Profile
Curie Chen, vice president of Fuyao Group, is in charge of
the
global automotive
replacement glass(ARG) business of Fuyao.
Once
majored in computer
management information system in
Beihang
University, Curie
Chen joined Fuyao Group after his graduation
in
1989.In 1994, he was
appointed as the vice president of Fuyao,
and
from then on, he has
spent most of his career time in Fuyao
taking
responsibility of the
sales of automotive replacement glass.
Fuyao
Group has become the
main supplier in the global market of
automotive
replacement
glass.He is also sophisticated in quality system,
supply
chain management,
overseas operations management outside China
and
original supporting business.
China is the biggest new car single market. In 2023, a
milestone
event took place
that China had further developed into the biggest
car
exporting country around
the world. Now China is no doubt a
automotive
power whose new
automotive technology and quality has reached
the
international level.
China is also the largest car ownership country. The average
age
of cars in North America
and the European Union (the second and
third
largest markets) is 10
years, compared with which the 6.5 years
of
that shows China’s
after-service market is one of the most dynamic
and
valuable market and it
also means a broad stage of development
for
automotive after-sales
service market participants. The auto
parts
industry, including
auto glass manufacturers, has ushered in
an
astonishing development in
the past 20 years. The auto glass
industry
is no exception. In
addition to the new car origin
supporting
business, the
supply chain circulation amount for auto
glass
after-sales repair,
replacement and calibration has exceeded
30
billion yuan.
The great development of China’s automobile industry has led
to
the technological
innovation of automobile parts suppliers,
whose
manufacturing abilities
are also constantly increasing. Moreover,
they
have achieved many
amazing advances in automation,
intelligence,
electrification
and lightweight. With the belief of ‘setting
an
example for professional
suppliers in the automotive industry’
and
‘making a piece of
automotive glass for Chinese people’, Fuyao
Group
has now become the
world’s largest supplier of automotive glass and
a
leader in technological
innovation. It has also made
great
contributions to the
development of the automotive industry. In
this
background, China has
formed a huge automotive after-sales
service
market in a short
period of time, but there is a market reality
that
does not match the pace:
in terms of the automotive
glass
after-loading market,
the proliferation of sub-standard
unqualified
products and fake
and shoddy products has a significant impact
on
customer’s safety.
Automobile glass is a structural safety part of automobiles.
Fuyao
can manufacture
high-quality automobile glass, which can be called
it
has walked 99 miles if the
whole process of automotive production
is
100 miles. Whether the
owner and passengers can be safely sent
home
depends on the
installation of qualified automobile glass, namely
the
last 1 mile for the whole
process of automotive production. The
Fuyao
brand is so well-known
at home and abroad that the majority of
car
owners are familiar with
it, but they are suffering from the
inability
to obtain the
authentic Fuyao original car glass in the
post-service
markets because
it is difficult to distinguish between original
glass
and counterfeit glass.
Whether it is insurance companies which are at the top of
the
post-service market
pyramid, legal auto glass manufacturers
including
Fuyao, or
wholesalers’ installation stores in the downstream,
the
majority of them are
struggling without making money, some even
having
already lost money.
Such a bad situation means that the
automotive
glass
after-service market needs an urgent transformation,
including
the transformation
of product quality enforcement, supply
chain
digital management,
installation standardization, and the creation
of
a fair competition
environment under legal compliance. Therefore,
it
is very important to
create a healthy and efficient automotive
glass
after-sales service market.
At the ‘2023 Second CARG Automotive Glass Forum’ held on
November
18, Fuyao ARG Group
President Curie Chen delivered a keynote speech
on
‘Digitalization, Products,
Services, and
Responsibilities’,
comprehensively introducing the operating model and vision that
CARG
(China Auto Parts Glass
Standard Coding System) platform is
dedicated
to establishing a
standard for the automotive after-sales
service
industry. He said
that CARG aims to set standards for the
auto
replacement glass
industry, improve the operation efficiency
and
digital management level
of the industry, and help build a digital China.
As a leader in the glass industry, Fuyao Group has such a
unique
ingenuity that it
creates Fuyao’s brand image with its staff,
product,
quality and taste.
Committed to setting a model for
professional
suppliers in the
automotive industry, Fuyao has also been
constantly
extending its
industrial chain and the boundary of ‘a piece of
glass’.
