Vice President of Supply Chain of Fangtai Group, Founder and Chairman of Huaxia Six Sigma Club; Six Sigma Black Belt (BB), EMBA at Tsinghua University, Senior Manufacturing Management Consultant; Formerly served as the Manager of Japan's Precision Manufacturing Department, the Minister of Dongguan Samsung Manufacturing Department, and the General Manager of Haier Refrigerator Headquarters; Completed multiple major manufacturing innovation projects, with rich experience in supply chain management and top-level design and promotion of Lean Six Sigma.

Feng Yun Executive Interview Record - Yang Liujun, Vice President of Fangtai Supply Chain

Reporter from Fangtai People: What attracted you to join Fangtai from the Fortune 500? Can you leverage your strengths here?

Mr. Yang: Studying manufacturing management at Samsung and Japanese companies for more than ten years has been a process of learning and accumulation. What I have learned has enriched me and also made me successful. Private enterprises lack the systematic, information-based, and innovative manufacturing management model of foreign enterprises. I happen to be able to integrate this experience with the development of FoTai, which is a platform that can effectively utilize my own energy. What attracts me the most is that Fang Tai is a high-end ethnic brand and unique among Chinese industry brands. Secondly, Mao's personal cultivation is admirable.

Reporter from the "Fangtairen" newspaper: Are the problems discovered after coming here the same as expected?

Mr. Yang: At that time, upon visiting the workshop, there was a certain gap between manufacturing and branding. Manufacturing management was more advanced than many domestic enterprises, but there was still some distance from foreign enterprises and some well-known domestic enterprises. After arriving, I realized that the real problem was that the supply chain did not have a clear strategic positioning and a complete management system. It took me three months to change my mindset: first, conduct a clear research on the strategic positioning of the supply chain; Secondly, there must be a complete management system. I position my strategy as the "most competitive supply chain in the world", and then propose a 16 character policy of "focusing on quality, all staff innovation, digital orientation, and financial operations". In terms of methodology, I introduce "Six Sigma", and at the same time, establish four major operational systems (innovation system, quality system, delivery system, and engineering management system) from a systemic perspective.

From the perspective of the problem you have discovered, what is the real reason?

Mr. Yang: When the brand power is strong and sales performance is good, many problems will be covered up. If some accessories are missing, standing from the perspective of quality rather than brand, this is a big problem! Quality "zero defect" means that no quality defects are allowed. We use this principle to introduce Six Sigma to determine whether the quality is complete, and first establish this quality benchmark. Our quality awareness is not enough - it's okay to think a little bit worse, but if you measure it with a high-end quality positioning, it's not possible. 'Thinking that small defects are not quality issues' is the biggest problem!

Six Sigma is a method that provides us with a methodology for improving to achieve zero defects, and they intersect and cannot be separated from each other. Our ideal state for enterprise management is zero defects and zero waste, and among the many methodologies to achieve this goal, Six Sigma is the most successful.

Fangtairen reporter: What obstacles did you encounter in the process of launching a series of new measures?

Mr. Yang: There are mainly two aspects. Firstly, from the perspective of system operation, it is difficult to communicate and collaborate across departmental systems. Especially for management cadres who have been growing up in Fangtai and lack systems, process concepts, and awareness, it is difficult to persuade them to change. So we will take everyone to advanced enterprises such as Samsung to see, and through theoretical training and the introduction of MES and other information systems, we will make management cadres develop a systematic awareness and encourage everyone to actively improve; Secondly, implementing Six Sigma is also very difficult. I started pushing in 2013 and went through a very torturous year. Many people oppose and complain a lot. I wrote an email to Mr. Mao and reported it to the labor union because I was providing training for all employees. At first, everyone didn't understand and felt that it was taking up everyone's time. At that time, I was in a hurry and pressed everyone to do it. Although it didn't work at first because the effective period of Six Sigma was relatively long, the next year everyone was happy because they saw the results. Especially many people have grown up, solved problems quickly, and gained ideas, especially the quality inspection and technical departments who have solved many previously unsolved problems through Six Sigma. With a sense of achievement, employees no longer complain.

