IE Business School

IE Business School, located in Spain, is one of the top business schools globally, renowned for its excellent educational quality and innovative spirit. In the 2023-2024 academic year, IE Business School’s MBA program ranked fourth worldwide for its entrepreneurial spirit, while its online MBA program topped the rankings by the Financial Times. The school’s students come from over 100 countries and regions, cultivating numerous outstanding talents with influence in the international business arena.

Recently, the IE Business School EMBA student delegation, with a strong interest in business strategy and industrial automation, visited the Modula Asia Pacific headquarters. This visit aimed to provide students with a unique window to observe the current economic landscape in China by gaining insights into Modula ‘s production processes, business strategies, and development experience in the Chinese market.

一、Modula Asia Pacific Headquarters: A Paradigm of Industrial Automation and Innovation

Modula Asia Pacific headquarters arranged a guided tour by Daniele Gargiulo, Production Director, and Wu Penghuai, Supply Chain Director. They warmly welcomed the business elite from IE Business School and led the students into the doors of Modula Industry 4.0 Demonstration Factory, embarking on a journey to explore the mysteries of industrial automation.
Inside the factory, students witnessed every critical step in the process, from the fine processing of raw materials to the assembly of finished Modula VLM (Vertical Lift Modules). The entire process was not only a feast of technology and wisdom but also a vivid demonstration of the charm of industrial manufacturing.

Here, Daniele and Wu Penghuai elaborated on the working principles of Modula VLM for the students: how it relies on advanced control systems and precise mechanical structures to achieve rapid and accurate access to goods. They also emphasized Modula VLM’s performance advantages, such as high storage density, low energy consumption, and excellent operational stability, which have earned it a place in the field of industrial automation.

In terms of installation, Modula VLM’s installation process similarly embodies professionalism and precision. From site surveys, scheme design to installation and debugging, every step is strictly controlled to ensure the stable operation and optimal performance of the equipment. Once parts are produced and assembled into semi-finished products, they are carefully packaged and shipped to various parts of the country.

二、Modula in China: From Initial Entry to Thriving Development

After the tour, Daniele specifically shared how Modula, as an international enterprise, rapidly achieved localization in the Chinese market and achieved rapid growth in production value.

1.Internal Improvement: Automation and Quality Control
Modula understands that continuous internal improvement is key to maintaining market competitiveness. Therefore, the company constantly enhances automation levels, ensuring a dual leap in production efficiency and accuracy. In terms of quality control, Modula adopts a high-standard production system consistent with its Italian factory, closely monitors all quality details, and pursues excellence through quantitative assessment using quality indices. In early 2024, Modula obtained the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System certification. By then, the company had obtained multiple international authoritative certifications, including ISO 90001, ISO 140001, CE, and TÜV-GS, fully demonstrating its international standards in environmental protection, safety, and product quality.

2.Supply Chain Localization: A Win-Win for Efficiency and Resilience
To better serve the Chinese market, Modula is committed to building an efficient and resilient localized supply chain system. Currently, with a localization rate of over 90% in its supply chain, Modula has significantly increased its inventory levels, which has not only shortened order delivery times but also improved delivery capabilities, enhancing supply chain resilience and the company’s market competitiveness.

Modula Supply Chain Localization Growth Chart

3.Sales and Network Services: Comprehensive Coverage and Rapid Response
Modula ‘s sales organization in the Chinese market covers 13 regions nationwide, comprising four professional teams to ensure a rapid response to customer needs across the country. Meanwhile, the company has partnered with over 50 dealers focusing on different fields to jointly explore the market.
In terms of service, Modula is equipped with 20 professional customer service personnel and 5 software solution experts, along with a professional installation team and a 24/7 customer service hotline. The company provides preventive maintenance services, achieving a customer satisfaction rate of over 90%.
4.Market Expansion and Education: Omnichannel Marketing and Close Collaboration
Modula leverages an omnichannel marketing strategy, including channels such as websites, WeChat official accounts, mini-programs, and Douyin, to actively educate the market and enhance brand awareness.
Simultaneously, the company actively participates in various exhibitions, summits, industry seminars, and other events to keep abreast of industry trends and make efficient adjustments.
Furthermore, Modula collaborates closely with dealers and customers for joint marketing promotions, such as website construction, video case studies, and warehouse automation demonstrations, further consolidating its market position.

Since Modula entered the Chinese market in 2010, it has continuously driven its positive development in China with its cutting-edge technology, excellent quality, comprehensive sales service network, efficient supply chain, and omnichannel market expansion strategy.
Meanwhile, by establishing the Asia Pacific headquarters and production base and continuously launching new products and technological upgrades, Modula has taken solid steps in the Chinese market. These key points collectively form the solid foundation and core reasons for its thriving development in the Chinese market.

三、Q&A Session: Wisdom Collision and Spark of Thought

During the Q&A session, IE Business School students actively asked questions and engaged in in-depth exchanges with Daniele.

Q1
What are the differences in promotional strategies for the Central and Eastern European markets?
In the Chinese market, our promotional strategy flexibly adjusts according to regional and customer needs.
In the southeast coastal regions of China, where economic development is rapid and land resources are relatively scarce, customers have similar needs to those in Europe, focusing more on space-saving. Therefore, in these regions, we prioritize promoting Modula’s smart storage solutions, emphasizing their advantages of saving space and improving storage efficiency.
However, China has a vast territory with uneven population distribution. Many sparsely populated regions are not as urgent about saving space as the southeast coastal areas. In these regions, customers may focus more on improving picking efficiency to accelerate logistics, reduce costs. Therefore, our promotional focus in these regions shifts to Modula’s automated picking systems, demonstrating how intelligent and automation technologies can improve picking efficiency to meet customers’ actual needs.

Q2
How does Modula promote in the Chinese market?
When promoting in the Chinese market, we deeply recognize the differences compared to European markets. Due to the inapplicability of social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook in China, we must adapt to China’s national conditions and adopt suitable promotion methods. We mainly promote through Chinese social media platforms, such as the official website, WeChat official accounts, WeChat mini-programs, Douyin, and other video channels, to better reach target customer groups and enhance brand awareness and influence.

Q3
How do you ensure the quality of products manufactured in Chinese factories?
Modula also makes unremitting efforts in quality control. Since 2021, Modula has adopted the same quality production system as its Italian factory to track, analyze, and resolve quality details and non-compliance issues. Through this system, we have derived a quality index to measure the factory’s quality output. The lower the value, the better the quality.
From 2023 to 2024, Modula achieved significant growth in quality control, with an improvement rate of up to 26%. This achievement fully demonstrates Modula’s outstanding progress and relentless efforts in quality control.

四、Conclusion: Open Communication, creating a Future Together

As the visit to Modula Asia Pacific headquarters successfully concluded, these elite students not only witnessed firsthand how this global enterprise exhibits its unique charm in localized practices but also profoundly experienced the delicate fusion of industrial automation and business strategy.

As an industry leader, Modula always plays the role of a bridge between knowledge and practice, continuously providing inspiration and insights to business elites, hoping to add strength to their remarkable career journeys. We sincerely look forward to partnering with more esteemed clients and collaborators on this journey.