'Win-Win Smart Factory' SMEs Show 38%p Higher Operating Profit Than Non-Adopting Firms

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The management performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have adopted win-win smart factories between large and small businesses was analyzed to be superior to that of non-adopting companies.

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on the 28th that, according to the performance analysis of the 'Win-win Smart Factory Construction Support Project for Large and Small Enterprises,' companies that adopted the system showed 37.6 percentage points higher operating profit, 11.4 percentage points higher sales, 23.4 percentage points higher added value, and 3.2 percentage points more employees compared to those that did not adopt it.

For companies that introduced smart factories, operating profit grew by 26.1%, sales by 13.7%, and added value by 22% compared to before adoption. The number of employees also increased by 0.8%. On the other hand, non-adopting companies saw sales increase by only 2.3% during the same period, while operating profit (-11.5%) and added value (-1.4%) declined, and employment decreased by 2.4%, indicating that the adoption of smart factories influences corporate growth.

Daedong Living, a toothbrush manufacturer that advanced its smart factory level through the 2019 support project, improved delivery responsiveness and secured quality competitiveness by introducing a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and conducting on-site innovation activities, resulting in a 21% increase in sales compared to before the smart factory advancement.

Yoon Wi-sang, director of the KBIZ SME Research Institute, stated, “Through the quantitative performance analysis of the first attempted win-win smart factories, we confirmed the effects on profitability, added value, and job creation of SMEs that adopted smart factories,” adding, “To sustain and expand these results, the new government should support the digital transformation and dynamic innovative growth of small manufacturing enterprises by expanding and advancing the 'Win-win Smart Factory Construction Support Project for Large and Small Enterprises.'”

Meanwhile, this performance analysis was conducted by comparing the financial statements of 824 SMEs that participated in the project from 2018 to 2019 and received support from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Samsung, with 2,553 SMEs in the same industry and sales bracket that did not adopt smart factories.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.