So, in the
post-service market, how does Fuyao’s glass provide
quality
assurance for
consumers? How to promote the reform of supply
chain
digitization and
standardization, as well as the reform of
the
insurance industry and
the improvement of automotive glass
safety
regulations? How to be
a leader in the development of automotive
glass
industry ? To this end,
the reporter interviewed Curie Chen,
President
of Fuyao ARG Group.
Finish the last 1 mile of glass production, that is,
protect
consumers to go home
safely with qualified automotive glass installation
Interviewer:
Fuyao is an internationally renowned manufacturer of
automotive
glass, and the
CARG event is a skill competition event for
automotive
glass
installation. As one of the organizers of the event, what
is
your original intention ?
Curie Chen:
Our original intention is to use authentic Fuyao automobile
glass
to safely send car
owners and passengers home. To implement this,
I
believe that the most
important thing is to complete the 99 miles
of
the supply chain plus the
last 1 mile of the installation. Even
though
Fuyao has made the
best products, the best products may not be able
to
play its due role. So we
need to finish the last 1 mile, qualified
car
glass installation. This
is like good pain will eventually fall out
if
the bottom of wall putty
is not brushed well. Therefore, it
is
terrible that the product
is not installed correctly. But what is
the
correct installation?
First of all, to select an eligible
automotive
glass technician
to complete the glass disassembly and
replacement
according to the
standard installation process. Secondly, to
select
qualified glass glue
and other sticking excipients. There are
glues
for windows and special
glues for automobiles, and the price for
the
latter one is almost 20
times higher than the former one. This
is
because the automobile
moves at a high speed, and its
performance
requirements for
the glue are completely different. Therefore,
after
loading the car glass,
even though there seems to be no problem at
a
glance, once the car
encounters a crash, glass flying off,
airbag
valgus, people falling
forward and so on may occur, which are
likely
to cause serious
personal safety problems. Based on this, in
addition
to providing
consumers with a piece of qualified automotive
glass,
Fuyao also cooperates
with the automotive glass after-sales
market
service expert Yidao
Daka. Through Yidao Daka, the standard
of
automobile glass
installation service can be formulated, so does
the
qualification of
automobile glass technician training
and
certification. All of
these can ensure the quality of
automotive
installation, and
further protect consumers.
Interviewer:
At present, many fake and shoddy products are flooding
the
automobile glass market,
doing great harms to consumers. So, what
has
Fuyao automotive glass
done in the post-market service ? What
benefits
can be brought to
consumers by choosing Fuyao’s glass ?
Curie Chen:
Whether it is the Chinese national standard or the standards
of
other countries, all
require the trademark information printed
on
automobile glass to be
permanently non-removable. The
information
should include
the manufacturer’s trademark, certification
number,
production date and
batch, so that the manufacturer can be
identified
and responsibility
for permanent traceability of manufacturing
defects
can be established.
In order to evade supervision, some illegal manufacturers
use
low-temperature removable
black ink to print trademarks in
glass
during such process as
production, supply chain circulation,
warehouse
storage and when
glass comes to stores, before installation, they
will
arrange technicians to
erase the trademarks with alcohol and
disguise
their glass as
Fuyao’s glass or other original glass to
deceive
consumers and deceive
insurance companies. In this way, they
can
extract high illegal
profits. These illegal manufacturers include
many
4S stores.
Fuyao adds an unique and permanent
anti-counterfeiting
traceability code to every accessories front windshield in the
Chinese
market, and uses a
tracking number containing human-machine
material
information to
monitor Fuyao’s production process. In these two
ways,
wholesalers and store
consumers can be connected. Once the
replacement
is completed,
technicians can lock the traceability code on
Fuyao’s
digital platform. If
it reappears in the market, consumers can know
it
is counterfeiting. So no
one can make fake and shoddy glass. This is
a
major feature of the
digital identification of Fuyao’s glass.
This
traceability code
further binds the auto glass installation
store
certification number
and the certified technician number. Then,
100
miles are completely
closed-loop and traceable.
In this way, consumers can identify whether it is
Fuyao’s
authentic automobile
glass as long as they scan the
anti-counterfeiting traceability code with Wechat. Insurance
companies
can find stores,
technicians or glass suppliers only by referring
to
the traceability code in
claims records, by which whether it is
a
service issue or product
issue can be defined without omission.