At the same time, in 2014, we also started training and guidance for suppliers and established the Huaxia Six Sigma Club. 19 supplier enterprises became members, and the club organized more than 10 activities, with over 300 enterprise members participating. Of course, a training system has also been established within the supply chain and is closely linked to promotion. For example, if you are not on the yellow belt, you cannot be a team leader, if you are not on the green belt, you cannot be a manager, and new employees cannot be on the job without passing the yellow belt training.

Fangtairen News reporter: Apart from liberating employees from unsafe and environmentally friendly environments, how should safety be considered in daily life?

Mr. Yang: We have a safety system, which includes equipment safety, traffic safety, and corresponding mechanisms within Six Sigma. Safety accidents have been decreasing year by year. Due to layers of protection and prevention, major safety accidents will not occur now.

Fang Tai Ren Daily reporter: The biggest feature of Fang Tai is its in-depth cultural implementation. How do you understand?

Mr. Yang: The competition among enterprises is actually cultural competition in the end. The most touching thing for me when I came to Fangtai was the Confucian culture, especially when Mr. Mao asked me to study in Guangzhou Blue State three times, which gave me a deeper understanding of Confucian culture. After working for so many years, in foreign companies, we spend more time on our work. We truly spend our time learning in Fontai, and learning Confucian culture is in Fontai.

Reporter from Fangtairen: What changes have occurred to employees after the series of cultural implementation measures?

Mr. Yang: I think the biggest change is the team leader. They will share some knowledge of Confucian culture with employees, and the management process is less rough or even hands-on. Communication is also more emphasis on "brother, friend, brother, respectfulness". Additionally, employees spend more time calling their parents. From a detailed perspective, Confucian culture can indeed fundamentally improve employees' perceptions of their parents, brothers, and colleagues.

Fang Tai Ren: What is your Fang Tai Dream?

Mr. Yang: As a professional manager, my dream is to achieve the best in Fangtai Manufacturing and let Fangtai Manufacturing go global. Fangtai's industry is between 2.0 and 3.0, and we are currently unable to achieve the 4.0 level overseas. However, we must make Fangtai's manufacturing the best in China.

Reporter from Fangtai People: You said that in Fangtai manufacturing, emphasizing innovation rather than innovation is the most reliable and reliable way?

Mr. Yang: Yes, our ultimate goal in going to Fangtai is to achieve the unity of personal value and corporate value. I have told Mr. Mao that no matter which day I leave Fangtai, what I will never let you regret is the endless generation of high-end manufacturing talents and quality experts from Fangtai; Secondly, Fangtai's manufacturing must be continuously upgraded. I'll do these two things! Compared to the manufacturing industry, Industry 4.0 is like a Rolls Royce in cars. We cannot do it now, but we can aim for Industry 4.0 to make the products manufactured by FoTai move customers and become the strongest in China!

What is the biggest progress that manufacturing management and management teams have made in recent years? What challenges will we face in the future?

Mr. Yang: My management team mainly improves employees' ability to analyze and solve problems by building a management system. The most crucial point is to provide innovative thinking and strategic thinking for middle and senior cadres. Their problem-solving approach is now very clear, the team's vitality has increased compared to before, and communication has become smoother.

The biggest challenge around strategic goals is that the team does not yet possess professional knowledge and abilities. From the perspective of the supply chain, there is still a lack of intelligent investment. We must continuously improve the growth points of employees and sales teams to drive the development of the supply chain. In terms of quality, we also need to learn from companies like Miller to enhance our understanding of quality. In front of quality, there is no end, only continuous innovation!

Fangtairen reporter: What are your expectations for employees in the process of implementing supply chain strategies?

Mr. Yang: Actually, it's the same for employees and family. The first thing is that living in Fangtai should be like living in one's own home, and we should live together like each other's family. I hope everyone has this feeling. For the growth of employees, to be more pragmatic, I hope they can earn more money, hold higher positions, be safe and secure, and avoid any accidents or accidents; I also hope that some excellent employees can become on-site managers.

What is the most adorable aspect of employees in your eyes?

Mr. Yang: The most adorable thing about employees is that they work silently without complaining. I often go to the workshop to see employees who are tired and sleepy but do not complain, and greet them with a smile on their face. Their invisible smiling faces can make people feel moved to tears!