QINGDAO, China, Feb. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the strict measures put in place for the control and prevention of Covid-19, Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. ("Haier", Shanghai: 600690), the world's leading home appliance producer, has announced that all domestic factories in China have returned to full capacity as of February 25. The announcement comes after Haier's continued efforts to maintain its global capacity, which saw the producer achieve an overall guarantee rate of over 90% on overseas orders during the outbreak.
Despite limited capacity brought on by Covid-19, Haier maintained normal production levels as a result of its strong global supply chain and rapid response to the epidemic. With a complete international operation and supplier system, as well as supplier resources spanning the Americas, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Europe, Haier fulfilled 99.8% of orders throughout February 2020, with 60% of products manufactured in local factories overseas. Meanwhile, Haier's logistics team closely monitored changes in global ports and shipping policy alerts and adjusted its resources and logistics plans accordingly to ensure the timely shipment of all orders.
Since February 17, all of Haier's domestic factories - except three in Wuhan - have resumed production with additional strict measures to prevent and control the spread of the epidemic, on top of those recommended by the Chinese government. 10 Haier industrial parks have been recognized by the local government and seven have been highlighted by Chinese media as leading examples for their epidemic protection and prevention work. As of February 25, the three Wuhan factories have also reopened with similar measures in place to keep workers safe.
In addition to reopening factories, Haier's key domestic suppliers are gradually resuming normal business operations. To date, more than 90% of suppliers have reopened their doors with an 80% work resumption rate and a 95% guarantee rate. The guarantee rate is expected to reach 100% by the end of February.
Further to its global supply chain, Haier was able to lessen the impact of Covid-19 due to its early adoption of intelligent manufacturing. Across its 122 factories, Haier has integrated a variety of automated production processes including automatic boxing and bagging, refrigerator wrapping and gluing, as well as product-specific processes for washing appliances and air conditioners.
Haier Smart Home's five sectors have also introduced 108 flexible production lines using integrated automation solutions and applied intelligent technologies such as AI, big data analysis, 5G and AR to help conduct a range of factory tasks, including visual product inspections for refrigerators, measuring the noise of washing machines, detecting unusual sounds in air conditioners, AR-assisted remote equipment maintenance and more. These intelligent manufacturing processes and technologies enabled Haier to continue normal production and logistics during the outbreak, as well as improving overall line efficiency and reducing staff turnover.
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