Manufacturing is the foundation of the real economy. In the 14th Five-Year Plan and the Outline of 2035 vision goals, it is proposed to accelerate the building of a strong manufacturing country and a strong quality country, adhere to independent and controllable, safe and efficient, and promote the upgrading of the industrial foundation and the modernization of the industrial chain.

To realize the leap from “manufacturing power” to “manufacturing power”, from a macro point of view, is the growth trouble of China’s manufacturing industry; From a micro perspective, it is a series of tests for enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises: how to attract and retain talents? Should we insist on independent innovation? Scale quickly or quality first? Diversified development or focus on one area, one product? Failure to get out of these puzzles is likely to lead to the death of potential small and medium-sized enterprises.

The reason this micro perspective matters is that the foundations of strong manufacturing do not come from a few big macs. Consider the German experience. In the 1980s, Hermann Simon, a renowned management scientist and then president of the European Marketing Institute, was asked: “Why is it that the Federal Republic of Germany, whose economy is only a quarter of the size of the United States, ranks first in the world in exports?” Which companies are contributing the most?” After in-depth investigation and research, Simon proposed that “hidden champions” are the backbone of building manufacturing competitiveness. These enterprises are relatively small in scale and are not well known to ordinary consumers, but they have been quietly working for decades or even hundreds of years in the market segment, gaining a firm foothold in close proximity to customers and continuous innovation, occupying a huge market share in a narrow field, enjoying a high reputation in the industry and indispensable in the industrial chain.

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The upstream enterprises in the manufacturing industry chain will not come to the spotlight naturally, and there is no substitute. Mobile phones, home appliances, cars… Consumer goods brands are often well known to consumers, but the upstream and middle enterprises that provide the required components and parts are not so concerned, but they determine whether the “pot” of downstream enterprises has “rice”, “rice” is their own kind or to rely on imports.

The proposal and increasing attention of the “invisible champion” undoubtedly provides a reference for China’s manufacturing ramming base. The process from “big” to “strong” is exactly the process of reinforcing the short board and strengthening the long board, and the transformation process from the pursuit of quantity to the pursuit of quality. For China, the “hidden champion” is a foreign product, the idea can be borrowed, but the model cannot be copied. On the basis of critical absorption, in 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the “Implementation Plan for the Cultivation and Promotion of Single champion Enterprises in the Manufacturing Industry”, which clarified the selection conditions for single champions from nine aspects, such as focusing on the limited target market, the market share of the main product, and the ability to continue to innovate. It includes both a single champion demonstration enterprise and a single champion product, and cultivating a single champion is intended to guide manufacturing enterprises to focus on innovation and product quality improvement.

This approach can be said to be timely, hit the point of pain. From “hidden champion” to “single champion”, on the one hand, it is necessary to encourage enterprises to concentrate on the development path of single point blasting, but also implies the intention of not making “champion” invisible. By cultivating models, setting an example, creating a good environment for the development of manufacturing enterprises, so that focused enterprises get attention, so that “small transparency” comes to the spotlight, so that “excellent students” get more appearances and recognition – which means greater attraction for capital and talent, so as to break the growth troubles.

The power of example is infinite, and the goal of “single champion” points out the direction for enterprises in confusion. Of course, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It is not easy to become a single champion, in this path, you can first become a specialized new “little giant” enterprise as the first goal. However, the idea of enhancing the competitive advantage of specialization is consistent. For enterprises, to take the road of specialization and achieve a single champion means to shoulder the glorious mission of establishing the brand image of China’s manufacturing industry, enhancing the core competitiveness of China’s manufacturing industry, and leading China’s manufacturing industry to the world. This is the only way for the development of enterprises, is an honor, but also for the high-quality development of China’s manufacturing industry ramming base.