As 2026 marks the beginning of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, various industries are continuously achieving new breakthroughs through innovation at the start of the new year. Schneider Electric's Shanghai Putuo Factory (Shanghai Schneider Industrial Control Co., Ltd.), located in the Future Island Park in Taopu Town, serves as a crucial production base for key industrial control components. With the booming new energy market, the factory has witnessed a surge in orders and a doubling of product types. However, it also faced challenges in terms of supply chain stability and response speed.

To tackle these challenges, this nearly 30-year-old factory has actively embraced digital transformation. It has deeply integrated advanced technologies such as machine learning (ML), generative artificial intelligence (AIGC), automation, and the Internet of Things (IoT) across core links, including product R&D prototype design, flexible intelligent production, predictive maintenance, and end-to-end supply chain collaboration. This comprehensive innovation runs through key processes like R&D, procurement, production, and delivery, shaping an efficient and agile end-to-end value chain.

Upon entering the intelligent production workshop of the factory, a strong sense of AI is immediately felt. Under the surveillance of 5G cameras, robots of different sizes carrying pallets constantly shuttle through the aisles, leaving with full loads and returning with empty pallets, forming a continuous cycle. When encountering pedestrians, the robots will prompt them to move aside and autonomously detour, saying, "Path blocked. Please move away from the obstacle in a timely manner."

The factory's engineers explained that AI deep learning is closer to human perception. The flexible intelligent production allows for the switching of production lines, saving costs and improving efficiency. Facing a four-fold increase in product types, the factory has innovatively deployed a third-generation fully automatic modular flexible production line. Through modular design and quick-plug interface design, the production line can be freely recombined with a plug-and-play feature. Four-axis robots flexibly supply materials, and an AI visual quality inspection system - a combination of collaborative robots and AI image quality inspection - ensures real-time quality control, enabling flexible material supply. In the automated flexible line, end-to-end supply chain intelligence serves as the "nerve center" for flexible production. It connects order, inventory, and equipment data in real time and dynamically generates the optimal production scheduling plan based on machine learning and operational research algorithms. When factory orders fluctuate, the system can automatically trigger production line module switching, increasing production speed and significantly shortening order production and delivery times.

The most crucial aspect in the intelligent production workshop is "human-machine collaborative operation and maintenance." On the production lines of the factory, both mechanical arms are busy working and skilled workers are focused on their tasks. To overcome the bottleneck in equipment maintenance efficiency during operation and maintenance, the factory has built an intelligent operation and maintenance system that integrates the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality (AR), and generative artificial intelligence (AIGC). Maintenance personnel can obtain real-time equipment parameters through the real-time display on AR glasses, and voice interaction frees their hands. Large language models (LLMs) automatically analyze documents in the knowledge base of maintenance history cases summarized through experience and recommend the optimal solutions. With the help of the IoT platform, the factory has achieved interconnection of OT (real-time monitoring and control in industrial environments) equipment data, enabling real-time collection of equipment alarm information and key data. Through the intelligent operation and maintenance mode of human-machine collaboration, maintenance time has been reduced by 30%, achieving a perfect fusion of the experience of senior technicians and the computing power of AI.

Regarding how to achieve perfect fusion of human-machine collaboration, a Schneider Electric executive said, "In the context of intelligent manufacturing, what we need are compound talents as industrial workers. For example, in terms of maintenance, we will form knowledge bases and case libraries at the technical level. When employees encounter these problems, they can promptly find the corresponding answers in the case library. We also empower employees through these knowledge bases to quickly solve problems on site."

Thanks to these efforts, Schneider Electric's Shanghai Putuo Factory has achieved remarkable results. It has shortened the new product R&D cycle by 63% and increased per capita production efficiency by 82%, setting a benchmark for the digital transformation and revitalization of old factories in the industry.