(Yicai Global) March 8 -- Midea Group has set solid foundations for the prospect of zero-inventory production in its endeavor to become a smart manufacturer and form an Industrial Internet platform.

The Industrial Internet ( must connect research and development, production equipment, logistics, users and the supply chain in order to achieve zero-inventory stock management with complete logistics tracking, Chief Investment Officer Simon Zhang said at Midea's annual strategy press briefing. The Industrial Internet is the integration of Big Data and networks with physical manufacturing equipment.

"The need to build an industrial internet has become a global consensus," the company said in an English-language press release. "According to statistics provided by IoT Analytics, the market scale of the Industrial Internet, as of 2021, will reach USD1.6 billion."

Midea's digital solutions, offered by independent affiliate Meicloud Technology, have provided products and solutions to a host of other companies, including China's top-selling state-owned carmaker Chang'an Automobile Co., the country's largest electric toolmaker Positec Tool Corp. and retail giant Yonghui Superstores Co.

The firm's cloud platform solutions already support the production of 10,000 different products at more than 40 bases worldwide, and provide flexible solutions for multilayer and complex processing, Zhang added.