The source of the quality of German products is not the "high-end" technology, but a whole system of society.

Not all "sophisticated"

For German manufacturing, many people tend to think of keywords such as "high-end products" and "high-tech". In fact, this is quite a misunderstanding.

Since 2017, the author, as the executive director of "Made in China and Germany" of Shenzhen Radio and Television Group, together with the colleagues of the film crew, spent nearly 2 years investigating more than 100 Chinese and German enterprises and institutions, and finally produced a 5-episode series. Documentary. While analyzing the true face of the German manufacturing industry, the film also shows the efforts and achievements of China's manufacturing industry to actively learn from international advanced experience and pursue high-quality development. The interviews and investigations in Germany gave us a new understanding of the "craftsman spirit".

"Craftsmanship" does not necessarily mean "high-end". In a sense, it's doing the same thing a hundred times, each time thinking about how to do it better. Moreover, this process can last for hundreds of years.

In Nuremberg, Germany, there is a company specializing in the production of stationery called Shidelou. The business is over 300 years old and its history dates back to 1662. This year, China's national hero Zheng Chenggong defeated the Dutch and recaptured Taiwan.

The technical content of stationery such as pencils is not "sophisticated". An executive of Shi Delou is very frank. He said that there are no technical barriers to making stationery, and it is impossible to franchise, so it is very difficult for a company to survive for a hundred years. "So, you have to innovate every day, you have to do something."

For example, until the end of the 20th century, many pencil companies have not been able to solve the problem that colored pencil leads are easy to break. To survive, you have to be different. How to give your colored pencils a unique "comparative advantage"? Designers pondered day and night, and added various experiments. In the end, they took inspiration from a common plant called bamboo.

"Why is bamboo not easy to break? Because it is hollow." So, the research and development staff of Shi Delou made a special white "armor" and wrapped the refill, which solved the problem of easy breakage. The strength of the core is increased by 30%.

The essence of a brand is nothing but details. At another carbon fiber manufacturing company called Baker, the shock was even stronger. Baker is a leader in the production of carbon fiber parts for automobiles and drones, and many top racing companies are its long-term customers. Because of the complex structure, many top carbon fiber products are handcrafted.

A Shenzhen technology company sent employees to Baker to learn how to make carbon fiber rudders and fins for aircraft. The production of these parts needs to be done by hand. Hand-made is generally divided into three stages: cutting, sticking and setting. Among them, brushing the core agent is the key part. The German industry standard stipulates this procedure very finely. It needs to be brushed five times with a brush, and there are standards for how to brush.

"Swipe horizontally once, vertically once, and cross each other once on the left and right. After standing, brush for the last time. But some domestic workers may not have the patience to brush three times." A Chinese employee who came to study said.

From the stories of Shi Delou and Baker, it can be seen that many outstanding companies in Germany are not "high-tech companies" in the impression of the Chinese, but they have a century of ingenuity.

Small and medium-sized enterprises survive in Germany

During the two-year interview process, the "Made in China" crew also visited a large number of German modern manufacturing giants and high-tech enterprises. For example, we interviewed KUKA, the world's top industrial robot company, which has been acquired by China's Midea.

But KUKA is not all made in Germany, it can only represent a class of German companies, and more German manufacturing is made up of companies such as Shidelou and Baker.

They are more like some "modern workshops", full of craftsmanship, technology and innovation can be passed down for a hundred years, occupy the top of the value chain, and occupy the high-end market in the segment for a long time - while the low-end market may be dominated by Chinese companies. or other competitors.

To use a term that has long been popular in the international management community, they are "hidden champions". The concept of "hidden champion" was put forward by the famous management master, German professor Hermann Simon. The innovations of "hidden champions" are not necessarily all high-tech, but they must all be valuable to customers.

Germany's "hidden champions" are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises. They mainly do two things. One is to produce products for ordinary consumers. In Chinese popular terms, it is the "champion" of 2C (ToConsumer, that is, facing consumers). These "champions" are the "kings" of market segments, which are not necessarily "tall", but have continuous and stable demand, such as stationery, handmade carbon fiber or logging chainsaws.

EOS is a German additive manufacturing company that is vigorously developing 3D printing of auto parts. People from this company said that as a small and medium-sized enterprise, it is a "hard but lucky party B" to become a supplier to large companies such as Daimler and Siemens.

Hard work refers to the fact that major customers have high bargaining power over products and strive for excellence. Fortunately, it means that large customers will bring stable orders, which is the basis for the survival and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. With this foundation, enterprises have the space for continuous research and development and innovation.

For example, this company has been specializing in a problem in recent years: how many of the more than 3,000 parts of a passenger car are suitable for 3D printing? At present, researchers have won more than 400 kinds.

From the second role of the "hidden champion", it can be seen that in the German industrial system, large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises have formed a harmonious ecology. Large enterprises face the global market and provide stable orders for upstream small and medium-sized enterprises, while small and medium-sized enterprises act as the best suppliers, and the two sides support each other and develop together.

This model has two advantages. First, the independent research and development of small and medium-sized enterprises has largely shared the research and development costs of large enterprises; the second is the decentralized decision-making of small and medium-sized enterprises in innovation, which often brings inspiration and creativity to large enterprises that advocate centralization.

This harmonious ecology of large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises is one of the secrets of the rise of the German auto industry. Statistics show that in the German auto industry chain, 80% of innovations are done by small and medium-sized enterprises in the industry chain, and the remaining 20% ​​are completed by large auto companies themselves.

