The modified plastics industry is currently at a critical stage of efficiency transformation. On the one hand, downstream customers in home appliances, automobiles, and 3C electronics are increasingly demanding customization, fast delivery, and traceability; on the other hand, the industry has long needed to overcome four major challenges: “diverse materials, difficulties in material preparation, interruptions in material transfer, and labor shortages.”
While many companies are still exploring and moving forward amid these challenges, Kumho Sunny, a leader in China’s modified plastics industry, has already taken the lead in developing a successful path. The company’s practice shows that deeply advancing smart logistics transformation is not an optional “icing on the cake,” but a “must-answer question” for modified plastics companies to maintain their leading position and win in competition.
Kumho Sunny was jointly established in 2000 by South Korea’s Kumho Petrochemical and Shanghai Risheng. Guangdong Kumho Sunny Plastic Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai Kumho Sunny. After 16 years of development, the company has achieved the No. 1 market share in PC/ABS, ABS, automotive applications, and other markets.
Facing the high expectations of global supply chains and end markets for customization, fast fulfillment, and full-process traceability, Guangdong Kumho Sunny partnered with Xgen Robot, a provider of integrated smart factory solutions. By deploying a complete intelligent warehousing solution, the company achieved digital connectivity across the entire process from production lines and warehousing to shipment. This can save 50% of labor input, reduce employees’ walking distance by 95%, and increase logistics efficiency by more than three times. In addition, the application of AI and digital twin technologies further helps the company overcome the limitations of physical space, support dynamic production scheduling, optimize storage-location zoning, and maximize the efficiency of both personnel and space, providing support for visualized and optimizable multidimensional management.
Customer Testimonial – Intelligent Deployment Drives Improvements Across Multiple Metrics
Li Junhong, a technical expert at Guangdong Kumho Sunny, said that the launch of the intelligent warehouse has brought about multiple changes in operational data.
- Factory Space Efficiency Increased by 320%
- Factory Labor Efficiency Increased by 79%
- Warehouse Space Reduced by More Than 76%
- Loading and Unloading Capacity Increased from 5 Trucks to More Than 10 Trucks Simultaneously
- Daily Inbound and Outbound Efficiency of the Automated Warehouse Reached 1,700 Pallets
The SAP and MES systems and Xgen WMS successfully passed joint commissioning in one round, bringing about an operational transformation featuring fully automated inbound and outbound processes for raw materials, finished products, and empty pallets.
21-Meter Automated Warehouse Goes Live – Bringing a Dual Leap in Space Efficiency and Satisfaction
This project upgraded the traditional model of decentralized storage at multiple locations in conventional warehouses to a centralized storage model using a 21-meter-high automated warehouse, achieving unified storage and full-process information management for more than 100 SKUs, from raw materials to finished products.
What previously required over 20,000 square meters of warehouse space can now be accommodated in just over 4,700 square meters, meeting the storage needs for the same tonnage of materials, achieving a 320% increase in warehouse capacity utilization for the same area.
The launch of the high-space-efficiency intelligent warehousing system moved materials stored outdoors indoors, while refreshing the visiting experience for end customers. At the same time, its fully digitized and traceable material quality management system has further enabled Kumho Sunny to serve many leading customers in industries such as home appliances, new energy vehicles, and 3C electronics, building a strong digital and intelligent brand image.
End-to-End Intelligent Equipment Deployment – Solving Production-Warehouse “Breakpoints”
The combination of intelligent robotic arms + conveyor lines + stacker cranes + FMRs has enabled one-stop intelligent operations throughout the entire process, from the inbound storage of raw materials in large and small packages, to production-line material delivery, finished-product storage, and precise shipment. It has completely resolved the transportation bottlenecks previously caused by manually searching for materials, waiting for materials, and delivering the wrong materials, bringing a comprehensive daily efficiency of 1,700 pallets, a 79% increase in labor efficiency, and improvements in both loading rates and accuracy.
Implementation of an Intelligent Warehouse Management System – Perfectly Matching High-End Customization Needs
In recent years, end customers in industries such as home appliances, new energy vehicles, and 3C electronics have shown increasingly personalized demand for modified plastics. The proportion of paint-free products, special color matching, and customized orders continues to increase, placing strict requirements on batch management and rapid fulfillment. Powered by AI, the Xgen WMS system can directly connect with customers’ SAP and MES production-order systems, enabling global inventory visibility, automatic execution of first-in-first-out (FIFO), and full-process traceability of material batches.
After the materials required for production-line orders are prepared, the intelligent warehouse responds immediately at the second level, enabling automatic storage and retrieval of materials. This maximally reduces inventory turnover days and improves the throughput and circulation rate of materials, providing efficient fulfillment support through digital and intelligent capabilities for the customer company to strive toward becoming a global leading enterprise in the modified plastics industry.
Competition in the modified plastics industry has evolved from simple “formula competition” to comprehensive “system competition.” The focus of competition among companies is no longer the superiority of material performance, but rather the stability of smart manufacturing, the speed of logistics, and the accuracy of delivery. As industry consolidation continues to deepen, leading companies represented by Kumho Sunny are accelerating the deployment of digital factories to seize the initiative. At this point, smart logistics and intelligent warehousing have achieved practical validation in moving from “benchmark pilot projects” to “widespread application.” After all, in the competition of the global modified plastics market, the value released by intelligent warehousing is not only improved space efficiency and labor efficiency, but also the core competitiveness and industry influence that enterprises need to compete in the global high-end market.