Some
insurance companies take
pains to do product certification but
there
are more than 4000
kinds of cars on the road, and every car has
tens
of thousands of parts,
each of which has dozens to thousands
of
suppliers. Product
certification is impossible to carry on and
take
effects. For Fuyao, it
will be responsible for life for
every
manufacturing defect of
its glass.
Consumers are not familiar with the product attribute and
quality
of automotive glass,
resulting in their dependence on original
parts,
giving illegal
manufacturers of counterfeit glass an
opportunity.
Fuyao is
committed to making high-quality automotive glass, which
is
to tell the whole market
that this is the brand they should trust.
After more than 30 years of development, together with
the
abundant experience and
powerful strength for large-scale original
new
car matching, Fuyao Group
provides after-service markets for cars
with
automobile glass
products with the same quality, and implements
the
same management system as
the new car matching supply for the
raw
material source,
production technology and manufacturing
equipment,
process control
and quality control of automobile glass.
Fuyao
carefully do a good job
of each piece of glass. For the last 1
mile,
the installation of
automotive, Fuyao cooperate with Yidao
Daka,
promoting the
installation and service management of the store
side
normalization,
standardization and digitization, determined to
send
the car owners and
passengers to home safely and help
insurance
companies control risk.
Fuyao accessories replacement glass implements a
one-code
anti-counterfeiting
traceability system, making
production,
circulation and
installation are permanently traceable. Fuyao is
also
responsible for
manufacturing defects for life, so that fake
and
shoddy glass has nowhere
to hide.
Advancing the Digitalization and Standardization of the Supply Chain, Aiding the Industry in Reducing Costs and Enhancing Efficiency
By
Reporter
What
kind of measures Fuyao Glass has taken to promote
the
digitalization and
standardization of its supply
chain?
Curie
CHEN
Firstly,
CARG is the identity card system for Chinese
automotive
glass
parts.
The CARG
system integrates over thirty years of product
technical
data from Fuyao,
creating a unique "identity card" for
each
piece of automotive
glass, covering all standard vehicle models
nationwide.
From
product development, production material lists,
production
process management
and tracking, to inventory management
and
store-side distribution,
it achieves end-to-end management of
the
entire supply chain with
a unique code for each item.
This establishes the CARG coding system as the foundation for
the
digital management of
China's automotive glass supply chain.
This foundation further extends to assisting in digital management of insurance claims. Due to data barriers between various car manufacturers and insurance companies, 4S stores do not share data with insurance companies.
CARG provides a one-stop complete data foundation that covers all aspects.
Secondly, CARG also serves as the "United Nations
Identity
System" for
global automotive glass.
Fuyao has linked U.S. and European numbering with Chinese
codes,
which means that the
CARG system covers the glass numbers for over
80%
of the world's automobile models.
The CARG system is unique in the global automotive
aftermarket.
Any supply chain
software system or global automotive glass
installer
that aims to claim
a global presence cannot be considered as
such
without the CARG system.
This is where the value of the CARG system lies.
Once again, before a CARG code is installed on a vehicle, it
is
merely a code that does
not require supply chain participants to
pay
excessive attention to a
piece of glass in circulation and
its
application, thus
enhancing the efficiency of the supply chain.
However, this glass will eventually return to its practical
use,
that is, being installed
on a vehicle. At this point, CARG
helps
facilitate the
connection between stores, TPA call centers, and
the
vehicle owners' cars,
greatly improving efficiency.
The CARG system includes information such as vehicle images,
glass
images, glass shape and
size, glass color, installation position
on
the vehicle, and
functional accessories. Vehicle owners can
determine
the exact glass
they need by providing part or all of their
vehicle
information. With an
accuracy rate exceeding 97%,
this significantly reduces the waiting time for service
for
vehicle owners and also
lowers various hidden losses in the
supply
chain caused by
misidentification of glass leading to
redelivery,
replacement,
recalibration, and compensation.
We are also actively following the development of AI
technology;
in the near
future, it may be possible to identify the glass simply
by
scanning the vehicle and
the glass itself.
Furthermore, product identification is the starting point
of
supply chain operations.
The efficiency and accuracy of
product
identification lead
to a decrease in operational costs,
benefiting
insurance
companies as well.
