The competition in the robot market is fierce. Where should Chinese companies go?

At present, the robotic system integration market is highly competitive. According to international experience, the development of the domestic robot industry is closer to the US model, that is, system integration, unit products outsourcing or OEM, providing customers with turnkey projects. In the face of such fierce competition, where should China's industrial robot companies go?

The competition in the robotic system integration market is fierce. Where should Chinese enterprises go?

At present, most domestic robot manufacturers focus on this, and the competition is fierce. From the perspective of the industrial chain, the robot body (unit) is the basis for the development of the robot industry, and the downstream system integration is the key to the commercialization and mass popularization of the robot. Only bare metal robots can't do any work, and they need to be integrated by the system before they can be used by end customers. The system integration solution solver is in the downstream application end of the robot industry chain, providing application solutions for the end customers. It is responsible for the development and integration of industrial robot software systems, and is an important component of the automatic operation of industrial robots. In China, system integrators mostly purchase robots from abroad, and formulate solutions that meet production needs according to the needs of different industries or customers.

China is similar to the United States, and robotics companies focus on robotic system integration. In the process of industrial robot industrialization, the world has formed three different development models: the Japanese model, the European model, and the American model. At present, the industrialization mode of industrial robots in China is close to that of the United States, that is, there are fewer robots produced by itself, and many enterprises concentrate on the integration of robot systems. The reason is that the core technology of key components of industrial robots is mainly in the hands of several international giants, and the production cost of robot bodies is too high.

System integration is not easy to do from a small scale. The working mode of the system integration enterprise is non-standardized. The order is designed from the sales staff to the project engineer according to the order requirements, and then the installation and commissioning personnel go to the customer site for installation and debugging, and finally hand it over to the customer. The projects in different industries will have their own Particularity, it is difficult to completely copy. If you focus on a certain area, you can get higher industry barriers, but this barrier also makes it difficult for system integration companies to expand across industries, and its scale is difficult to go up.

Despite the many obstacles, in recent years, a number of leaders in the system integration industry have emerged in China. International robotic system integration companies mainly include KUKA, ABB, FANUC, Koma, and Muse. Listed companies involved in downstream integrated application areas include Xinsong Robot, Bosch, Tianqi, Guangzhou CNC, Eston, etc. Among them, Xinsong Robot is the largest system integrator in China, mainly engaged in industrial robots and automation equipment. System development, manufacturing. New Third Board companies include Bronte, Linkman, and Tusta.

Introduction to robot system integration

1. Robot industrialization mode

Industrial robot system integrators are in the downstream application side of the robot industry chain, providing application solutions for end customers. They are responsible for the secondary development of industrial robot applications and the integration of peripheral automation equipment, which is an important component of industrial robot automation applications. Only the robot body can't do any work, and it needs to be integrated by the system before it can be used by the end customer.

Compared with the robot body supplier, the robot system integration supplier must have product design capability, process understanding of the end customer application requirements, relevant project experience, etc., and provide standardized and personalized complete sets of equipment that can adapt to various application fields. From the perspective of the industrial chain, the robot body (unit) is the basis for the development of the robot industry, and the downstream system integration is the key to the commercialization and mass popularization of the robot. Due to the high technical barriers, the ontology products have a certain monopoly, the bargaining power is relatively strong, and the gross profit is high. The barriers to system integration are relatively low, the bargaining power is weaker with upstream and downstream, and the gross profit level is not high, but its market size is much larger than the ontology market.

At present, domestic robot companies are mostly system integrators. According to international experience, the development of the domestic robot industry is closer to the US model, that is, system integration, unit products outsourcing or OEM, providing customers with turnkey projects. Compared with the suppliers of unit products, system integrators also have product design capabilities, project experience, and based on a deep understanding of the user industry, providing standardized, personalized equipment that can adapt to a variety of different application areas.

The Chinese robot market has a low foundation and a large market. The feasible mode of China's robot industrialization mode is to adopt the division of labor mode from the initial stage of integration to the mature stage. That is, the American model (integration) - the Japanese model (core technology) - the German model (division of cooperation).

2. Industrial robot integration industry application direction

The robot body is the center of system integration and must be combined with industry applications. System integration is the secondary development of the robot body. The performance of the robot body determines the level of system integration. International brands, based on their understanding of the ontology, are more aware of how to integrate and fully function to meet the needs of customers. Therefore, system integration is still based on international brands. The market size is also ranked in industries with high technical requirements and low automation, such as automobiles, 3C electronics, metal processing, logistics, etc., which are of high technical requirements and low automation.

The status quo of machine integration industry

As the main force in the Chinese robot market, robot system integrators are generally small in scale, with low annual output value and facing strong competitive pressure. According to GGII data, as of September 2014, there were 428 Chinese robot-related enterprises, of which system integrators accounted for 88%, and from the relevant market data, the current domestic integrators are not large, and the sales revenue is 1 Enterprises with a value of less than 100 million account for the majority, and those who can achieve 500 million yuan are the best in the industry. There are only a handful of countries with more than 100 million yuan.

General industry refers to the non-automotive industry. At present, the automation level of the automotive industry is relatively high, and the supplier system is relatively stable. The demand for automation in general industry is relatively strong. Global industrial robot integration accounts for the highest proportion of “handling” from an application perspective. Half of the global industrial robot sales are used for handling applications. In the handling application, it can be divided into picking and packing, injection molding, machine loading and unloading according to different application scenarios. According to the application, the top three applications are 50% handling, 28% welding, and 9% assembly.

The current industrial robot system integration has the following characteristics:

1) Can not copy in batch

System integration projects are non-standardized, each project is different and cannot be 100% copied, so it is more difficult to scale. The scale can be copied, for example, a product is developed, and it is rarely changed after the model is established. Each model product is the same, and can be copied in large quantities through production and sales. And because of the need to fund, integrators usually have to consider the number and scale of projects implemented simultaneously.

2) Be familiar with relevant industry processes

Since robot integration is a secondary development product, it is necessary to be familiar with the processes of the downstream industry, and to complete reprogramming, deployment, and the like. Domestic system integrators, if they focus on a certain field, usually can obtain higher industry barriers, and there is no problem in survival. However, due to industry barriers, it is difficult to achieve cross-industry expansion of business, and mergers and acquisitions will not work, so it is difficult to scale up. . Robotic system integrators should have been small, at least at this stage domestic integrators are not large.

3) Need professional talents

The core competence of system integrators is talents. Among them, the most important ones are sales personnel, project engineers and on-site installation and commissioning personnel. The sales personnel are responsible for taking orders. The project engineers design the project according to the order requirements, and the installation and commissioning personnel go to the customer site to install. Debug and eventually deliver to customers. Almost every project is non-standard and cannot be copied simply.

The system integrator is actually an order-based engineering service provider with light assets. The core assets are sales personnel, project engineers and installation and commissioning personnel. Therefore, it is difficult for system integrators to expand the scale through mergers and acquisitions.