"Chain Dynamics" of GBA Enterprises | This Guangdong-based Porcelain Is Redefining Home Decoration

Renovating a home has always been an exhausting task, but who can resist the fascination of those room tour videos? We enjoy looking at luxury condos with river view. Yet we can be even more captivated by tips on transforming smaller apartments into cozy nests. Nowadays, porcelain panels are emerging as a budget-friendly substitute for marble, helping many apartment owners realize their dreams of "expanding" their small spaces.

When it comes to porcelain, the saying goes," If there’s a home, there’s Foshan-made; for Chinese porcelain, look to Foshan." The sanitary ware porcelain industry in Foshan once thrived alongside the infrastructure and real estate industry boom. However, as the era of "quantity-driven growth" has come to an end, competition in the market hinges solely on quality now.

Foshan’s industry leaders are all seeking transformation, with "digitalization" becoming the ultimate solution. Monalisa Tiles, which produced China’s first super-sized porcelain panel, has built its success on technology innovation.In recent years, the company has continued to invest over 200 million yuan annually in R&D, amassing more than 1,000 patents.

Production lines were upgraded to meet the process requirements of new products. Benchmarking against "lighthouse factory" standards, AGV robots, dust and noise reduction systems, and other advanced equipment have been progressively introduced. Currently, the automation level of Monalisa digital intelligent factories exceeds 90%, where blue collar workers can even show up at work in suits.

However, as the industry shifts to a "buyer’s market" phase, it’s no longer sufficient to be reliable on product quality, but to be able to meet the everchanging consumer demands.Today’s homeowners are highly susceptible to the recommendations made by online influencers. Home decor trends are constantly changing. Yesterday’s Scandinavian craze might give way to the modern Chinese style today.As more and more people opt for complete home renovation, higher levels of personalization come with a more compact construction cycle. Market changes obviously proposed higher requirements for the delivery chain of porcelain enterprises.

Historically, porcelain enterprises had lengthy purchase and sales cycles. For instance, Monalisa Tiles required 7 days just for quality control during raw material purchasing. Delayed market responses often led to trendy products becoming obsolete and piling up in warehouses. Addressing these inventory management challenges requires coordinated efforts across the entire industrial chain.

For a standard home renovation, the order moves from the dealer to the porcelain manufacturer, the company then either supplies from existing stock or manufactures after sourcing raw materials from suppliers, the finished tiles would then be returned to the dealer for delivery. This process inherently involves high communication costs, any hiccup in the chain can significantly extend the delivery circle. That’s why Monalisa Tiles opts for "group communication." By granting suppliers and dealers access to a digital platform, supply and demand information become more transparent, enabling real-time synchronization of ordering, stock transfer, purchasing, and delivery. This dramatically shortened the product sales cycle, boosting efficiency across all enterprises in the industrial chain.

While promotion of digital transformation in the industry chain and supply chain has marked remarkable achievements, the journey hasn’t been easy. Initial resistance stemmed from information security concerns and competitive mindsets. In response, Monalisa Tiles demonstrated its responsibility and commitment as a leading enterprise by being the provider of hardware and software for upstream and downstream small and medium-sized enterprises.They also introduced preferential initiatives, which encouraged other companies to join, gradually reaping the benefits of the digital ecosystem.This has led to the digital transformation storm sweeping the whole industry.

Sanitary ware porcelain has long been a traditional strength of Foshan, Guangdong. For a top game player to maintain its edge in a new competitive landscape, a full-industry transformation and upgrading is imperative. According to industry white paper statistics, in early 2024, 85% of representative sanitary ware porcelain enterprises in Foshan had embarked on digitalization; however, only 11% of them had fully integrated digital production and operation as their norm.

The path of transformation is still being laid.In 2023, the Foshan sanitary ware porcelain industry cluster was selected as a provincial pilot, with "Chain-style Digitalization" promoted by leading enterprises now in full swing.Guangdong’s sanitary ware porcelain industry, a national "top student," is poised to maintain its leadership position.

出品：南财国际传播中心 21新媒体中心 创意互动中心

策划统筹：于晓娜 丁青云

内容统筹：谭婷 叶映橙

责任编辑：吴桂兴

执行统筹：黄欣然 

设计统筹：林军明

视频统筹：白宇航

监制：施诗

英文翻译&配音：李莹亮

海外运营监制: 黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹: 黄子豪

运营支持：曾静娇

审校：强燕 张晔 黄志明