The Revelation of Hsu Fu Chi's Digital Transformation

Customer: Hsu Fu Chi

Industry: F&B

Region: China

Photos provided by Hsu Fu Chi 

Interview with Ji Xiang Chen, Senior Manager of Hsu Fu Chi; Dong Hui Yi, Manager of Smart Manufacturing Solutions for the Food Industry of Advantech

Introduction 

Hsu Fu Chi International Limited, a giant of China’s confectionery industry, produces more than 1400 categories of snack products. Indeed, the company’s four factories house more than 38 workshops and 126 high-precision automated production lines – for a daily production capacity that exceeds 1600 tons. However, to manage factories of such size containing such complex production lines, machine automation and intelligentization is required to streamline processes and improve both production efficiency and performance.  

Advantech’s comprehensive range of integrated software and hardware IoT solutions enabled Hsu Fu Chi to revolutionize operations management at its production sites by digitalizing and optimizing process workflows.

Hsu Fu Chi embraces IoT to realize intelligentization

Hsu Fu Chi’s production and manufacturing operations are extremely complex, involving more than 700 raw material ingredients, 2500 packaging components, and 1400 stock-keeping units. To effectively manage so many moving parts, Hsu Fu Chi adopted automation technology as early as 2004, and then in 2012, introduced digitalization and intelligentization with the implementation of automated robots and IoT applications. 

Ji Xiang Chen, Senior Manager at Hsu Fu Chi, asserted that while automation solved issues pertaining to real-time data transmissions and on-site traceability, it also gave rise to new problems. For example, Hsu Fu Chi’s many workshops use equipment and PLCs of various brand, leading to data silos that hindered the collection of production data from different sensors. Furthermore, analyzing and converting the vast amount of data into quantitative production indicators was also significantly challenging, presenting an obstacle to their digital transformation.

To address these challenges, Hsu Fu Chi initiated a collaboration with Advantech. Leveraging Advantech’s ECU1051E gateway, WISE-IoTSuite industrial platform, and additional product offerings, Hsu Fu Chi was able to integrate the various production equipment and systems. Their data silos and data acquisition problems were resolved through the realization of machine interconnection and interoperability. Advantech not only supervised the project implementation, but also provided operations and maintenance training, as well as full lifecycle services, to facilitate the company’s digital transformation.

Bringing significant benefits and optimizing operations

Dong Hui Yi, Manager of Advantech’s smart manufacturing solutions for the food industry, highlighted how the IoTSuite platform’s high compatibility and scalability ensured easy integration with existing systems and future expansion according production growth. For Hsu Fu Chi, the platform delivered considerable benefits in meeting the needs of both their medium- and long-term development plans. 

The WISE-IoTSuite is a low-code platform that simplifies application development by leveraging data insights from actual workflow situations. In addition to operational optimization, IoTSuite provided Hsu Fu Chi with a reliable tool for stable and efficient machine integration, helping them overcome their data collection and analysis issues. 

Mr. Chen explained that by configuring preset thresholds, the system was able to detect any equipment abnormalities or process disruptions and automatically notify the relevant personnel. This ensured problems could be addressed as they occurred, which eliminated the need for regular equipment checks and reduced overall labor required, while significantly improving production efficiency. 

For Hsu Fu Chi, the benefits of its digital transformation include reduced production costs, increased production efficiency, and the establishment of differentiated competitive advantages that enable them to seize new opportunities in today’s highly competitive market.

"The WISE-IoTSuite is a low-code platform that simplifies application development by leveraging data insights from actual workflow situations. In addition to operational optimization, IoTSuite provided us with a reliable tool for stable and efficient machine integration, helping us overcome the data collection and analysis issues." - Ji Xiang Chen, Senior Manager of Hsu Fu Chi

Benefits

• Reduced labor requirements through factory automation 

• Seamless data collection and analysis
• Increased production efficiency
• Optimized management and decision making

WISE-iFactory Solution Advantages

The IoTSuite platform’s high compatibility and scalability ensures easy integration with existing systems and future expansion according to production growth, while also streamlining process workflows and improving production efficiency.