[In-Depth] Practices and Reflections of Shanghai Printing Enterprises on Implementing the "Three-Year Action Plan for the Digitalization of the Printing Industry" (Part Four)

Driven by innovations in digital technology and profound changes in market consumption trends, the digital transformation of China's printing industry is being comprehensively promoted. On June 9, the National Press and Publication Administration issued the "Three-Year Action Plan for the Digitalization of the Printing Industry (2025–2027)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), which clarifies the overall goals, key tasks, implementation steps, and safeguard measures for the industry's digital development over the next three years. The plan aims to accelerate the development of a new quality productive force in the printing industry that integrates digital intelligence and green practices.

In order to gain an in-depth understanding of how printing enterprises in Shanghai are responding to and implementing the "Plan," and to explore the opportunities and challenges faced during the process of digital transformation, the editorial department of Printing Magazine recently interviewed managers from several representative printing companies in Shanghai. The interviewed company representatives, guided by the "Plan," discussed their practices and reflections from various dimensions, including tackling key technologies, building intelligent factories, designing tiered development frameworks, and cultivating digital talent. Their aim is to provide practical examples and development ideas for the digital transformation of printing enterprises.

1. What is the current status of digital transformation in various enterprises, and under the guidance of the key tasks in the "Plan," how can traditional production bottlenecks be overcome in the next three years?

Shanghai Railway PrintingShanghai Railway Printing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shanghai Railway Printing") was formerly known as the Shanghai Railway Bureau Printing Factory. Founded in 1938, it is a well-known long-established enterprise in both Shanghai and the national railway printing industry, mainly engaged in publication printing and packaging and decoration printing. To promote its strategic transformation and upgrading, the company established a digital quick printing center in Shanghai in 2016, and the following year (2017) set up the Chuzhou High-speed Rail Supplies Branch in Suchu Industrial Park, Chuzhou, Anhui Province, marking an important step in cross-regional development. Over the years, Shanghai Railway Printing has always served the railway industry with the corporate spirit of "loyalty, pragmatism, innovation, and efficiency." Based in Shanghai and radiating across the Yangtze River Delta, the company has expanded high value-added printing products in line with regional economic development. It has now become a moderately scaled, well-equipped, efficient, and well-managed comprehensive modern printing and packaging enterprise.

Chen Jianyu, General Manager of Shanghai Railway Printing, stated that as a printing enterprise with an 87-year-long history, Shanghai Railway Printing began its digital transformation in 2016. With the rapid development of Internet technology, the traditional printing industry at that time faced the challenge of transformation and upgrading. To respond to market changes, the company keenly grasped the trend of customer demand shifting towards refinement and customization, and took the lead in launching digital printing services in Shanghai by establishing a professional quick printing center. This center is equipped with internationally advanced digital printing equipment and intelligent binding production lines, achieving a fully digital production process from design to finished product, and providing customers with efficient, precise, one-stop printing solutions. In the same year, to improve management efficiency and meet the needs of digital transformation, the company also carried out the first comprehensive upgrade of its long-used ERP system, further optimizing business processes and enhancing operational efficiency.

He further stated that in recent years, Shanghai Railway Printing has consistently adhered to the direction of industrial development without wavering. As the only national top 100 printing enterprise in the railway industry, the company has proactively adapted to the changes of the times and market, promoting the construction of the company's "two centers." Meanwhile, leveraging its profound historical foundation and its status as the only national top 100 printing enterprise in the entire railway sector, the company has successfully built the "Shanghai Railway Printing" brand, continuously providing high-quality services to the railway system and social customers. As a printing enterprise within the railway system, Shanghai Railway Printing focuses on its main responsibilities and core business. From establishing the first graphic quick-printing center in Shanghai, it has gradually set up regional branches in Xuzhou, Nanjing, Hefei, and Hangzhou in recent years, with digital printing as the main printing method. This has formed a business model where four regional branches plus the Shanghai Graphic Quick-Printing Service Center radiate across the Yangtze River Delta. According to Chen Jianyu, since 2022, the company has relied on its existing digital printing resources to expand into the field of archive digitization, investing in the construction of a professional digital processing center. The business scope has gradually extended from personnel files to engineering technical files, engineering drawings, financial files, administrative files, and bidding files, basically achieving full coverage of common archive types. Moving forward, Shanghai Railway Printing will establish clear strategic objectives and formulate a clear digital strategy based on the characteristics and scale of the printing industry. It will set up short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals and plans, conduct comprehensive evaluation and analysis based on the company's existing resource advantages, financial strength, industry characteristics, and customer group characteristics.

The "Plan" proposes three aspects to promote the implementation of application scenarios. How should companies advance step by step?

The "Plan" proposes, in the implementation of the digital innovation application project for the printing industry, to achieve breakthroughs in a number of key core technologies, promote a series of innovative practice cases, and improve a set of digital standards and norms.

Shanghai Railway Printing:Based on the "Plan," Chen Jianyu elaborated on the digitalization strategy formulated for Shanghai Railway Printing. Firstly, the company will fully leverage Shanghai’s geographical advantages, deepen industry-university cooperation to build a talent reserve system, and carry out strategic cooperation with software and hardware suppliers to promote phased upgrades and iterations of information systems and equipment, comprehensively enhancing the company’s level of digital development. Secondly, relying on its green printing qualifications to strengthen digital-intelligent integration, the company will deeply integrate digitalization with green, low-carbon production, thereby improving production efficiency and reducing losses. Digitalization will first be piloted in certain printing projects, with the scope of application gradually expanded. Furthermore, in the next stage, the company will join forces with authoritative industry institutions to jointly develop an intelligent digital archive retrieval system to improve the effectiveness of archive management.

Chen Jianyu stated that to accelerate the digital transformation of the enterprise, the company has officially launched the second phase of digital construction. First, the application of the financial shared services system will be deepened by deploying process robots to replace manual operations, enabling automated handling of simple and repetitive processes. This not only improves work efficiency but also effectively reduces compliance risks caused by human intervention. Second, the company will comprehensively promote the upgrade and integration of the ERP system by optimizing business processes and unifying data standards to build an integrated information management platform. This will effectively reduce operational management costs and enhance overall production efficiency. Third, a digital three-dimensional intelligent shelving system will be established to improve warehouse management efficiency, achieve precise and efficient warehouse operations, and comprehensively enhance inventory turnover and space utilization. Through technological updates and iterations, innovative applications will promote the sustainable development of the industry.