Siemens's first Asia-Pacific digitalization experience center opens in Beijing

German powerhouse Siemens on June 5 opened a digitalization experience center in Beijing, the first one of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region. The new center serves to demonstrate the company’s leading digital concept in today's new industrial era.

It also marks the first time the German giant has presented its Internet of Things operating system MindSphere to the Chinese market, as the company looks to increase its collaboration with Chinese enterprises.

“With the Digitalization Experience Center, we present the best practices of digital enterprises for ‘Made in China 2025.’ Siemens is the trusted partner for China’s digital transformation,” said Lothar Herrmann, CEO of Siemens Greater China, at the opening ceremony in Beijing.

“We have turned the digitalization vision of our customers into reality by achieving concrete progress. We will continue to strive for value co-creation with our partners,” the CEO said.

Siemens expects to become a leader in “Industry 4.0,” making contributions to China’s industrial upgrades and transformation. This will help to turn “Made in China” into “Innovate in China,” according to Wang Haibin, executive vice president of Siemens Ltd., China and general manager of the digital factory division.

The center will support companies of all types and sizes through the process of digital transformation. It will exhibit a number of practically implemented reference cases, which cover the entire product life cycle - from product design to execution and customer service. A number of individual sections comprise the center, namely Digital Enterprise, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Totally Integrated Automation (TIA), Sustainable Energy and the Cyber Security Lab.

Visitors at the center could experience Siemens’s two major digital enterprises highlights Digital Twin and MindSphere in real-time operation, so as to see from zero distance the improved productivity and efficiency on offer.

More Chinese cities will soon host digital experience centers, as Siemens has set its sights on constructing an experience and education platform for digitalization technology and digital enterprise in the Asia-Pacific region.

“As the only supplier capable of offering Digital Twin across the entire value chain of products, R&D, production and plant management, Siemens helps enterprises realize end-to-end digitalization, and makes efficient customization possible,” Wang said.

Digital Twin describes a digital copy that is created and developed simultaneously with the real machine. It is produced based on simulated operations and product flow. Through a cloud connection, it enables manufacturers to evaluate KPI data such as failure rates and energy usage.

“Today also witnesses the debut of MindSphere in China, featuring unmatched openness, strong data analytics and deep vertical expertise. We are building an extensive ecosystem with our partners to jointly explore values from data,” said Wang.

Siemens unveiled MindSphere at Hannover Messe 2016. The exclusive and ingenious operating system immediately drew a great deal of attention. It is an open operating system that allows users to collect massive amounts of data, significantly improving the performance and availability of production with minimal investment.

The company’s vast installed base and profound expertise in many industries bring great advantages for MindSphere when it comes to data collection and value creation. Siemens also welcomes third-party providers to develop and run apps within the eco system, which could further enhance the openness and availability.