Future-Proofing Global Value Chains: Country Preparedness and Beyond

Case studies

Total number of case studies

299

Sectors

21

Locations

59

Topics

9

To meet growing customer demands for higher lab productivity – more applications in a single instrument – the site leveraged 4IR technologies to overcome product customization and lead time challenges. By merging digital and engineering expertise, the site implemented 50 use cases focusing on in-house development of tailored and cost-effective AI solutions. This digitized engineering know-how enhanced adaptability, precision and speed across its design-to-production cycle, improving productivity by 56% and lead time by 31% with customer satisfaction on delivery exceeding 96%.
People's Republic of China | Health, Technology
Agilent - Shanghai
North Ghawar Oil Producing Complex’s history began with the start of Saudi oil production in 1938 and today manages assets dispersed over 12,500km. To meet increasing demand while reducing both operational costs and emissions, the complex launched a 4IR strategy. It pioneered oil-producing intelligence, boosted existing asset reliability and upskilled young talent by leveraging over 65 solutions, including advanced analytics, AI-powered digital twins and Aramco large language model (LLM) genAI. As a result, oil production increased by 8.44% while Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduced by 8.21% per barrel of oil equivalent.
Saudi Arabia | Energy & utilities, Oil & Gas
Aramco - North Ghawar
To meet the challenge of stricter quality standards for high-end automotive manufacturing and increasingly diverse stock-keeping units (SKUs), the site deployed 67 4IR use cases, 61% of which utilized AI. This enhanced end-to-end process accuracy, resolved customer quality challenges and eliminated key quality and throughput constraints. As a result, high-end sales increased by 36%, customer complaints decreased by 55%, product defects dropped by 35% and production line efficiency improved by 21.2%.
People's Republic of China | Materials, Mining & Metals
Beijing Shougang Cold Rolling - Beijing
To support global expansion, CEAT needed to manage three times more SKUs, faster order fulfilment, coupled with new product launches at twice the speed with productivity improvement in assembly process. To achieve this, CEAT deployed over 30 digital solutions, including operational research models for reducing turnaround time, advanced analytics for predictive control and machine learning-based design. These solutions improved labour productivity by 25%, reduced dispatch turnaround time by 54%, accelerated product ramp-up by 30% and cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 47%.
India | Automotive
CEAT - Sriperumbudur
“Lightweighting” trends are reshaping the automotive sector, by driving intense competition for high-quality auto parts with smaller environmental footprints. In response, CITIC Dicastal Morocco deployed over 40 digital use cases for high-precision, flexible production and efficient use of materials. The site deployed advanced algorithms for casting and machining, an AI-generated content-enhanced vision inspection system, and a process control to manage natural gas quality volatility in furnaces – a local challenge. This led to a 17% improvement in overall equipment effectiveness, a 27% increase in labour productivity, a 31.1% reduction in defects and a 53% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Morocco | Automotive, Mining & Metals
CITIC Dicastal - Ameur Seflia
To maintain its cost advantage and produce soy sauces with consistent flavour, Foshan Haitian implemented digital transformation to address rising consumer demands for diverse products and manage increasingly complex orders. The site deployed over 50 digital use cases, nearly half powered by AI to optimize operations. Despite a 54% increase in SKUs and a 64% rise in small-batch orders, these efforts reduced raw material waste by 33.6%, cut product defect rates by 39.1%, and shortened order lead times by 38.7%
People's Republic of China | Food & agriculture, Food & Retail
Haitian Flavouring & Food - Foshan
Guizhou Tyre faced the challenge of meeting highly customized orders (over 60% of all orders) for heavy load operations, which required strict design, verification and reliability standards. To speed up product design and ensure consistent and stable output, the site implemented over 40 4IR solutions to improve agility and productivity in manufacturing. These solutions, which included AI-enabled design, advanced data analytics and flexible automation, resulted in a 57% reduction in defects, a 68% increase in labour productivity and a 34% reduction in inventory levels.
People's Republic of China | Automotive
Guizhou Tyre - Guiyang
To enhance profitability in a rapidly changing chip market, UMC focuses on production of specialized semiconductors, which have higher value but also greater process complexity. UMC’s largest production and R&D site in Tainan adopted agile strategies to deploy over 48 4IR use cases, such as a machine learning model to shorten design kit delivery time by 57% and an AI defect analysis system helping raise yields to 97%. This led to higher customer engagement with specialized product ratio up to 53% from 13%, contributing to a 75% gross margin gain.
Taiwan, China | Technology, IT and Communications (ICT)
United Microelectronics Corporation - Tainan