In the past, for automotive glass claims, insurance companies
had
to maintain databases for
tens of thousands of parts and
their
corresponding databases
for different vehicle brands.
They had to deploy large-scale survey teams nationwide.
When faced with uncertain product configurations, surveyors had
to
engage in complex
communication and verification before making a final confirmation.
Incorrect judgments could affect subsequent claims assessments
and
even lead to insurance fraud.
Now, the CARG database covers all brands and models,
making
product identification
simple and efficient through intelligent analysis.
Each piece of automotive glass replaced by Fuyao in
the
aftermarket is labeled
with a CARG code, establishing a
one-to-one
correspondence
between the system and the physical item to
prevent
insurance fraud.
In addition, with the involvement of third-party
professional
automotive glass
TPAs (Third Party Administrators), which
undertake
tasks such as
surveying, assessing losses, and handling repair
claims
on behalf of insurance
companies, the operating costs of
insurance
companies will be
significantly reduced.
Finally, the unification of CARG product codes and
the
construction of
information systems facilitate the
standardization,
transparency, and efficiency of product pricing.
One code identifies the product, and one code reveals the price.
Do you know how we used to quote prices in this industry?
Stores
would send text or
photos to dealers asking for quotes.
Dealers had to spend time decoding, communicating, and
confirming.
Many customers
were lost during this waiting process. Now, they
place
an order with just a
CARG code, and the system can
immediately
retrieve the
standard price.
For example, in the past, when insurance companies handled
cases,
they had to inquire
about prices from different service
providers
across the country.
Tens of thousands of glass part codes and tens
of
thousands of automotive
glass service providers lacked a
unified
coding system; this
was a massive task of comparing prices.
To address this, our partner YiDao DaKa has established a
unified
service price for
stores nationwide based on CARG codes and
achieved
systematized instant quoting.
In fact, this model has existed in North America for 70
years
already. We have
already made some breakthroughs domestically and
will
continue to drive
transformative improvements.
In conclusion, the CARG coding and its system serve as
the
foundation of the supply
chain and are an indispensable basis
for
business operations.
We are promoting this system to our industry partners,
including
insurance
companies, dealers, stores, and even our peers, enabling
the
entire industry to
collectively enhance digital management
efficiency
and drive the
development and progress of the industry.
Fuyao Automotive Glass Smart
Factory has established digital
channels
at various levels,
achieving customized products,
automated
manufacturing, and
intelligent operation
models.
The project
has been selected as one of the first batch of
smart
manufacturing pilot
demonstration projects by the Ministry of
Industry
and Information
Technology of China.
By
Reporter:
In
this 2023 CARG & AGTS AGRRR Competition for the first
time,
"ADAS
calibration" has been included in the
evaluation
criteria for glass
installation. However, in reality, when it comes
to
glass replacement and
repair, ordinary car owners have seldom heard
of
this item. What is the
significance of this innovation in
the
competition
format?
Curie
CHEN
We have
observed that in the newly launched car models this
year,
over 70% of them are
equipped with front-facing cameras.
This means that at least 70% of new vehicles are equipped
with
Advanced Driver
Assistance Systems (ADAS). It is expected that in
the
next 5-10 years, almost
all new vehicles will be equipped with this feature.
The ADAS system is the precursor to fully autonomous driving.
Currently, consumers are more familiar with features such
as
forward collision
warnings, lane-keeping assistance, and
lane
departure warnings.
These functions mainly rely on cameras mounted
on
the car's windshield to
gather information from the vehicle's
external
environment. This
data is then analyzed by the onboard computer
to
make decisions and issue
warnings to the driver and passengers
when
danger arises.
This requires that the automotive glass installed ensures that
the
signals captured are not
weakened or distorted when passing
through
the glass, which
could lead to misjudgments by the onboard computer.
This poses more stringent requirements for automotive
glass
manufacturers and
replacement professionals. On one hand,
glass
manufacturers need to
have the capability to produce
original
equipment, using the
float glass formula, and producing glass
shapes
and optical properties
that meet the design requirements for ADAS functionality.
The glass should also come equipped with camera brackets
that
adhere to the original
equipment design, ensuring the precision
and
fit of camera
installation by automotive manufacturers or
glass
replacement service providers.
