As a major player in Shanxi's auto industry, Dachang Group is aiming to be a high-tech enterprise and integrate its industrial transformation into regional development by adopting the "internet plus strategy" in areas such as big data, advanced technologies and cross-border e-commerce.

Over the past 35 years' reform and development, Dachang Group has grown into a leading firm in Shanxi's auto industry and is being hailed as one of the nation's top 500 private companies in the service industry.　

Dai Quanmin, chairman of Dachang Group, said that in the recent two years, the auto industry is stepping into the "cold winter" development stage. Innovation is the key for upgrading industrial structure and further development.

Modern information technologies including big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence have added momentum to the traditional industries amid the rapid development pace of internet era, he added.

Established in September 2017, the Shanxi Dachang E-Commerce Co Ltd signed a strategic cooperative agreement with the Beijing-based UEC Group Ltd to explore the development of e-commerce platform. The DC mall, the first online platform for auto trading in Shanxi officially started operation in December of the same year.

The DC mall is an omni channel e-commerce platform with OMO (Online-Merge-Offline) business model consisting of online, mobile and offline marketing systems that link enterprises with targeted customers through all kinds of technology carriers and terminals. It will be a comprehensive shopping and entrepreneurship platform for cross-border trade, foreign exchange settlement, domestic goods and agricultural products.    

"This is only a start. We made the decision to adopt the internet plus strategy after in-depth analysis and long-time consideration. We are confident and capable of transforming and making breakthroughs," said Dai.

High-quality development

Last year, Dachang Group invested millions of yuan to build a series of high-tech enterprises including the car-sharing platform Dachang Chuxing, Dachang e-commerce, Dachang Finance and big data research and development center. It has formed an industrial system of internet, big data and artificial intelligence. 

One of the wholly-owned subsidiaries of Dachang Group, Dachuang Chuxing is the first car-sharing platform in Shanxi with the operating license issued by the Ministry of Transport of China. It has purchased 2,000 Faw-Volkswagen cars and invested more than 300 million yuan ($44.84 million).

Gao Wei, head of the company's information and technology department, said that despite the development of the innovation-driven businesses, Dachang Group is also striving to set up various high-tech enterprises in areas such as online shopping mall, car-sharing, internet finance and insurance.

"At the same time, the digital reform of our department is committed to play a strategic role for the company. Many mobile online platforms have already been put into operation," said Gao.

Statistics show that the annual turnover of Dachang Group reached nearly 7 billion yuan in 2018, with tax revenue surpassing 100 million yuan.

"2019 is a key year for Dachang's transformation and innovation. It is a year of hardship, competition, internet plus strategy, information technologies and big data, refined management, improved services and marketing," said Dai.

"During the year, we will exert great efforts to maintain stable, healthy and sustained development of Dachang."