The operating landscape for domestic manufacturing enterprises has entered a new normal, while the global manufacturing production environment is undergoing intense competition driven by the new wave of technological revolution and the continuous advancement of smart factories.

Smart production in a smart factory leverages advanced technologies such as automation and intelligent robots to build an intelligent production line. It fulfills customers' customized demands while enabling a transparent and intelligent production organization approach on the factory floor.

The foremost priority for any manufacturing facility is to conduct comprehensive market research and analysis of its own products, followed by categorizing them into broad product segments. Subsequently, based on the distinct characteristics of each product and varying market demands, the smart factory production lines should be strategically planned.

The opacity of factory operations and the absence of information system support make it challenging to achieve end-to-end traceability during the transition to a smart factory. Additionally, critical manufacturing BOM data, which is integral to production management, is likely to be inaccurate.

If traditional enterprises fail to transition to smart factories, many of the pain points they currently face will remain unresolved, such as overcapacity, rising labor costs, intensifying market competition, and the challenge of meeting customized customer demands.

The production line engineered by the smart factory is one built upon advanced software and intelligent machinery. This production line, crafted by the smart factory, exhibits remarkable adaptability for manufacturing facilities while also adhering to ergonomic principles.

The workflow of a smart factory can be broadly categorized into five components: first, the infrastructure layer; second, the intelligent equipment layer; third, the smart production line; fourth, the intelligent workshop layer; and fifth, the factory management and control layer.

In practical applications, smart factories should place greater emphasis on human-machine collaboration. Compared to robots working independently, human-machine collaboration offers greater flexibility and superior responsiveness and decision-making capabilities when dealing with unexpected events.

The implementation of lean production cannot succeed without the collaboration between employees and the factory, as every staff member plays a crucial role in advancing lean manufacturing.

The architecture of a smart factory is generally divided into three layers: the first layer is the information management layer, which includes systems such as ERP, PLM, and MES; the second layer is the software control layer; and the third layer is the equipment execution layer.