points. There are survival of the fittest with intensified shuffling, an accelerated replacement of "free" with "charged", and changes in the mentality of bosses, managers and ordinary employees. The resulting brain drain and flow...
Brother Chan believes that only by seeing and keeping up with the trends and changes brought about by the epidemic, facing difficulties and embracing tomorrow with a good attitude and practical actions, optimizing the product structure, using people as sales nodes, and fullyOnly by using new tools carefully can you always be one step ahead and remain invincible in the ceramic industry.