On the other hand, when the front windshield is replaced,
the
camera needs to be
removed and reinstalled after the
glass
replacement, which
alters the original factory reference plane for
the
camera. Since these
devices have been removed, ADAS systems must
be
recalibrated, similar to
zeroing an electronic scale before use.
Otherwise, if an ADAS system measures a distance of 50 meters
from
an obstacle but in
reality, only 10 meters remain, the
onboard
computer may not
apply immediate braking as it believes there is
no
need to do so, leading to
accidents. The risks of an uncalibrated
ADAS
system for vehicle
owners are evident.
In the maturation process of ADAS technology,
corresponding
revisions and
updates are needed for the supporting
traffic
regulations,
insurance regulations, and manufacturing and
repair
standards for
automobiles and parts.
In the more mature automotive after-service markets of Europe
and
America, after the
replacement of the front windshield, to
ensure
driving safety,
insurance companies not only mandate 100% that
service
shops perform ADAS
recalibration but also have established
a
reasonable compensation
price for recalibration (about $150-250 per instance).
The insurance claims responsibility is not just to compensate
the
car owner with a new
windshield, which is product
liability;
essentially, it
must recommend qualified service providers to the
car
owner and restore the
vehicle to its original factory quality
state.
On this point,
insurance companies are the primary legal responsible party.
In China, since the auto insurance reform in 2020,
automotive
glass coverage has
been incorporated into the main vehicle
damage
insurance, making
insurance companies 100% responsible for
automotive
glass claims.
However, currently, Chinese insurance companies have not
yet
recognized the important
connection between automotive
glass
replacement and ADAS
calibration, nor have they realized the
legal
responsibilities
associated with ADAS calibration. Some
insurance
companies have not
included the cost of ADAS calibration in
their
standard compensation
items. Consequently, consumers, relying on
their
insurance providers,
remain unaware of this safety risk.
For the hundreds of millions of car owners nationwide,
this
represents a significant
safety vulnerability! We hope to leverage
the
national automotive glass
installation and repair
competition
organized by CARG
to call for industry attention to include
ADAS
calibration as part of
insurance claims.
By adding a mandatory ADAS calibration component to
the
competition, we aim to
encourage automotive glass service
providers
across the country
to equip themselves with qualified ADAS
facilities
and continuously
improve their ADAS calibration capabilities,
thus
providing consumers with
a final layer of safety assurance.
Through comprehensive supply chain
communication,
We practice social responsibility and highlight corporate commitment.
By
Reporter:
The
CARG automotive glass event not only includes competitions
in
automotive glass
installation and repair and ADAS calibration but
also
features an automotive
glass forum and product exhibitions
from
upstream and downstream
supply chain participants.
In addition to automotive glass dealers and stores,
attendees
include insurance
companies, OEMs, and suppliers. What kind of
concept
do you wish to convey
to the market through this event?
Curie
CHEN
The
problems we talked about earlier are the pain points of
the
whole industry, and
standardization and digital change are the
general
trend of the
industry, which also makes the whole supply chain benefit significantly.
This change cannot be accomplished by one party alone,
but
requires the
participation and joint efforts of all, and the
practice
of social
responsibility by all people to join hands in reforming
and
creating a model.
Therefore, the CARG & AGTS AGRRR Competition creates a
good
platform for
communication and exhibition, so that the
relevant
parties can know
enough about us and see the efforts we have made
for
so many years;
and the community can understand that consumer safety
requires
qualified auto glass
manufacturers, auto glass installation
service
providers,
installation auxiliary material suppliers, and
installation
equipment
suppliers, as well as the proper guidance of
insurance
companies and
automobile manufacturers.
Our event is held every two years. From the initial exploration
in
the first session to the
maturation in this session, it has
gained
increasing recognition
from the industry and end
markets.
The
participating units this time include not only our
thousands
of dealers and
store managers, technicians, but also Fortune
500
material and equipment
suppliers, our overseas partners, the
most
professional
international automotive glass installation service providers,
as well as insurance companies that occupy over 80% of
the
domestic auto insurance
market and automobile manufacturers.
Their
presence greatly
enhances our confidence and determination in
reform,
while also promoting
the exchange of advanced ideas,
models,
technologies, and
experiences at home and abroad. This accelerates
the
process of innovation and
reform in China.
I firmly believe that this industry will become better and
better.
I am confident about it!
