IDM ¦ Interview
Heading into the future
Yili on course to intelligent, efficient, and standardized
production at all stages
Yili, a major Chinese dairy
group, has not only ambitions
in expanding markets
both in China and abroad
but also is a pioneer in developing
milk processing and production
into intelligent systems. IDM spoke with
Dr. Zhanyou Yun, Assistant President of
Yili, about Yili’s concepts and plans for the
transformation of the business.
IDM: Yili has established online and offline
‘dual centers’ and achieved the ‘dual
integration’ of informatization and digitalization.
What does that mean?
Yun: “Dual centers” and “dual integration”
refer to Yili’s practices aimed at fostering
the development of an intelligent
industry by building AI-enabled data centers
throughout its industrial chains. To
support these efforts, a series of AI-based
technologies, such as image recognition,
text recognition, voice technology, and
natural language processing, among others,
are being applied across different scenarios.
In the upper reaches of the industry chain,
AI algorithms have been applied to detect
cows’ feeding and milk yields in realtime,
further improving quality control for
raw milk. In the middle of the industry
chain, Yili’s smart factories are improving
production efficiency through connected
manufacturing equipment, automated
production lines, and an intelligent central
control system.
Downstream, AI-powered technologies
are deployed in marketing strategies, such
as sales forecasts, refined operations, intelligent
scheduling, product innovation,
and personalized recommendations and
services delivered to customers.
IDM: Yili has been vigorously developing
a wide range of digital tools to stay
ahead of the market. Can you explain
this in a bit more detail?
Yun: Yili has been strongly focused on developing
a more intelligent, efficient, and
standardized toolkit to improve production
management at all stages. To date,
five digital tools have been set up. The
big data radar system and Consumer Experience
Platform provides insights into
consumers’ feedback on products and
their rapidly evolving needs. The Product
Lifecycle Management platform collects
and manages all required standards
for recipes, ingredients, production processes,
and packaging to support strong
product development. Yili has also managed
to develop a policy and regulation
database for the food industry, including
key policies and regulations, standards, recalls
and alerts. Moreover, with its digital
riskassessment platform, potential risks in
production can be detected, monitored,
and evaluated.
IDM: Yili is managing Product Lifecycle
Management by digital tools. How does
that work?
Yun: In Yili’s Product Lifecycle Management
(PLM) platform, product recipes can
be developed and further checked with
whether the standards of the target country
are being met. Moreover, the system
can automatically create an ingredient list
in compliance with the labelling standard
on the package. Required standards for
(photo: Yili)
22 · September/October 2021 ¦ international-dairy.com
/international-dairy.com