To maintain leadership in the autonomous driving market and assure product quality, flexible production and optimal costs, Valeo’s Shenzhen factory implemented 42 4IR use cases, including AI-powered solutions and 14 advanced algorithms such as genAI-enabled troubleshooting and fully automated "lights-off" workshops. These innovations reduced finished goods defect rates by 45.9%, cut lead times by 34.5%, increased productivity by 60.2% and lowered unit energy consumption by 27.1%, ensuring high-quality, cost-efficient production.
People's Republic of China | Automotive
Valeo Interior Controls - Shenzhen
Faced with rising demand, material price volatility and a rapidly expanding portfolio (including four mergers and acquisitions and 2,500 new SKUs since 2018), Agilent's Penang site embraced digital transformation to enhance its high-mix, low-volume manufacturing processes. Deploying over 40 solutions, such as AI in supply chains, 3D printing and zero-code workflows, the site achieved a 40% productivity improvement, a 32% reduction in manufacturing costs and a 48% cut in delivery lead time. Its "Everyone-Can-Digital" initiative upskilled 88% of its workforce, leading to a “Great Place to Work” designation for four consecutive years and reducing attrition to 3.5% compared to the 9.4% industry average.
Malaysia | Health, Technology
Agilent - Penang
To meet the consumer electronics industry’s commitment to carbon neutrality, Foxconn Industrial Internet utilized AI, Internet of Things (IoT) and other 4IR technologies to optimize recycling, track carbon footprints and innovate for sustainability. This led to a 42% reduction in Scope 3 emissions, a 24% cut in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and increased recycled material content to 55%-75%.
People's Republic of China | Technology
Foxconn Industrial Internet - Shenzhen - Sustainability
As a top global washing machine producer and sustainability leader, Midea Hefei implemented 24 4IR use cases to reduce emissions and optimize energy use. The site cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 36.4% and Scope 3 emissions by 26.0%. Solar power now provides 31% of energy, 40% of water is recycled, and waste was reduced by 22.1%.
People's Republic of China | Other
Midea - Hefei - Sustainability
Industrial beer brewing is traditionally high-energy and carbon-intensive. Tsingtao Brewery leveraged advanced algorithms and IoT to deploy 25 use cases aimed at reducing energy and carbon intensity in beer production. The factory achieved a 25% reduction in unit energy consumption, a 57% decrease in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and a 13% cut in Scope 3 emissions. 
People's Republic of China | Food & Retail
Tsingtao Brewery - Qingdao - Sustainability
To boost capacity and accelerate product launches, AstraZeneca Södertälje implemented 50+ 4IR solutions, including machine learning and optimization algorithms. These efforts, coupled with the upskilling of 3,000 employees, resulted in a 56% increase in labour productivity and a 67% reduction in development lead times for new products. 
Sweden | Health
AstraZeneca - Södertälje
Responding to domestic price cuts and increased demand volatility, AstraZeneca Wuxi deployed 34 4IR use cases, including AI and algorithms, to enhance manufacturing synchronization and efficiency. The site achieved a 55% increase in output, a 44% reduction in manufacturing lead time, an 80% reduction in non-perfect batches and a 54% improvement in labour productivity. 
People's Republic of China | Health
AstraZeneca - Wuxi
To meet the rising demand for high-quality dishwashers, Beko Dishwasher Plant underwent a 4IR transformation by integrating 35+ in-house solutions with its IoT platform, FLOW. This led to a 46% reduction in time-to-market, a 29.2% drop in field failure rates, and a 26.1% decrease in conversion costs. Additionally, over 1,000 employees were upskilled in 4IR technologies. 
Türkiye | Other
Beko - Ankara
Confronted with rising volume and product portfolio complexity, the site implemented ML-powered demand forecasting, robotics and advanced scheduling algorithms. This led to a 28% throughput increase, a 70% boost in labour productivity, an 80% reduction in shortages, and a 31% improvement in on-time deliveries while cutting Scope 2 emissions by 34%. 
Singapore | Food & Retail
The Coca-Cola Company - Singapore
Continental Automotive’s largest electronics plant in Brandys reimagined its processes to meet demand and shifting consumer preferences. By implementing over 30 digital solutions, the plant achieved a 35% efficiency boost, 15% better space utilization, and a 10% reduction in field incidents, all while enhancing employee satisfaction and setting new standards in high-tech production for its upcoming “Digital Mega Factory.” 
Czech Republic | Automotive
Continental - Brandys nad Labem
Roche’s Basel Drug Substance site, a key player in the company’s goal to launch 20 new transformative medicines by 2030, produces a wide range of treatments, including chemically synthesized small molecules. To enhance efficiency, the site deployed digital and AI solutions that cut yield variability by 60%, halved technology transfer time, and reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 31%, reinforcing its critical role in Roche’s global network. 
Switzerland | Health
Roche - Basel
In its global expansion for supply chain resilience, Foxconn Industrial Internet Viet Nam overcame initial challenges such as heavy reliance on imported materials and the opportunity to develop local talent. By implementing 40+ 4IR use cases, including advanced planning and AI-driven automation, the site improved labour productivity by 190%, achieved 99.5% on-time delivery and cut manufacturing costs by 45%. 
Viet Nam | Technology
Foxconn Industrial Internet - Bắc Giang

Future-Proofing Global Value Chains: Country Preparedness and Beyond

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