SKEMA Business School Elite Students Visit Modula Asia-Pacific Headquarters

SKEMA Business School:

SKEMA Business School, a top-tier French business school with a 130-year history, is not only one of the largest business schools in France but also has multiple campuses worldwide. Its Suzhou campus is jointly established with Soochow University’s Dongwu Business School (School of Finance and Economics) and is located in the Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation District of Suzhou Industrial Park.

SKEMA is among the less than 1% of top business schools globally that have earned the triple crown of accreditations from EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA. It is also one of the earliest higher education institutions to offer programs in luxury and fashion management, entrepreneurship and innovation, and project management.

I. Exploring Modula: The Charm of Industry 4.0

Summary: Recently, a special group of visitors arrived at Modula’s Asia-Pacific headquarters: students from SKEMA Business School, who came for a visit and exchange led by Professor Yao Di from the Suzhou campus. Wu Penghuai, Supply Chain Director of Modula, and Cheng Jun, Equipment Engineer, led the students into Modula’s Industry 4.0 demonstration factory, embarking on a journey of exploration into intelligent manufacturing.

Following that, Miguel, the Managing Director of Modula, warmly welcomed these future business elites and introduced Modula’s development history to them.

Exploring Modula Factory: A Fantastic Journey from Coil to Finished Product

Inside Modula’s Suzhou Industry 4.0 demonstration factory, students witnessed the manufacturing process of Modula VLM firsthand. From coil cutting, bending, and welding to pallet assembly, electrical motor assembly, and finally module integration, every step was a collision of technology and wisdom. Students showed a keen interest in the Modula VLM manufacturing process, asking questions and engaging in in-depth discussions with engineers.

After the tour, Miguel shared Modula China’s development history with everyone.

In 2010, Modula entered the Chinese market for the first time, with the first Modula intelligent vertical storage cabinet installed domestically.

In 2017, Modula intelligent vertical storage cabinets began mass production in China.

From 2018 to 2019, Modula China was established in Suzhou Industrial Park in 2018. In 2019, Modula built a factory in Suzhou to serve the entire Asia-Pacific market.

In 2021, Modula launched Modula Lift 2.0 and successfully obtained ISO 140001 Environmental Management System Certification and TÜV-GS Safety Certification, marking its achievement of international high standards in environmental protection, safety, and product quality. Notably, the upgraded production quality has reached the same excellent level as the Italian factory, laying a solid foundation for further expansion in the Asia-Pacific market.

In 2022, Modula officially launched the Modula Slim product, and China was officially recognized as the Asia-Pacific headquarters and production base. Compared to 2020, the number of factory-produced cabinets in 2022 increased more than three times in two years.

In 2023, with the successful launch of Modula Next, Modula not only achieved financial success but also further consolidated its leading position in the Chinese market.

In 2024, Modula Australia officially opened, marking Modula’s business reorganization plan in the Asia-Pacific region and simultaneously obtaining ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System Certification, laying a solid foundation for the company’s development in the region.

As an Italian company, Modula has quickly gained recognition in the Chinese market since establishing its factory in Suzhou in 2019, thanks to its leading position in the field of intelligent storage and excellent product quality.

Miguel also elaborated on the special significance of Modula’s Suzhou factory for expanding the Asia-Pacific market, including enhancing influence in the Asia-Pacific market, optimizing global production layout, achieving localization of production and services, improving the global supply chain system, and reducing production costs.

II. Q&A Session: Wisdom Collides, Sparks Fly

During the Q&A session, students actively asked questions and engaged in in-depth discussions with Miguel.

Q1: Why did Modula choose to invest and build a factory in Suzhou, China?
A1: Firstly, Suzhou, with its excellent investment environment, huge market potential, and strategic location, became the ideal place for Modula to establish its factory. By setting up a production base here, Modula can not only be closer to the needs of Chinese customers but also provide them with more localized, responsive, and higher-quality services, thereby further consolidating and deepening our influence and competitiveness in the Chinese market.

Q2: Did Modula face any difficult times during the initial stages of building the factory in Suzhou?
A2: Yes, during the construction of the Modula factory, we encountered sudden challenges posed by the pandemic, an uncontrollable factor that caused many difficulties, resulting in the factory’s completion only at the end of 2019. However, since then, Modula China has shown strong development momentum, with annual production volumes steadily increasing year by year. We believe that under the positive background of continuously expanding market demand, Modula China’s development prospects will become better and better.

Q3: What are Modula’s advantages in China?
A3: Although intelligent vertical storage cabinets have achieved relatively widespread adoption in the European market, they are still considered innovative products in the Chinese market environment. However, with the advent of Industry 4.0, Modula has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities. We provide a series of advanced intelligent storage solutions for customers in China and even the Asia-Pacific region. The core advantage of these solutions lies in their ability to efficiently utilize vertical space, thereby significantly improving work efficiency while reducing labor costs.

Q4: Why did you choose to come to China for development?
A4: Firstly, China, as a country with enormous business opportunities, deeply attracts me with its vast market and unlimited potential. I have great interest and enthusiasm for this market full of challenges and opportunities. Secondly, the rapid development and huge demand of the Chinese market undoubtedly provide us with vast development space and numerous business possibilities, which is also an important factor driving me to decide to step into this land. Finally, from the strategic position of the Chinese market, it is invaluable for Modula’s global strategic layout, market expansion, and supply chain optimization, which will help us further enhance our brand influence and market competitiveness.

III. Conclusion: Open Exchange, Creating a Future Together

With the successful ending of the Modula factory visit, we not only showcased the unique charm of a globalized enterprise in its localization practices to the students but also deepened their understanding of supply chain management and cross-cultural business communication through a series of vivid on-site experiences. As an industry leader, we are always willing to build bridges between knowledge and practice, stimulate students’ innovative thinking, and lay a solid foundation for their future career development.

Here, we sincerely invite more customers and partners to visit and exchange ideas at the Modula factory. Here, you can experience our production site up close and learn about our products and technologies. We firmly believe that every visit and exchange will be a collision of ideas, an inspiration spark, and will bring you a new perspective and enlightenment.