The source of the quality of German products is not the "high-end" technology, but a whole system of society.

Not all "sophisticated"

For German manufacturing, many people tend to think of keywords such as "high-end products" and "high-tech". In fact, this is quite a misunderstanding.

Since 2017, the author, as the executive director of "Made in China and Germany" of Shenzhen Radio and Television Group, together with the colleagues of the film crew, spent nearly 2 years investigating more than 100 Chinese and German enterprises and institutions, and finally produced a 5-episode series. Documentary. While analyzing the true face of the German manufacturing industry, the film also shows the efforts and achievements of China's manufacturing industry to actively learn from international advanced experience and pursue high-quality development. The interviews and investigations in Germany gave us a new understanding of the "craftsman spirit".

"Craftsmanship" does not necessarily mean "high-end". In a sense, it's doing the same thing a hundred times, each time thinking about how to do it better. Moreover, this process can last for hundreds of years.

In Nuremberg, Germany, there is a company specializing in the production of stationery called Shidelou. The business is over 300 years old and its history dates back to 1662. This year, China's national hero Zheng Chenggong defeated the Dutch and recaptured Taiwan.

The technical content of stationery such as pencils is not "sophisticated". An executive of Shi Delou is very frank. He said that there are no technical barriers to making stationery, and it is impossible to franchise, so it is very difficult for a company to survive for a hundred years. "So, you have to innovate every day, you have to do something."

For example, until the end of the 20th century, many pencil companies have not been able to solve the problem that colored pencil leads are easy to break. To survive, you have to be different. How to give your colored pencils a unique "comparative advantage"? Designers pondered day and night, and added various experiments. In the end, they took inspiration from a common plant called bamboo.

"Why is bamboo not easy to break? Because it is hollow." So, the research and development staff of Shi Delou made a special white "armor" and wrapped the refill, which solved the problem of easy breakage. The strength of the core is increased by 30%.

The essence of a brand is nothing but details. At another carbon fiber manufacturing company called Baker, the shock was even stronger. Baker is a leader in the production of carbon fiber parts for automobiles and drones, and many top racing companies are its long-term customers. Because of the complex structure, many top carbon fiber products are handcrafted.

A Shenzhen technology company sent employees to Baker to learn how to make carbon fiber rudders and fins for aircraft. The production of these parts needs to be done by hand. Hand-made is generally divided into three stages: cutting, sticking and setting. Among them, brushing the core agent is the key part. The German industry standard stipulates this procedure very finely. It needs to be brushed five times with a brush, and there are standards for how to brush.

"Swipe horizontally once, vertically once, and cross each other once on the left and right. After standing, brush for the last time. But some domestic workers may not have the patience to brush three times." A Chinese employee who came to study said.

From the stories of Shi Delou and Baker, it can be seen that many outstanding companies in Germany are not "high-tech companies" in the impression of the Chinese, but they have a century of ingenuity.

Small and medium-sized enterprises survive in Germany

During the two-year interview process, the "Made in China" crew also visited a large number of German modern manufacturing giants and high-tech enterprises. For example, we interviewed KUKA, the world's top industrial robot company, which has been acquired by China's Midea.

But KUKA is not all made in Germany, it can only represent a class of German companies, and more German manufacturing is made up of companies such as Shidelou and Baker.

They are more like some "modern workshops", full of craftsmanship, technology and innovation can be passed down for a hundred years, occupy the top of the value chain, and occupy the high-end market in the segment for a long time - while the low-end market may be dominated by Chinese companies. or other competitors.

To use a term that has long been popular in the international management community, they are "hidden champions". The concept of "hidden champion" was put forward by the famous management master, German professor Hermann Simon. The innovations of "hidden champions" are not necessarily all high-tech, but they must all be valuable to customers.

Germany's "hidden champions" are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises. They mainly do two things. One is to produce products for ordinary consumers. In Chinese popular terms, it is the "champion" of 2C (ToConsumer, that is, facing consumers). These "champions" are the "kings" of market segments, which are not necessarily "tall", but have continuous and stable demand, such as stationery, handmade carbon fiber or logging chainsaws.

EOS is a German additive manufacturing company that is vigorously developing 3D printing of auto parts. People from this company said that as a small and medium-sized enterprise, it is a "hard but lucky party B" to become a supplier to large companies such as Daimler and Siemens.

Hard work refers to the fact that major customers have high bargaining power over products and strive for excellence. Fortunately, it means that large customers will bring stable orders, which is the basis for the survival and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. With this foundation, enterprises have the space for continuous research and development and innovation.

For example, this company has been specializing in a problem in recent years: how many of the more than 3,000 parts of a passenger car are suitable for 3D printing? At present, researchers have won more than 400 kinds.

From the second role of the "hidden champion", it can be seen that in the German industrial system, large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises have formed a harmonious ecology. Large enterprises face the global market and provide stable orders for upstream small and medium-sized enterprises, while small and medium-sized enterprises act as the best suppliers, and the two sides support each other and develop together.

This model has two advantages. First, the independent research and development of small and medium-sized enterprises has largely shared the research and development costs of large enterprises; the second is the decentralized decision-making of small and medium-sized enterprises in innovation, which often brings inspiration and creativity to large enterprises that advocate centralization.

This harmonious ecology of large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises is one of the secrets of the rise of the German auto industry. Statistics show that in the German auto industry chain, 80% of innovations are done by small and medium-sized enterprises in the industry chain, and the remaining 20% ​​are completed by large auto companies themselves.